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May 14, 2008 6:53 pm US/Pacific
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Missing Couple Found Dead Near ATV
FORESTHILL (CBS13) ―
Two people last seen on Friday were found dead in Placer County, and authorities believed they perished in an accident on their ATV.
It had been four days since Vitaliy Koladich and Svetlana Koval left for a weekend trip in the hills. The two were family friends, setting out for a day and night of fun, but when they hadn't returned by Sunday, Vitaliy's mother was worried.
"Sunday evening I thought maybe something happened, but I believed he was okay," Tamara Kolyadich said. "I waited for him all night, and Monday was when I started to do something."
On Monday, she reported to authorities that 25-year old Vitaliy, a registered nurse, was missing. She says deputies questioned if they had just wanted to get away.
"They told me, 'they're adults, maybe they went to Nevada,'" she said. "But I was sure [that they had not]."
By Tuesday, Svetlana's family in Roseville reported her as missing, too. Late that afternoon, California Highway Patrol flight officer Troy Marks was getting into a plane to start searching for them.
Marks and his CHP pilot flew for an hour, eventually finding a campsite where the blue Nissan Vitaliy and Svetlana had used was parked.
"There didn't seem to be any movement," he said. "There was some chairs that were knocked over, but it appeared nobody was in the tent or the truck."
Just before midnight, their bodies were recovered. Authorities suspect the ATV had driven off an embankment, sending it and them into a tree, killing them.
"I love him," said Tamara. "He was a good boy."
Autopsies on both bodies are planned to determine the exact cause of death, but there's no reason to believe drugs or alcohol contributed to the accident. Authorities say neither victim was wearing protective equipment.
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