 On 1 January 2004, Russian authorities announced that the body of Nikolayenko, 66, had been found at a lake near his remote one-room hut on the Tikhaya River.The pawprint of a medium-sized male bear was found next to his body, along with an empty can of pepper spray with which Nikolayenko had apparently tried to defend himself.Victor Rebrikov, a tourist guide and longtime friend of Nikolayenko who was on the search team that found the body, said it appeared that Nikolayenko had followed a large male bear to the small, spring-fed lake that lies less than from the hut.