Couple who went missing 12 YEARS AGO are found dead in their car at the bottom of a river in central Russia

*Ilya Zhirnov, 25, and Kira Cherkasova, 22, were last seen in December 2005
*Diving enthusiast found remains in a car at the bottom of Russia’s Volga river
*Documents found inside the car helped police identify the tragic couple

A young couple who disappeared nearly 12 years ago have been found dead in the river Volga in central Russia.

Ilya Zhirnov, 25, and his girlfriend Kira Cherkasova, 22, went missing in December 2005 without a trace.

More than a decade later, their remains were found inside a car at the bottom of Volga in the city of Cheboksary in central Russia’s Chuvash Republic.

Car documents – which had survived more than a decade underwater – enabled police to identify the couple.

They were last seen in December 2005 when Mr Zhirnov borrowed a car from his father to pick up Miss Cherkasova from work.

Police investigated the missing couple, but were eventually forced to close the case as a result of lack of evidence, and the families have been left in the dark as to the young lovers’ fate until today.

The couple’s car was found in the river by a local diving enthusiast, whose name has not been released, when he was exploring the waters near a local beach.

He reported his discovery to police who winched the car out of the river the following day.

Officers believe the lovers’ death was an accident and that icy roads near the river may have been to blame for their tragic end.

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