Bodies of US-Georgian couple found in Georgia, four-year-old child still missing

A married couple who holds dual Georgian and US citizenship has been found dead in the Dusheti area, situated in Georgia’s Mtskheta-Mtianeti region.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has reported that police are still searching for the couple’s four-year-old child.

A preliminary examination showed that there were no sings of abuse on the bodies of the deceased.

Ryan Smith and his wife Lora had lived in Georgia for several years.

“On 6 July a call was received by Georgia’s emergency phone line 112 regarding two missing persons of dual Georgian and US citizenship, as well as their four-year-old child. The caller said that they were in the Khada gorge in the Dusheti district and the call was lost,” the Interior Ministry said.

A group of 15 rescuers and police were deployed to the location. The search and rescue operation first located the car and personal belongings of the missing persons in Zveri village.

The woman’s body was found soon after in the gorge at a waterfall about three kilometres from the abandoned car. The search for the two remaining family members continued in the highly challenging mountainous location. The search operation was suspended at night due to poor visibility.

On 7 July, when the operation resumed, the body of the missing man was found in the area adjacent to the waterfall. The operation, now involving 25 rescuers, continues, reports Novosti-Georgia.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation on charges of ‘causing death by negligence committed against two or more persons’. The article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of three to five years. A forensic medical examination was ordered as part of the investigation.