Renowned mathematician dies after getting lost during walk in Moscow woods

A globally renowned London University mathematician has
been found dead after he got lost in a forest in Moscow while
out for a walk.
Professor Alexey Chervonenkis’s body was found on
Wednesday by a helicopter during a search by emergency
service personnel and more than 100 of his colleagues and
students, the university said in a statement on its website.
The 76-year-old academic was known for his work in pattern
recognition and computational learning. He and a colleague
also created a “whole new research area of statistical learning
theory” and pioneered ideas about minimizing structural risk,
the university said.
“It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death
of Alexey Chervonenkis, Emeritus Professor in this department
and a long-time member of the Computer Learning Research
Centre,” it said.
“Alexey was an avid walker covering many miles around
London, in other parts of Britain and the world, and especially
in and around his native Moscow.
“On 21 September he went for a walk in Losiny Ostrov, a
beautiful forest in Moscow, and lost his way. A search party
was organized straight away. It included both professionals
and more than a hundred of his colleagues and students, but
they could not do anything; his body was found yesterday
from a helicopter.”
Professor Chervonenkis, who split his time between London
and a research institute in Moscow, called his wife at 8.20pm
local time on Sunday to tell her that he was lost in a swamp
but would try to find his way out. An hour later, she suggested
calling the emergency services but her husband said they
would not be able to find him, The Guardian reported.
He called a final time at about midnight, saying he was tired
and shaking. Temperatures dropped to below freezing that
night.
The search party found his glasses and the helicopter was then
able to find him lying in the grass.
Volunteer search co-ordinator Grigory Sergeyev said: “The
search party passed very near him, but there’s a lot of grass
there and lots of water spots because it’s a swamp, and
finding a person laying in the grass is nearly impossible.”
Mr Sergeyev added that the cause of death was “almost
certainly hypothermia”.
“He was a great teacher and friend, and will be deeply
missed,” the university said.