MOSCOW, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- An amateur search group says it has located the remains of Ivan VI who was proclaimed emperor of Russia while still in his infancy.
Businessman Anatoly Karanin said Ivan's remains were uncovered during excavations in the town of Kholmogory near the White Sea, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Tuesday.
Karanin said his group opened a tomb that was thought to belong to Ivan's father and instead found the remains of a much younger man.
A forensic examination concluded it was "highly probable" the remains were those of Ivan VI but DNA testing is necessary for legal identification, Karanin said.
Ivan VI was proclaimed emperor of Russia in 1740 when he was just 2 months old but was overthrown in a coup a year later.
At the age of 4, Ivan was taken from his parents and kept in solitary confinement in Kholmogory. He was stabbed to death by prison guards at the age of 23.
