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One of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century may finally be solved.

The last Russian Imperial Family – Czar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra, daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and son Aleksei, were executed by Bolshevik revolutionaries. On July 17, 1918, the Romanov family was lined up, believing they were posing for a photo, in the basement of the house they were being held. They were then brutally shot and stabbed.

The remains of the family, with the exception of two of the children, were found in 1991. The bodies of Aleksei and one of the daughters, were not found. Because of this, there was speculation that the two may have survived. In fact since the killings in 1918, people from all over the world have claimed to be a Romanov survivor. The most famous was a woman named Anna Anderson. She died insisting that she was the real Anastasia, even though DNA evidence had dis-proven her claim.

So, 90 years after the brutal slayings, a group of amateur sleuths, working on their weekends, have seemingly solved the mystery. They analyzed secret reports in Soviet-era archives and came across a single phrase that gave a clue as two where the two bodies were buried.

The chief executioner, Yakov Yurovsky, said he had buried two corpses separately from the other nine bodies. People had searched the area where the other bodies were initially dug up, but didn’t find the missing two.

The sleuths focused on a Russian phrase Yurovsky used – “tut zhe,” which can mean “nearby.” It was originally translated a “right here”, meaning it was next to the others.

They figured out that this translation meant the two bodies were near the other graves, but not with them. Below a cover of trees, about 70 yards from where the others were buried, they found the final two Romanov bodies, believed to be Prince Aleksei and a sister. The sister is believed to be Maria, though that is not entirely clear.

Scientists in Russia and the US are DNA testing the newly discovered remains.