4-Day Search Ends In Tragedy: Kerala Teen Who Went Missing During Family Trip In Karnataka Found Dead

New Delhi: A multi-day search operation in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district ended in tragedy on Friday as police recovered the body of a 15-year-old girl from a valley near Manikyadhara falls. The teenager, a resident of Kerala, had disappeared during a family outing to the local tourist destination earlier in the week. 

According to family members, the body was found approximately 150 meters from the location where the girl was last spotted. The student, identified as Srinanda from Palakkad’s Kadambazhipuram, went missing on Tuesday evening while touring the Chandradrona hill ranges with a large group of 40 relatives.

Her disappearance was only realized once the group reached the mountain summit, sparking an immediate search effort spearheaded by the Chikkamagaluru Rural police.

Authorities Probing The Incident

Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Dayama confirmed the discovery and identification of the teenager's body. While the initial assessment suggests a tragic accident, the SP noted that authorities are "probing other angles" to rule out foul play. He clarified that a post-mortem examination and official legal procedures would be conducted to determine the exact cause of death, as per reports.

Police highlighted that the area is strictly barricaded with only a single entry point, leading investigators to focus on whether the student may have accidentally fallen from a viewpoint.

Search effort intensified

The search operation grew significantly in scale and complexity in the days following Srinanda's disappearance. A massive force of 60 teams combed the local hills, while another 10 teams were dispatched to neighboring states to follow potential leads.

Initial fears of a kidnapping led investigators to track and identify 240 vehicles that were present at the tourist site on Tuesday. To navigate the difficult terrain, forest department officials joined the effort, utilizing thermal drones to scan the dense landscape from above.

Family raise questions

Family members have raised questions regarding the discovery, noting that the specific area where the body was found had been previously searched without results. A relative pointed out that the location was a mere 150 meters from her last known position, situated on the opposite side of the parking lot.

In a chilling detail, the relative recalled that while he was alerting the girl's parents of her disappearance near the entrance, both parents were actually standing directly in the area where her body was eventually recovered. Despite this proximity and prior police sweeps of the same spot, nothing had been detected until Friday.

What was victim doing?

Relatives informed investigators that shortly before she vanished, Srinanda had been exploring the site with other children and paused to take photographs near the waterfall. 

In a somber coincidence, the news of her death arrived just as the Karnataka Forest, Ecology, and Environment Department initiated a significant overhaul of trekking safety protocols. Responding to a string of disappearances in forested regions, Minister Eshwar Khandre has directed officials to establish a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to better protect visitors.

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