Mumbai, April 10: A missing teenager from Kerala was found dead in a ravine in the hilly region of Chikmagalur, Karnataka, on Friday. She had been trekking with her parents when she disappeared.
Authorities, who had been conducting a search operation for three days, discovered her body approximately 2,000 feet below the location where she went missing.
According to police reports, Shrinanda Chandradrone, a resident of Palakkad, Kerala, went missing on April 7 at around 6 PM. She was part of a group of 40 members and was last seen in the Manikyadhara area of the mountain. Despite her parents’ extensive efforts to locate her, they were unsuccessful.
The Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police teams, fire and emergency services personnel, and forest department officials collaborated to initiate the search operation in the area. Given the rugged terrain and dangerous slopes, officials utilized drones and thermal cameras to aid in their search.
Investigators are exploring all possibilities to determine whether she slipped from the mountain’s height or if there was another cause behind the incident.
Commenting on the case before the discovery of the girl’s body, Home Minister G. Parameshwara mentioned that they had received preliminary information. He indicated that there were two theories: one suggesting possible abduction and the other that she may have left with someone. He noted that various speculations were emerging, but the truth would only be revealed once the case was thoroughly investigated.
Initial reports suggest that the victim had traveled to Karnataka with her family. They visited the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hampi in northern Karnataka and arrived in Chikmagalur at around 3 PM on April 7. They then proceeded to the Inam Dattatreya Bababudangiri pilgrimage site and the Manikyadhara hill area, where the teenager went missing near a waterfall.
Authorities quickly launched a search operation, employing modern equipment like thermal cameras and drones. However, the initial lack of clues raised suspicions. Officials were preparing to conduct a comprehensive combing operation throughout the mountain range. Following the incident, a police team from Kerala also arrived at the scene.
The police have seized the victim’s parents’ mobile phones and are investigating every aspect of the case. All other tourists from Kerala, except for the parents, have returned home. A team has also been dispatched from Chikmagalur to Kerala. Further investigations are ongoing, with additional details yet to emerge.
In a related incident, another trekker from Kerala, Sharanya, who had been missing for several days in the Madikeri forests, was rescued by Karnataka authorities last week. She had disappeared from the Tadiandamol forest in Madikeri district.
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