Bengaluru | A 36-year-old woman who went missing while trekking in the Tadiandamol hills of Kodagu district four days ago has been found, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Sunday.
He said nine teams conducted a round-the-clock search operation to locate the young woman. She is healthy, and officials have been instructed to ensure she safely reaches her home in Kerala.
G S Sharanya had travelled alone from Kerala for the trek and was staying at a private homestay in Kakkabe village.
She had set out for the high mountain range of Tadiandamol hills on April 2 with a guide and 15 other trekkers, but went missing that afternoon.
"The woman has now been found, and I have also spoken to her. She is healthy," Khandre told reporters.
When all the other trekkers returned to their base on the afternoon of April 2, they discovered that Sharanya was missing. She had last contacted the homestay by phone on Thursday, saying she had lost her way.
"As soon as the matter came to light, five teams began a search operation starting the same day," he said.
Noting that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal had expressed concern about the missing woman, the minister said, "On the CM's instructions, additional personnel were deployed for the search operation on Sunday."
"Today, 40 additional forest personnel were deployed. A total of nine teams conducted the search operation, with support from the Police Department, Anti-Naxal Squad, and Forest Department. Local tribal people also assisted," he added, congratulating and thanking everyone involved.
The woman had been walking alone in the forest. Khandre described her as both "brave and adventurous", noting that due to the lack of mobile connectivity in the forest, her exact location was unknown, which delayed the search.
Sophisticated thermal drone cameras were also used in the operation, he said.
