15-year-old missing Kerala trekker found dead in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru valley; police probe cause

A 15-year-old girl went missing during a family trek in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru district and was later found dead near a waterfall.

A 15-year-old girl from Kerala who went missing during a family visit to a tourist site in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district was found dead on Friday in a valley near the Manikyadhara waterfalls, police said, concluding a large-scale search operation that spanned several days.

Karnataka forest authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the teenage girl's death and implementing new safety measures for trekkers to prevent future tragedies. (PTI)

The student, from Kadambazhipuram in Palakkad district, disappeared on Tuesday evening while part of a group of about 40 relatives visiting the Chandradrona hill ranges. Her absence was noticed her absence after reaching the summit, triggering a search led by the Chikkamagaluru Rural police.

Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Dayama confirmed that the body had been traced. “The body has been spotted and identified. It may be an accident but we are also probing other angles,” he said. In a separate interaction, he added, “The post-mortem and other procedures will follow.”

The body was found not far from the point where she had been reported missing. Police said the area is heavily barricaded with only one access route. They are examining whether she fell from a viewpoint while continuing to investigate other possibilities.

The search effort had intensified in the days following her disappearance. Around 60 teams were deployed in the region, with an additional 10 teams sent to other states. Investigators also identified 240 vehicles that were at the site the day she went missing, amid initial suspicion of a possible abduction. Forest Department officials assisted in the search, and thermal drones were used to scan the terrain.

Family members said the spot where the body was discovered had been searched earlier without success. A relative said the location was about 150 metres from where she was last seen, on the opposite side of the parking area. “When I called her parents to say she hadn’t reached the entrance, both of them were standing in the area where her body has now been found,” he said. He added that police had checked the same area earlier but had not found anything.

Relatives told investigators that she had been moving around the site with other children shortly before she went missing and had stopped to take photographs near the waterfall.

The news death comes even as the Karnataka Forest, Ecology and Environment Department moved to tighten safety measures for trekkers. On Thursday, Minister Eshwar Khandre directed officials to prepare a comprehensive standard operating procedure for trekking safety, citing multiple incidents of visitors going missing in forested regions.

According to an official familiar with the development, authorities are considering the use of technology to improve monitoring and response. “Among the measures under consideration is the development of a mobile application that can be temporarily installed on trekkers’ phones, enabling authorities to track their movement during the duration of the trek. The concept draws on existing systems such as the forest department’s ‘e-Gastu’ application and the ‘MStripes’ platform used in tiger reserves. The minister has also directed that group insurance for trekkers be explored as part of the safety protocol,” the official said.

The proposed framework is expected to assign responsibility to designated nature guides, who would carry wireless communication devices and oversee coordination and safety for trekking groups. Officials said the aim is to reduce delays in identifying and responding to cases in which individuals become separated in remote terrain.

The directive was influenced not only by the Chikkamagaluru case but also by a recent incident in Kodagu, where another trekker from Kerala was found after being missing for four days.