Relatives of the 15-year-old Kerala girl found dead in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru have recounted the final moments where she was last seen, saying she was moving around with other children and had stopped to take photographs near the Manikyadhara waterfall shortly before she went missing.
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According to family members, the teenager, identified as Srinanda from Kerala's Palakkad district, had been part of a large group of around 40 relatives visiting the Chandradrona hill ranges when she disappeared on Tuesday evening. “She was with other children and had paused to take photos near the waterfall before she vanished,” relatives told investigators, describing the moments leading up to the incident.
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In a striking detail, a relative said the girl’s body was eventually found about 150 metres from where she was last seen, a location that had already been searched earlier. “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,” the relative said, adding that police had previously checked the same spot but had found nothing.
{{/usCountry}}In a striking detail, a relative said the girl’s body was eventually found about 150 metres from where she was last seen, a location that had already been searched earlier. “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,” the relative said, adding that police had previously checked the same spot but had found nothing.
{{/usCountry}}Family members also pointed out that the location where the body was recovered lies on the opposite side of the parking area, raising further questions about how she ended up there. As police continue to probe the circumstances surrounding her death, the relatives’ statements have added a new layer of complexity to the case.
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The teenager’s mother had earlier expressed doubts about the possibility of an accidental fall, alleging that her daughter may have been abducted or harmed. However, police have said it “may be an accident” while saying that other angles are also being investigated.
The body was recovered on Friday, bringing to an end a massive multi-day search operation involving dozens of teams, drones, and forest officials.