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Teen trekker from Kerala found dead in Chikkamagaluru valley; probe launched
Police said the body was found not far from her last reported location in a heavily barricaded area with one access route.
A 15-year-old girl from Kerala’s Palakkad district was found dead on Friday in a valley near Manikyadhara waterfalls in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru, concluding a massive search operation that lasted several days after she went missing during a family visit to Chandradrona hill ranges.
The student from Kadampazhipuram disappeared on Tuesday evening from a group of about 40 relatives. Her absence was noticed after reaching the summit, prompting a search by Chikkamagaluru Rural police.
Superintendent of police Jitendra Kumar Dayama confirmed the recovery. “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.”
Police said the body was found not far from her last reported location in a heavily barricaded area with one access route. They are examining if she fell from a viewpoint, while investigating other possibilities.
The search involved 60 teams in the region and 10 more across states. Investigators tracked 240 vehicles present that day amid initial abduction fears. Forest officials and thermal drones aided efforts.
The family said the spot had been searched earlier without success. A relative noted it was 150 metres from where she was last seen, opposite 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 the police had checked there before but found nothing.
Relatives told police she was with other children, stopping to photograph near the waterfall before vanishing.
The tragedy prompted Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Thursday to order a standard operating procedure for trekking safety, citing multiple missing visitor cases.
An official said authorities are considering a mobile app for trekkers, inspired by ‘e-Gastu’ and ‘MStripes’. “The minister has also directed that group insurance for trekkers be explored as part of the safety protocol,” the official said.
The framework would assign nature guides with wireless devices to oversee groups and cut response delays. The directive followed this case and a recent Kodagu incident where a Kerala trekker was found after four days.
