Search for Kerala techie in Kodagu enters 4th day; drones, dogs, elite force deployed

The search for a 36-year-old software engineer from Kerala entered its fourth day in Karnataka’s Kodagu on Sunday (April 5) as the police, foresters, and even the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) failed to find any trace of her despite deploying drones and sniffer dogs.

Sharanya GS, a software engineer employed with an IT firm in Kochi and a native of Nadapuram in Kozhikode district, went missing on April 2 while trekking at Tadiandamol, the highest peak in Kodagu.

She had checked into a homestay near Kakkabe, in the foothill settlement of Yavakapadi, on April 2 ahead of the trek. Sharanya had booked her slot online as a solo trekker. However, the forest authorities, due to the threat of wild elephant activity in the area, assigned her to a group of tourists as a safety measure, according to The Times of India.

Last call from the trail

However, around noon on April 2, Sharanya reportedly telephoned the homestay owner from somewhere along the trail. She told him she may be delayed as she had lost her way on the route. That call was the last anyone heard from her.

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Shortly after that, her mobile phone fell out of network coverage and has not been reachable since. Attempts to triangulate her last known location have proven inconclusive, with signals at one point appearing to place her in Iritty in Kerala.

“But this could be unreliable,” Madikeri Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Abhishek cautioned, as reported by The Times of India, pointing to the area’s fluctuating mobile networks as a major hindrance to the search.

Anti-Naxal teams join hunt

Despite deploying drones, dog squads and enlisting help from local residents across Saturday’s search operations, authorities failed to trace Sharanya.

Rain and dense fog across the Tadiandamol region further hampered progress. Following the unsuccessful search, the ANF, trained personnel typically deployed in difficult, forested terrain, was brought in to intensify the combing operation, said Kodagu Superintendent of Police Bindu Mani.

A missing persons case has been registered at Napoklu police station. Three additional teams stationed at the Karnataka-Kerala border were also pressed into service, the DCF confirmed. In all, five teams comprising foresters, police personnel and local residents are now conducting a coordinated sweep of the entire Tadiandamol trail, The New Indian Express reported.

More teams deployed

Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Sunday that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, expressing concern about the young woman’s disappearance, instructed that search operations be intensified.

“Four additional teams of 40 personnel have been deployed today. A total of nine teams are conducting the search operation. Honest efforts continue to find the missing young woman,” he said.

“Search is being conducted based on her last phone location. Local tribal people have also rushed to help, and sophisticated thermal drone cameras have been obtained with an additional team deployed starting today.”

Brother vouches for her fitness

Sharanya's brother Shyam arrived at the Tadiandamol foothills on April 4 with other relatives. He described his sister as physically fit and an experienced trekker, someone well-acquainted with demanding trails.

He also revealed that Sharanya had not visited her family in Nadapuram for the past two months, and had not informed any of her relatives about her plans to travel to Kodagu. Police confirmed that her family had no prior knowledge of her trip.

Inside Tadiandamol trail

The terrain at Tadiandamol presents a stark contrast on either side of its summit. On one face, the peak is approached through relatively inhabited land, the route most trekkers take and the side from which Sharanya began her ascent. The opposite face, however, descends into the Pattighat Reserve Forest: a dense, largely trackless expanse of woodland that straddles the Karnataka-Kerala border.

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It is this side that has become the focus of the expanded search, with the ANF and additional teams now combing through the forest cover. The presence of wild elephants in the area is an established concern.