Kerala techie who vanished from Kodagu trek found safe in forest after 3 days

After a frantic search for three days by the Karnataka police, forest department, and even the Anti-Naxal Force, the 36-year old techie from Kerala who lost her way on April 2 while on a trek to Tadiandamol, the highest peak in Karnataka’s Kodagu, was finally rescued on Sunday (April 5).

It has emerged that Sharanya GS, who was exhausted after wandering in the forest, found a dilapidated bungalow, where she stayed put until forest department officials, with the help of local tribal people, located her around 5 pm on Sunday, close to 72 hours after she went missing.

How Sharanya was found

The police tracked her phone’s CDR data and last tower location. Based on that, the dense forest was divided into several “grids”. Each team was given the responsibility for scanning a grid and they started combing every inch of the forest accordingly.

It is impossible to locate people trapped under dense foliage using ordinary drones. Therefore, sophisticated “thermal imaging drones” that can sense human body temperature were used for the operation. The search was carried out continuously from the sky, day and night.

Along with technology, the biggest strength of the rescue forces turned out to be the local Mala Kudiya tribe. These tribal youth, who are well-versed with every nook and cranny of the dense forest, valleys, watercourses and animal movements, were at the forefront of the search along with the forest staff.

In addition, a dog squad was deployed on the trekking trail from April 3. A total of nine teams were conducting the search operation based on her last phone location. All anti-poaching camps in Kodagu district were put on high alert and the search was extended up to the Kerala border.

What happened to Sharanya?

Sharanya, a software engineer with an IT firm in Kochi and a native of Nadapuram in Kozhikode district, had checked into a homestay near Kakkabe, in the foothill settlement of Yavakapadi, on April 2 ahead of the trek.

She had booked her slot online as a solo trekker. However, the forest authorities, due to the threat of wild elephants in the area, had assigned her to a group of tourists as a safety measure. She was last seen on the trail playing with dogs before she mysteriously vanished.

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. That call was the last anyone heard from her.

Shortly after that, her mobile phone fell out of network coverage. Attempts to triangulate her last known location proved inconclusive, with signals at one point appearing to place her in Iritty in Kerala. Rain and dense fog across the Tadiandamol region further hampered progress.

The Tadiandamol trail

The terrain at Tadiandamol, the highest peak in Kodagu, 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.

It is this side that became the focus of the expanded search, with the ANF and additional teams combing through the forest cover. And that is where they found her, in a remote valley in the forest. It is still not clear how she ended up there but she was in good spirits when the rescuers found her even though she was starving.

The feisty young woman told them that she anticipated they would deploy drones, so she deliberately positioned herself in an open area to make it easier for them to spot her. She is currently being given primary treatment.

Her brother Shyam had reached the Tadiandamol foothills on April 4 with other relatives. He had described his sister as physically fit and an experienced trekker, someone well-acquainted with demanding trails. He had been confident that his sister would make it back to safety. And he was right.