Search ops for missing techie in Karnataka's Kodagu draws a blank

MADIKERI: Forest and police personnel on Saturday failed to trace Sharanya, a 36-year-old IT professional from Kozhikode who disappeared during a trek to Tadiandamol, the highest peak in Kodagu.

The techie had checked into a homestay near Kakkabe on Thursday.Despite deploying drones, dog squads and enlisting help from locals, authorities were unable to trace her. Police said her family was not aware of her travel plans to Kodagu. Sharanya, a native of Nadapuram, is employed with an IT firm in Kochi. Her brother Shyam, who arrived on Saturday with relatives, said his sister is physically fit and an experienced trekker.

Police have registered a missing person case at Napoklu station, while Kodagu superintendent of police Bindu Mani said trained personnel from Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) were also deployed to help in the search operations. Officials said the search has been hindered by rain and dense fog in the region. Sharanya had booked a trek slot online as a solo trekker. However, forest authorities sent her with other tourists for safety as the area has wild elephants.

DCF (Madikeri) Abhishek said three additional teams posted at Karnataka-Kerala border were also assigned to the search operation. He said that while Tadiandamol peak has habitation on one side, the other side of Pattighat Reserve Forest is a dense forest where the teams were pressed into search operations. Fluctuating mobile networks in the area have made it difficult to accurately trace her last known location, which at one point appeared to be in Iritty in Kerala. "But this could be unreliable," said the DCF.