Pramesh S Jain
A 14-year-old girl from Kerala,who had been missing for the past three days,was found dead near the Manikyadhara waterfalls in the Chandradrona hill ranges on Friday.
The deceased has been identified as Sreenanda,who was part of a 40-member tourist group that had arrived in Chikkamagaluru on April 7.
The group had visited the Inam Dattatreya Peetha and Manikyadhara when the girl suddenly went missing under mysterious circumstances.
Following her disappearance,an extensive search operation was launched involving 22 teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF),Fire and Emergency Services,local police,and the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF).
Due to the dense forest cover and steep terrain,drones and thermal imaging cameras were also deployed to aid the search.
After three days of intensive efforts,the girl’s body was recovered from a deep gorge, estimated to be around 2,000 feet below the falls, on Friday.
Police officials suspect that the girl may have slipped and fallen into the gorge, but have not ruled out other possibilities.
An investigation is currently underway to ascertain the exact cause of death.
The victim’s parents and relatives,who had rushed to the spot from Kerala,were inconsolable upon receiving the news.
A case has been registered, and further legal proceedings are in progress.
