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Chikkamagaluru: Sreenanda, a Class 10 girl from Kerala who had gone missing during a trek in the famous Chandradrona mountain range in coffee country, has been found dead.

Her body was recovered on the third day of the search operation.

Sreenanda had gone missing near the Manikyadhara foothills at Datta Peetha. Her mother had earlier alleged that the girl may have been kidnapped, following which the district administration widened the scope of the search and investigation.

After three days of continuous search operations, the girl’s body was found on Thursday (April 10).

In connection with the case, four police personnel from Kerala had arrived in Chikkamagaluru.

The search operation was carried out jointly by the police, forest department, fire and emergency services, and SDRF teams. Officials had also deployed thermal drones and a dog squad during the search.

A missing person case had been registered under the jurisdiction of the Rural Police Station.

According to officials, a group of around 40 tourists from Palakkad, Kerala, had arrived in Chikkamagaluru district to visit tourist destinations in the region.

While trekking in the Chandradrona hill range, the girl reportedly got separated from the group and went missing.

As soon as the district administration was informed about the incident on Wednesday, search operations were launched immediately and continued till late night.

More than 30 personnel from the police, fire services, and forest department searched different parts of the hill till 1 am.

However, the operation had to be temporarily suspended due to thick fog and heavy darkness, which affected visibility. The teams returned and resumed the search again the next day, leading to the recovery of the body on the third day.