Published Apr 10, 2026 | 6:10 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 10, 2026 | 6:10 PM
Sreenanda was last seen alive around 5.20 pm on 7 April. By 5.30 pm, she was gone.
Synopsis: Police located Sreenanda’s body roughly 1,500 feet below the viewpoint in the Chandradrona hill ranges, not far from where she was last seen on the evening of 7 April. Officials said the terrain was steep and difficult, and efforts were underway to retrieve the body.
The search for 15-year-old Sreenanda, a Class 10 student from Kadambazhipuram, at Ottappalam in Palakkad, ended on Friday, 10 April, after her body was found deep inside a valley near the Manikyadhara waterfalls in Chikkamagaluru.
The discovery came after nearly three days of an intense, multi-agency search that had gripped both Kerala and Karnataka, raising fears, fuelling speculation, and leaving her family clinging to hope until the very end.
Police located Sreenanda’s body roughly 1,500 feet below the viewpoint in the Chandradrona hill ranges, not far from where she was last seen on the evening of 7 April. Officials said the terrain was steep and difficult, and efforts were underway to retrieve the body.
While early indications suggest a possible accidental fall, investigators have not ruled out other angles.
“The body has been identified. It may be an accident, but we are examining all possibilities,” a police officer said.
The area where she went missing is heavily barricaded, with limited access routes. Yet, the fact that her body was found in a location that had reportedly been searched earlier has raised fresh questions.
Sreenanda had travelled to Karnataka with around 40 relatives and family friends on a leisure trip. The group had first visited Hampi on 5 April, staying there for two days before heading to Chikkamagaluru on 7 April.
They reached the Manikyadhara waterfalls area later that day in five jeeps.
According to relatives, the location was relatively quiet at the time, with only about 10 other visitors present besides their group.
After taking a group photograph around 5.20 pm, the family began descending from the viewpoint. Within minutes, Sreenanda disappeared.
Relatives said she had been taking pictures with two other children shortly before she went missing.
“She was with us just minutes earlier. We realised she was missing within 10 minutes and began searching immediately,” a family member recalled.
The timeline has remained one of the most puzzling aspects of the case.
Sreenanda was last seen around 5.20 pm on 7 April. By 5.30 pm, she was gone.
Family members said she could not be seen in photographs taken around 5.35 pm, suggesting she vanished within a narrow window of less than 15 minutes—possibly even within four minutes, as some relatives estimate.
The group searched in the immediate vicinity before alerting authorities.
Initial efforts focused on nearby slopes and pathways where she might have slipped.
What followed was a large-scale search involving local police, fire force personnel, forest officials, disaster response teams and dog squads. Drones equipped with thermal imaging were deployed to scan deep sections of the valley, initially up to 300 feet.
As days passed without any breakthrough, the operation expanded. Nearly 60 search teams were mobilised, with additional teams sent to neighbouring areas and even other states to track any possible clues.
Police also examined CCTV footage from check posts and nearby roads. Around 240 vehicles that had been in the area that day were identified and scrutinised. Officers tracked vehicles that left the parking area before 6 pm, hoping for clues.
Despite the exhaustive efforts, there were no leads in the first two days.
With no trace of the teenager, suspicion of foul play began to grow.
Sreenanda’s family strongly believed that she may have been abducted.
Her mother, speaking to the media during the search, expressed fear that her daughter could have been drugged and taken away.
“Someone might have noticed her, and when she was alone, they could have abducted her,” she said, her voice breaking.
Based on the family’s complaint, police registered a case under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, citing suspicion of kidnapping. Investigators began exploring all possible angles, including abduction.
Relatives pointed out that the spot was not isolated enough for someone to fall unnoticed, especially since several members of the group were nearby. One family member claimed that Sreenanda’s parents had been standing close to the area where her body was eventually found.
“They were right there. If she had fallen at that time, they would have seen or heard something,” the relative said.
Another factor adding to the mystery is that the area where the body was found had reportedly been searched earlier during the operation.
Family members have questioned how the body was not spotted during those searches, especially when teams had combed the valley extensively with drones and personnel.
Police, however, pointed out the challenges posed by the terrain. Dense vegetation, rocky cliffs and deep crevices could have made it difficult to locate the body immediately.
As the case drew attention in Kerala, a team from the Palakkad police travelled to Chikkamagaluru to assist with the investigation and coordinate with Karnataka authorities.
About 15 members of Sreenanda’s family had remained at the site throughout the search, while elderly relatives were sent back home.
Senior officials, including district authorities and police leadership, monitored the search operations closely.
Instructions were issued at the state level to intensify efforts as days passed without results.
Sreenanda was described by relatives as a bright and cheerful student who had just completed her Class 10 board examinations. She had been looking forward to a break after her exams and had joined the family trip with excitement.
Her father runs a steel door business in Kadambazhipuram, while her mother works as an accountant.
She also has an elder brother who stayed back home to prepare for his diploma examinations.
The news of her death has left her hometown in shock.
Even as police lean towards the possibility of an accidental fall, the investigation remains open. Officials said forensic examinations and further inquiries, including a post-mortem, will help determine what exactly happened in the crucial minutes after Sreenanda was last seen.
The girl’s relatives, meanwhile, raised concerns over the circumstances surrounding her death, calling it mysterious.
Her uncle, Sasikumar, told the media that the condition of the body did not suggest it had been there for long, deepening their suspicions. He also alleged lapses in the investigation, noting that although a dog squad was pressed into action, the sniffers traced routes only up to nearby shops and no thorough search was conducted in the area where the body was eventually found — a depression near the parking ground.
Relatives insisted that Sreenanda had not gone to that location during the trip.
For her family, the questions remain deeply unsettling. What happened in those few minutes? Could it have been prevented? And why did it take days to find her?
The answers may emerge in the days ahead. For now, the focus shifts to completing legal formalities and bringing her back home—ending a search that began with hope and ended in grief.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
