Mysuru: The search for a 15-year-old student from Palakkad, who went missing during a family holiday in Chikkamagaluru, has entered its third day without success. Sreenanda, daughter of Ramesh and Rohini from Kadampazhipuram in Palakkad, disappeared on Tuesday evening.

Extensive search operations continued through Thursday at the Manikyadhara Falls and Baba Budan Giri hills, where she was last seen. Authorities deployed thermal drones to scan depths of up to 300 feet in the Baba Budan hills, yet no trace of the teenager has been found.

Sreenanda was with her parents until 5.20 pm on Tuesday; however, she vanished from the tour group within a mere four-minute window. Suspecting that their daughter may have been abducted, her parents filed a formal complaint with the Chikmagalur North Police on Thursday, urging immediate action. Sreenanda was part of a large travel group consisting of approximately 40 family members.

The rescue operations are being personally supervised by Chikmagalur Deputy Commissioner N M Nagaraja and Police Superintendent Jitendra Kumar Dayama. The search party includes the Rapid Action Force (RAF), Disaster Management teams, Forest officials, police and Fire Brigade personnel. Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar B Khandre has also instructed officials to intensify the search.

The incident draws parallels to the previous disappearance of Sharanya, a Malayali IT professional who went missing while trekking in Coorg. After a massive four-day search, she was eventually rescued by members of a local tribal community. The Karnataka state government is currently maintaining a highly proactive approach in the efforts to locate Sreenanda.