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After the rescue, the 36-year-old told reporters she “lost her way somehow” but never felt afraid.

Appearing calm and composed, Sharanya, a resident of Nadapuram in Kozhikode district of Kerala, recounted how she survived alone in the dense forest with limited resources and fading hope of contact. “I could not see anyone when I climbed down. I came to a left-side path but could not find anyone.”

With just a 500-ml bottle of water and no mobile connectivity, she said she tried contacting a colleague before her phone ran out of charge. “I walked till around 6.45 pm on the first day after losing the path. After that, I stayed in an open space near a stream,” she said.

“In the days that followed, I kept walking expecting to meet someone,” she said, adding, “I did not feel scared. I don’t know why.”

Sharanya was eventually spotted by the rescuers in a remote patch of the forest “where nobody usually goes”, according to members of the rescue team.

The trek spans about 4 km to Tadiandamol, Karnataka’s third-highest peak at 1,748 metres. Sharanya had travelled independently and was staying at a nearby homestay.

Minister Khandre said a massive multi-agency search operation was carried out in Kodagu district to trace the missing trekker after she did not return to the base point on April 2. She was part of a scheduled trek organised under the Madikeri Forest Division, which included 15 participants and an authorised nature guide.

Sharanya had told her team over phone that she was lost and was unable to find her way back. The forest department initiated operations around 2 pm on April 2, with police also joining the effort. The search was intensified into a full-fledged mission involving nearly 70 personnel from the police, Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), forest staff and local volunteers.

Twelve dedicated search teams were formed to comb the area. Advanced technology, including thermal imaging drones, mobile phone tracking, call data record analysis and sniffer dogs were deployed, according to the forest department. Local tribals and forest staff coordinated efforts during the rescue operation.

—With inputs from PTI