Three days after Chennai-based model Gaanam Nair went missing, a viral social media campaign helped investigators find the 28-year-old in Nungambakkam.
Facebook and Twitter were flooded with posters of Gaanam, who went missing after she left her home in Virugambakkam on May 27. She works in a salon in Nungambakkam as a marketing manager but on Friday, she never reached her workplace, leaving friends and family worried.
Following a 'missing person' complaint that was filed in the KK Nagar police station on Monday, police were conducting inquiries at Gaanam's workplace, when they received a tip off. Someone, who had seen the 28-year-old on Nungambakkam High Road alerted Gaanam's friends after seeing posters of her on social media. The police immediately went in pursuit of Gaanam and found her riding her bike on the route to her house.
They then followed her back home to safety. "She had been thinking about her deceased mother a lot, these past couple of weeks. She was really distressed. She just needed some time away from everything," a friend of the model told The News Minute. He thanked everyone who displayed concern and helped spread the message.
While social media proves useful in cases like Gaanam Nair in helping spread the message far and wide, the only problem with distress messages floating on platforms like Facebook and Twitter is that they have no real expiry date. Sometimes, messages for blood donation or missing people circulates for days. The only way you can rectify that is by deleting the message or updating your status once the issue has been resolved.
Gaanam,28 yrs.Missing since 26/5/17 morning in chennai.if any info pls contact mahija(aunt)9940081367. Pls RT to max to find her #missing pic.twitter.com/H7o1kFwSLj
— Adhik Ravichandran (@Adhikravi) May 28, 2017
Good News! #GaanamNair who was found missing couple of days ago in #Chennai has returned home safely! pic.twitter.com/HHqfe6qTvK
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) May 29, 2017
