A 78-year-old woman who went missing from her house in Kozhikode’s Kodancherry was found a week later by local residents in a nearby forest area. Eliamma, who has memory loss, went missing on September 25 from her house. She was living with her two sons and their families. She was found after the local residents formed a task force and undertook a search for the elderly woman.
Though the police conducted a search soon after Eliamma went missing, they were not able to find her. Following this, Kodancherry panchayat representatives and local residents formed a task force to look for her. “The task force and police searched for Eliamma immediately after she went missing. We never stopped, people kept on searching for her. When days passed we were concerned, but we had faith that she wouldn’t have gone too far,” said Augusthy Vettickamalayil, Theyyappara ward member, Kodancherry panchayat.
Though the police had stopped the search, they restarted it on Thursday, September 30. Along with them, a task force formed by locals also joined. They found Eliamma in a hilly forested area near some rocks, surrounded by bushes, on Friday, October 1. “Though she hadn’t eaten for so many days, she had somehow survived. We have no idea whether she managed to get something to eat or drink all these days. She was found around 3 km from home,” Augusthy added.
Eliamma
Though Eliamma was a bit tired, she regained her health after hospitalisation. When she was found, she had not been in a position to walk or to talk. “Today (Saturday) she is feeling much better, she started talking and looked cheerful,” Augusthy said.
Augusthy said that Eliamma was found because a lot of local people came forward and took part in the search without giving up. “Local residents and police split up into teams to search for her. One such team of three local people found her,” he said.