Karnataka: Trekker from Bengaluru goes missing from Kumaraparvatha

MANGALURU: One trekker went missing on Sunday was a part of the twelve trekking team who arrived from Bengaluru to explore Karnataka's Kumaraparvatha. The missing trekker has been identified as Santhosh, 25, a techie from Gayatri Nagar in Bengaluru.
Abhishek, one of the trekking team members, said that the group was trekking the area for the first time. The team left Bengaluru on Saturday to reach Subrahmanya the next morning and started trekking at 7am. After trekking for about 5-6 kilometers, they came in touch with the forest department. Since it was 12.30pm they could not get permission to trek further. Trekking was allowed on the route only in the morning, he said.
They pitched tents in the area and after spending a night, started trekking the peak the next morning. They were divided into two groups of six members each. One group managed to reach the peak, while the other failed to reach the peak and returned to Bhatramane. Similarly, the group that reached the peak returned by about 4pm. Santhosh was part of the team that reached the peak, but he left the place slightly early as we stopped to wear raincoats. The rest of the members after lunch left Bhatramane by 4.30pm, said Abhishek.
“This was when we lost contact with Santhosh. We assumed that he had gone ahead only to find out at the end point that he was missing. We suspect that Santhosh has lost his way. On our return, we heard a group of trekkers screaming that they heard a tiger roar. But forest officials doubted the presence of a tiger in the area as cameras are installed everywhere. We informed the forest officials and searched the area around,” he said.
On Monday, the team with the help of forest officials searched the area but when they could find Santhosh anywhere, a complaint was registered with the Subrahmanya police.
Meanwhile, the five teams comprising of forest and police officials have been formed and will commence search operation from 6am on Tuesday.