Massive Search for Missing Toddler in Andhra Pradesh Continues
Kakinada: Thirteen days. More than 400 personnel. A Rs 1 lakh reward. Thermal drones scanning the dense terrain, investigators analyzing CCTV footage and mobile tower data, camera traps hidden in the jungle, and even dolls stuffed with meat to lure predators. Yet two-year-old Sunkara Gnaneswari remains untraced, turning her disappearance into one of the largest and most extraordinary search operations Andhra Pradesh has witnessed in recent years.
Her parents, S Ganesh and Bhavani, work as caretakers and farm laborers at a 50-acre palm oil plantation in Ch Agraharam village in Kakinada district. On June 6, as Bhavani cooked and Ganesh ran errands, each believed the other was watching their daughter. A few hours later, both parents realized their mistake – the toddler was gone.
Rescue team placed two dolls stuffed with meat near the plantation's iron fence, hoping to attract and camera-trap any predator that might have taken the child. A villager spotted the girl near a hill that same afternoon with the family's pet dog at her side. He tried to approach and bring her home, but the fierce animal prevented him from getting close. Believing the child was safe, he informed the family and left. It was only later that the family realized she was missing.
What followed was an escalating, almost cinematic search effort. Local police formed ten special teams. The state disaster response force deployed 40 personnel to comb water bodies, pits, and rough terrain. Forest department wildlife experts from the Nagarjuna Sagar Tiger Reserve were brought in to navigate the dense jungle. Drones, including thermal-imaging drones, swept the area at night in search of body heat signatures. Investigators examined footage from 38 CCTV cameras and analyzed more than 170 phone records in the hope of finding a clue, but only in vain.
For the uninformed, located nearly 20 kilometers away from Tuni, Ch. Agraharam lies on the edge of the dense, hilly scrub forests of the Nallakonda range, surrounded by vast plantations, mango orchards, and cashew groves. The difficult terrain and thick vegetation have posed major challenges for search teams.
Then, on June 9, came a strange twist. The dog that had stayed with Gnaneswari when she disappeared returned home alone. It was aggressive and refused to eat. CCTV footage later showed that the animal had itself gone missing nearly an hour from the time of the child's disappearance, wandering along the main road and appearing visibly distressed near a temple. Where it went after that, and for the next two days, remains a mystery. More puzzlingly, it returned home by a completely different route from the one the child was believed to have taken.
Investigators treated the animal as the last living witness to the toddler's whereabouts. On June 12, they fitted the dog with a GPS tracker and released it, hoping instinct would guide it back to the missing child. The dog wandered several kilometers through orchards and dense terrain before returning home severely weakened. It died shortly afterward.
As the days passed without a breakthrough, the search operation only expanded. Deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan personally intervened, directing a 30-member NDRF team into the operation.
With no significant leads after 10 days, investigators turned to unconventional methods. They placed two dolls stuffed with meat near the plantation's iron fence, hoping to attract and camera-trap any predator that might have taken the child. So far, however, no signs of wild animals – not even pythons – have been found on the hill, leading officials to suspect that the intense human activity may have driven wildlife away from the area.
Police are now pursuing three theories simultaneously: a predator attack, abduction, or an accidental fall into a well, pit, or water body. Investigators are scrutinizing a nomadic group that had camped nearby weeks before the disappearance, checking railway and bus stations, and cross-referencing phone numbers from previous child-disappearance cases across the state. Teams have also questioned seasonal cashew-collecting communities that frequent the region.
Kakinada SP G Bindu Madhav said the search operation was continuing with the involvement of local police, NDRF teams, and specialized forest department personnel. "We are investigating all possible angles, including whether the child may have fallen victim to a wild animal or was taken away by someone. The police machinery is using all available resources to trace the missing child," said Madhav.
Meanwhile, the ordeal has taken an emotional toll on the family. The child's mother Bhavani said they were initially hopeful when the dog returned home and believed it would help search teams locate their daughter. "We lost confidence after the dog died. Now, our only hope is the police department. They have worked tirelessly to trace our child so far, and we believe they will continue their efforts and bring her back to us," she said. Bhavani also expressed concern that several people claiming they could locate the child through rituals and occult practices had been visiting the family over the past two days, adding to their distress.
Home minister Vangalapudi Anitha, who visited the family, said the government was treating the case with the utmost seriousness. "The government has remained fully alert. We are thoroughly investigating every possible lead," she said.
Even as officials continue to search, speculation has grown among locals. Some residents suspect foul play. Others believe the child may have been attacked by wild boars and her remains carried away. Another theory circulating locally is that she may have accidentally come into contact with electric fencing installed to deter wild boars and that those responsible may have concealed the evidence.
For now, however, none of those theories has been substantiated. Nearly two weeks after Gnaneswari vanished into the forests surrounding Ch. Agraharam, the search continues, and so does the hope that Andhra Pradesh's largest missing-child operation in recent years will finally yield an answer.
