80-yr-old woman, who left home after son's death, reunited with family after 3 decades in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar

Thane: An 80-year-old woman, who went missing from her home in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district 30 years ago, has been reunited with her family, thanks to efforts made by staff at the Thane Mental Hospital, an official said on Wednesday.

Three decades ago, the woman's 13-year-old son tragically died due to an electric shock after climbing a tamarind tree.

Overcome with grief and unable to cope up with the loss, the woman left her home in a distressed state and went missing, Thane Mental Hospital's superintendent Dr Netaji Mulik said.

The woman later reached Nashik, where she wandered in the Panchvati locality for years.

Two years ago, the Nashik police found her in a deteriorated physical and mental condition.

After realising that she had a memory loss, they shifted her to the Thane Mental Hospital for care and treatment, the official said.

At the hospital, the medical team provided her a comprehensive treatment. Once she showed signs of improvement, the team began working to establish her identity and locate her family.

The process was challenging as the woman's recollections of her past were vague and fragmented, Dr Mulik said.

Despite not much success initially, the hospital staff gradually pieced together clues about her hometown, contacted the police in Ahmednagar, located about 250 km from here, and traced her relatives there, he said.

After receiving information, the woman's family members, including her daughter-in-law, cousins and nephews, visited the hospital here on January 17 and met her for the first time in 30 years.

"We are deeply touched by the extraordinary care and dedication of the medical team," a family member said.

The family has taken the woman back to Ahmednagar.

"Seeing the family together again is our greatest reward," Dr Mulik said.