Missing woman reunited with family, thanks to Google Search and NGO efforts

Thane: A mentally ill woman, hailing from Karnataka and missing for the last one-and-a-half years, has been reunited with her family with the help of Google Search and efforts by a social organisation in Maharashtra, its representatives said on Tuesday.

The woman, a post-graduate hailing from Karwar in Karnataka's Uttara Kannada district, was found in a pitiable state at a locality under Verna police station limits in neighbouring South Goa district on February 5, 2024.

She was subsequently brought to the Savita Ashram, run by the Jeevan Anand Sanstha, at Pandur village in Kudal taluka of Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, the organisation said in a release.

At the ashram, she received medical treatment, counselling and emotional support from the team of caregivers. Slowly, her mental health improved, and she began to recall fragments of her identity, including the name of her hometown, it said.

The ashram trustee, Kisan Choure, then turned to Google Search in an attempt to trace her roots. He managed to located the area where her family resided and contacted the Karwar City Police Station, informing them about her presence at the ashram, the release said.

Coincidentally, her family had already filed a missing person report at the Karwar Women's Police Station.

On Monday, the woman's brother and sister-in-law, accompanied by an official from the Karwar Police Station, visited the ashram and formally took her custody, the release said.