Udupi: Police efforts to trace missing persons in Udupi district continue, with 72 people still untraced, according to official statistics. The missing include young men and women, as well as people aged above 35, leaving families worried about their whereabouts and safety.
Over the past few months, several missing-person cases have been reported at police stations across the district. Some involve young women who recently turned 18 and reportedly left home to attend tailoring or coaching classes, or to visit relatives, but did not return.
Families have been approaching the police, seeking help to locate their children and relatives. The circumstances surrounding the disappearances vary, with preliminary investigations pointing to personal relationships, family disputes, financial difficulties and employment-related problems in some cases.
Love affairs and family problems among reported reasons
Preliminary police investigations indicate that some young women may have left home over love affairs. Some young men who were expected to support their families have also reportedly left home with their partners.
Other reported cases involve people who allegedly left due to harassment by creditors, family problems and difficulties related to employment. The district has also recorded cases involving workers who came from other districts and states for employment and subsequently went missing along with their children.
The incidents have heightened anxiety among parents and relatives, who are concerned about the circumstances in which their loved ones disappeared. Some families have expressed fears about the possibility of exploitation under the pretext of love or whether any of the missing individuals could have become involved with anti-national organisations.
However, such concerns do not establish that the missing persons have been subjected to exploitation or involved in unlawful activities. Police investigations and efforts to trace those who remain missing are continuing.
The missing-person cases are not confined to teenagers and young adults. People aged above 35 have also been reported missing, highlighting the varied circumstances behind the cases registered in the district.
Police have traced several individuals reported missing. In some cases, those who were located were found to have married, according to the information available.
All missing minors traced
The official figures for 2024, 2025 and 2026 show that police have traced all minors reported missing during the period.
Among boys below 18 years of age, 16 went missing in 2024, 15 in 2025 and seven so far in 2026. All 38 boys reported missing across these three periods have been traced.
The figures for girls below 18 show 16 missing cases in 2024, 18 in 2025 and 19 so far in 2026. Police have traced all the girls reported missing during these years, accounting for 53 cases.
The figures indicate that the missing-person cases among minors have been resolved, although cases involving adults remain pending.
59 men and 13 women remain untraced
Among men aged above 18, Udupi district recorded 148 missing cases in 2024, 122 in 2025 and 85 so far in 2026.
Of these, police traced 134 men in 2024, 105 in 2025 and 59 in 2026. The figures leave 14 cases pending from 2024, 17 from 2025 and 26 from 2026, taking the total number of untraced men to 57 based on the year-wise data provided.
Among women, 112 went missing in 2024, 73 in 2025 and 67 so far in 2026. Police traced 110 women in 2024, 72 in 2025 and 57 in 2026.
The year-wise figures indicate that two cases remain pending from 2024, one from 2025 and 10 from 2026, accounting for 13 women yet to be traced.
The figures for adult men and women underline the continuing challenge faced by the police in locating people reported missing. While several cases have been resolved, families of those still untraced continue to wait for information.
Police form team to trace missing persons
A police team has been formed to trace those whose whereabouts remain unknown. The team is working to locate the missing individuals and address the concerns of their families.
Udupi district Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar said police had confirmed that none of the people who went missing and were subsequently traced had been involved in illegal activities or had joined anti-national organisations.
His statement addresses one of the concerns raised by some families amid the continuing search for their missing relatives. However, the whereabouts of those who remain untraced are yet to be established.
The police have urged continued attention to missing-person cases, while the available figures show that efforts are still required to resolve the pending cases involving adults.
For families, the wait for news of a missing relative can be deeply distressing. The formation of a dedicated police team offers a channel for continued investigation, but tracing the remaining 72 people remains a key task for the district police.