Missing Andhra girl: NDRF joins search as pet dog dies after 80 km trek
Synopsis
A two-year-old girl has been missing for eight days in Kakinada's forests, and the one lead investigators had — her GPS-tracked pet dog — has died after an 80 km journey without revealing her location. With NDRF now deployed and 400 personnel on the ground, the case is deepening into one of Andhra Pradesh's most baffling child disappearance searches in recent memory.
Key Takeaways
Sunkara Gnaneswari , aged 2 , has been missing since 6 June from a palm oil plantation in Ch.
Agraharam, Tuni mandal, Kakinada district .
The NDRF joined the search on 14 June on the orders of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan .
Over 400 personnel from NDRF, SDRF, police, fire, revenue, and forest departments are now involved.
The family's pet dog, fitted with a GPS tracker on 12 June , walked nearly 80 km before dying on 13 June ; its body has been sent for post-mortem.
Footage from 38 CCTV cameras has been reviewed; the district administration has announced a reward of ₹1 lakh for credible leads.
State Home Minister V.
Anitha is closely monitoring the operation and in regular contact with district officials.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Sunday, 14 June joined the search for Sunkara Gnaneswari, a two-year-old girl missing since 6 June from a palm oil plantation in Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh. The deployment came on the directions of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, as the eight-day search operation entered a critical phase with over 400 personnel now on the ground.
How the Search Has Escalated
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) had already been part of the operation, with a 40-member team working alongside police, revenue, fire, and forest department personnel. The NDRF's entry marks a significant escalation in the scale of the hunt. Authorities are deploying advanced drones and have reviewed footage from 38 CCTV cameras installed around the girl's home. The Kakinada district administration has announced a reward of ₹1 lakh for anyone who provides credible information leading to the child.
The Pet Dog's Mysterious Journey and Death
The search operation suffered a major setback on Saturday, 13 June, when the family's pet dog — the last known companion of the missing child — died after returning home from the surrounding orchards. According to officials, the dog had been fitted with a GPS tracker on 12 June in the hope that its movements would lead rescuers to Gnaneswari. Tracking data indicated the animal had walked nearly 80 km since going missing.
The dog had returned home on 9 June — without the girl — and had reportedly been behaving erratically and refusing food ever since. Officials suspect the animal may have contracted a virus, and its body has been sent for post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death. The GPS trail yielded no actionable clues before the dog's death.
What Happened on 6 June
Gnaneswari had accompanied her parents, Sunkara Ganesh and Bhavani, who work as caretakers at a palm oil plantation in Ch. Agraharam village, Tuni mandal. The child went missing due to a miscommunication between the couple — each believed the other had brought her home from the plantation. When they reached home and realised she was absent, they began searching.
A villager reportedly spotted the girl near a hill with the pet dog that same evening and attempted to bring her back, but the dog reportedly barked aggressively and blocked his approach. The parents filed a missing persons complaint with Tuni police the following day, 7 June, triggering the multi-agency search.
Government Response and Oversight
Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan personally spoke with Kakinada district Superintendent of Police G. Bindu Madhav by phone, directing that NDRF teams be deployed in addition to ongoing SDRF and police operations. He also advised authorities to enlist forest department night watchers, base camp watchers, and jungle-terrain experts to conduct intensive searches in the dense forest areas surrounding the village.
State Home Minister V. Anitha is closely monitoring the situation and has maintained regular contact with district officials. As the search enters its ninth day, authorities are widening the perimeter and intensifying efforts in forested zones, with the fate of the toddler still unknown.
Point of View
With 400 personnel, drones, and 38 CCTV feeds yielding nothing, the operation raises hard questions about the adequacy of early-response protocols when children go missing in plantation and forest-adjacent areas. The delay between the child going missing on the evening of 6 June and the formal police complaint on 7 June — a gap created by parental miscommunication — likely cost investigators critical hours in a terrain where trails go cold fast. The NDRF deployment, while welcome, is arriving well into the search window.
NationPress
1 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sunkara Gnaneswari and when did she go missing?
Sunkara Gnaneswari is a two-year-old girl from Ch. Agraharam village in Tuni mandal, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh. She went missing on 6 June from a palm oil plantation where her parents, Sunkara Ganesh and Bhavani, work as caretakers.
Why did the pet dog die and how is it connected to the search?
The family's pet dog, which was with Gnaneswari when she disappeared, returned home alone on 9 June and had been behaving strangely and refusing food. Police fitted it with a GPS tracker on 12 June to trace the girl through its movements, but it died on 13 June after reportedly travelling nearly 80 km. Officials suspect a viral infection; the body has been sent for post-mortem examination.
How many personnel are involved in the search for the missing girl?
Over 400 personnel are currently engaged in the search, including NDRF and SDRF teams, police, fire, revenue, and forest department staff. A 40-member SDRF team was already on the ground before the NDRF joined on 14 June.
What reward has been announced for information about the missing child?
The Kakinada district administration has announced a reward of ₹1 lakh for anyone who provides credible information or clues that lead to the recovery of Sunkara Gnaneswari.
What directions has Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan given for the search?
Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan spoke directly with Kakinada Superintendent of Police G. Bindu Madhav and directed that NDRF teams be deployed alongside existing SDRF and police operations. He also advised enlisting forest department night watchers, base camp watchers, and terrain experts to conduct intensive searches in surrounding forest areas.
