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Udupi police traced a man who went missing from Malpe since 14 years

By Editor

Posted on October 10, 2025

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Udupi police traced a man who went missing from Malpe since 14 years

Udupi : The Udupi police have traced Santosh, a 26-year-old mentally challenged man who went missing from a child care centre in Malpe 14 years ago.

The police said Santosh resided at Sri Krishnanugraha Fit Institute and Adoption Centre at Vasundhara Nagar, Malpe. As per the complaint filed by Marina Elizabeth, the coordinator of the institution, Santosh went missing on February 23, 2011 from his room where he was sleeping. The Udupi Town police had registered a complaint.

The special investigating team formed to trace missing persons worked on various leads that led to a boy named Bipin, residing at Vijetha Special School in Karkala since 2018. The boy’s facial features, age, and mannerisms closely resembled that of Santosh. The team took Marina Elizabeth and Shanti, a senior staffer at the Malpe institution, to Vijetha Special School. The two observed the boy’s features and expressions, identifying him as Santosh.

Since the boy was mentally challenged and unable to provide details of his parents, the Udupi District Child Welfare Committee has directed the police to ensure that he continues staying at Vijetha Special School until his biological parents or guardians are traced.

The special team comprised of Deputy Superintendent of Police D.T. Prabhu, Sub-Inspectors Sudarshan Dodamani and Eranna Shiragumpi, Head Constables Imran and Chetan, and police constables Santosh Devadiga and Mallayya Hiremath. For the past two months, the team has been working to trace children who have been missing for more than 15 years.

On Wednesday, October 8, the team traced Ananthakrishna Prabhu, an interior designer, who was reported missing 13 years ago.