Kothamangalam: Three women who went missing in the dense forest at Attikalam near Kuttampuzha in Kothamangalam were found on Friday morning. The trio was located after a 14-hour-long search inside the forest. The women - Maya, Parukutty, and Darly Stephen went missing after they ventured into the deep forest in search of their cows on Thursday around 2 pm.

Divisional Forest Officer told the media that the women were traced at Arakkamuthi, which is 6 km away from the residential area. They were rescued and taken to the village around 8.40 am. 

The forest and police departments launched an intensive search on Thursday itself. Although a drone was used to trace the women, poor visibility inside the forest due to fog hampered the mission.

Among the trio, Maya had phoned their relatives on Thursday around 4.45 p.m. and told them that they had seen a herd of elephants and were trying to escape from it. She informed her relatives that they were trapped in the Njeriyil area near a check dam and were sitting on a rock to hide from the elephants. Her phone was turned off after the call.

A police official told Manorama News that three groups of forest officials and tribal groups were deployed for the search operations. It is suspected that they lost their way after venturing into the deep forest.