No Food, Phone Dead: How Lost Kerala Techie Survived 4 Days In Wild

"I have lost my path" - this was the last message a Kerala techie sent before her phone died during a trek in Karnataka. She then sat on a large rock by a stream, hoping for someone to find her. With no food in her backpack and an empty water bottle, Sharanya spent the next four days waiting for rescue. She walked out of the dense forest on Sunday.

GS Sharanya, a 36-year-old IT professional and a native of Nadapuram in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, set out to climb Thadiyandamol, the highest peak in Kodagu, Karnataka.

"I reached on Wednesday and booked a homestay in a nearby village. The next morning, on Thursday, I reached the check post and began trekking at around 8 am," recalls Sharanya.

The techie was accompanied by a group of 12 people. Together, they reached the peak by 10:40 am and soon started to climb down. It was then that she lost the path. 

The Thadiyandamol trek is considered an easy one and Sharanya decided to complete it early to be able to travel to other nearby places.

"I was moving ahead with two of the trekkers, but I was moving a little faster and as a result, I got separated from them. When I looked back, I saw them sitting on a rock, so I decided to wait but when I looked back again, they were nowhere to be seen. I tried looking for other trekkers, who were on the top, towards my left. I decided to join them there but by the time I reached the pitstop, they were nowhere to be found," Sharanya said.

GS Sharanya, a 36-year-old IT professional from Kerala.

The Kerala techie tried following footprints and tracing the path back to the group but ended up deep in a dense forest.

The homestay owner, who was waiting for her at the check post, called her just before her phone died.

"I told him I had lost my way and asked him to inform the authorities," she added.

Sharanya said she tried texting a friend, asking for help, but her phone died before she could hit the send button.

"After my phone switched off around 2:45 pm while descending, I had no communication. I tried shouting, but I didn't hear any human voices or responses during those days."

Sharanya then sat on a big rock near a narrow stream, hoping for a miraculous escape. The trekker was carrying a 500 ml water bottle which she refilled from the stream.

"I didn't carry food since it was considered an easy trek. I survived on three litres of water every day."

Stranded in a forest, where wild animals like elephants are sighted frequently, Sharanya said "surprisingly she wasn't very scared."

"At night, there were sounds from different directions, which made me a bit tense, but I managed. I didn't even feel hungry during those days. Even now, I don't feel hungry."

She was eventually spotted by a group of locals in a remote patch of the forest "where nobody usually goes", according to members of the rescue team.

Sharanya said "surprisingly she wasn't very scared."

In an emotional reunion, she was met by two of her uncles, a brother, and her office colleagues.

Sharanya, who works for an IT company in Kochi, said she is not deterred by this experience and will continue to trek.