A two-year-old girl who went missing from a plantation in Kongana village near T. Shettigeri in Ponnampet taluk was found safe after spending the entire night in a coffee estate. The surprising breakthrough came when a pet dog alerted locals to her location.
The child’s parents, Sunil and Nagini, migrant workers from Hunsur taluk, had arrived a few days ago to work at the estate belonging to planter K.K. Ganapathy. On November 29, while the couple was working, the child, who had been playing nearby, went missing.  Fearing an attack by wild animals, the plantation owner immediately informed the Forest Department and police. A joint search operation involving forest personnel, police officials, and local residents was launched, with nearly 80 members participating. However, the search continued through the night without any result, leaving the parents in distress.
Oreo to the rescue
Search efforts resumed the following morning. During the operation, a Planters’s Pet Dog named Oreo began barking on elevated terrain approximately 1.5 km from where the child was last seen. The responders rushed to the spot and found the child safe.
The relieved parents expressed gratitude upon being reunited with their daughter. Officials later stated that the operation may have been delayed because the child had walked silently without crying, making detection difficult. Authorities have appealed to plantation workers to take extra care of young children in such terrains.
