4 min readMumbaiJul 17, 2026 07:18 AM IST
First published on: Jul 14, 2026 at 04:31 PM IST
When a 42-year-old woman was admitted to the Regional Mental Hospital (RMH), Nagpur, in March this year, officials knew almost nothing about her. She was suffering from mental illness, spoke only Tamil and could not explain who she was, where she had come from or how she had reached Maharashtra.
What they did not know then was that she had been missing from her home in Tamil Nadu for more than two-and-a-half years — and that her family had eventually accepted she was dead.
Her husband had died a few days after she disappeared, and after months of searching without any trace of her, the family had stopped hoping she would return.
Four months later, after a painstaking search involving Google Translate, hospital staff, police, government officials and an NGO across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the woman — Lakshmi (name changed) — was reunited with her son.
Lakshmi was admitted to the hospital on March 11, 2026, after being rescued by the Bhadravati Police in Chandrapur district. Officials said they were never able to establish how she travelled from Tamil Nadu to Maharashtra. Doctors said people suffering from severe mental illness often wander over long distances, sometimes across state borders, and are unable to retrace or explain their journeys.
The biggest obstacle in identifying Lakshmi, however, was the language barrier. “Since the patient spoke only Tamil, it was extremely difficult to understand the information she provided,” officials said.
The breakthrough came when hospital staff sought help from junior doctor Naveen and used Google Translate to understand snippets of what Lakshmi was saying. As more details emerged, legal officers P. Ratna and V. Kannalu from Andhra Pradesh helped interpret her conversations, eventually leading officials to Sibi Adithya Senthil Kumar, IAS, District Collector of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu.
Even then, the search stalled. Although the Cuddalore Police searched the area based on the details Lakshmi had provided, they struggled to verify the information because of the language barrier. The task was then handed over to Oasis Trust for the Handicapped.
Its Managing Director and CEO, Lenin Prabhakar, and his team searched across Cuddalore without success. It was only after hospital official Kunda Katekhaye (Bidkar) requested the NGO team to speak directly with Lakshmi once again that investigators got the final clue. Her son was traced the very next day.
When Gajendiran saw his mother after more than two-and-a-half years, he broke down. “A few days after my mother went missing, my father passed away. We searched for mom everywhere but could not find her. Eventually, we accepted that she was no longer alive. Seeing my mother alive today after over 2.5 years is the happiest moment of my life.”
For those involved in tracing Lakshmi’s family, the reunion marked the end of months of effort across three states.
Recalling Lakshmi’s farewell, Kunda Katekhaye (Bidkar) said the language barrier remained until the very end. “As Lakshmi was leaving for her home, I could feel that she may have wanted to tell me so much. I understood the emotions in her eyes, but I could not understand her language. We simply stood looking at each other in silence.”
“After a few moments, she walked outside, returned with a few roses, and gently placed them in my hair. Without speaking a single word, she expressed more than words ever could. My eyes filled with tears. I simply watched her as she walked away with her son.”
A woman missing for over two-and-a-half years is reunited with her family after officials at Nagpur's Regional Mental Hospital, police, government authorities and an NGO traced her identity across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. (Special Arrangements) 
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