Coimbatore: An elderly woman who went missing from her home was found dead in the Manampally forest range of the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, on Sunday. Her body was found partially consumed by an unidentified carnivore.The deceased was identified as A Innasiyammal, 76, of Sholayar Nagar near the reserve. Officials said Innasiyammal was physically frail and had mobility issues due to her age.The incident came to light after her family reported her missing on Saturday night. Following the alert, the human-animal conflict prevention team of the Manampally forest range launched an intensive search in the surrounding forest area. On Sunday morning, search teams found her remains about 100 meters from her house.Forest department officials said the body had been partially eaten by a carnivorous animal. Preliminary inspection of the site found no signs that the victim had been dragged there. There were also no immediate signs, tracks, or evidence of a struggle or predatory attack at the location.“We are conducting a thorough sweep of the area to identify any pugmarks or forensic evidence. While it is clear that a carnivore consumed part of the body, we are still investigating whether this was a direct predatory attack or whether the animal scavenged the body after she collapsed due to age-related ailments,” a forest official said.The body has been sent for postmortem to determine the exact cause of death.
