Sisters Missing For Two Days Traced Through Social Media Surveillance

Two sisters, who were missing for two days, were traced after officials initiated a conversation with the elder one on her social media account, police said on Monday.

The girls -- one in Class 12 and other in Class 10 -- had not returned home from school on December 16. But after rigorous surveillance, they were found and reunited with their family members on Sunday, an official said.

They ran away as they had scored less marks in their exams, according to police.  

Police managed to find the elder sister's social media account and chatted with her from the account of one of her relatives, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Satyajeet Gupta said.

"We got a reply and dropped a contact number. Police traced the location of the girls in Rishikesh in Uttarakhand. During the online conversation, they were offered financial help and told that if they require money, they would have to come to Meerut (in Uttar Pradesh) to collect it," he said.

They took up the offer and the "sisters were traced and recovered when they were coming to Meerut from Rishikesh", Gupta said.

Police said after the sisters were united with their family members on Sunday, they asked them why they had left home and they said they had scored less marks in their exams. 

The elder sister on her social media account had mentioned that she wanted to become an IPS officer, according to police. 

Gupta said after a missing complaint was lodged on December 16 by their family members at the Malpura police station here, police activated a surveillance team and a special operations group to trace them.

Police analysed footage from CCTV cameras on their school's route and also searched for their social media accounts. It was found that the elder sister had one, the officer said.   

He said according to the complaint, the sisters had left for school at 7:30 am on December 16, but they did not return home.