Google Maps and cops from UP help lost Kanpur woman reunite with kin

A 30-year-old woman with mental health issues, who had lost her way and landed up at a government facility in Noida nearly two months ago, was reunited with her family on Friday, officials said.

An official of the anti-human trafficking unit (AHTU) of the Noida police said the woman hailed from Kanpur but was unable, till two days ago, to recall anything which could help them contact her family.

"The woman was found at the Kaushambi bus stand in Ghaziabad on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on October 18. We got a call informing us about her condition after which our team went there and she was lodged at the 'Apna Ghar' ashram in Noida Sector 34 according to due procedures," AHTU in-charge Vinod Panwar said.

"At the facility, we have counselling sessions for all residents who are in similar condition and separated from their families. During one counselling session on Wednesday, this woman was able to recall the name of her village, leading us to track her family," Panwar told PTI.

Once the AHTU officials had this clue, they used Google Maps to look up the village when they came across one in Kanpur district, he said.

"We immediately reached out to the Kanpur police who helped us confirm that this particular village whose name this woman had mentioned falls in their area. The Kanpur police also helped us with the phone number of her village's head after which we could contact her family," Panwar said.

He said once the family was contacted over the phone, her brother confirmed that the woman was undergoing mental health issues and had suddenly gone missing from their home in October.

The family said they were also searching for the woman, who is married and has two children, but were unable to locate her, the official said.

"On Friday, her brother and sister-in-law reached the 'Apna Ghar' ashram in Noida and the woman was handed over to them. All of them were happy," he added.

The AHTU of the Noida police has this year helped reunite more than 70 people who got separated from their families, according to Panwar.