The body of a software engineer, 24, from Hyderabad, who worked in a Pune-based IT company, was found in a valley around 300-ft deep in Lonavala on Sunday. Alizha Rana was missing since Thursday and was located after her purse and mobile phone were found in Lonavala. The search operation went on for over 90 hours. Police said Rana worked at Infosys and stayed on rent at Hinjewadi. Her parents had filed a missing complaint on Thursday. Her purse and mobile were located at Lion point in Lonavala on Thursday evening. Acting on this clue, the local police along with 32 trekkers from Shivdurg Mitra, a trekking group, found her.

Team of 32 trekkers

Shivdurg secretary Sunil Gaikwad said, "Late on Thursday evening, the Lonavala police informed us about Rana, but as there was continuous rain and fog it was not possible to search for her. On Friday our team of 32 trekkers carried out the search operation till late evening but could not trace her. As there were heavy rains and fog on Saturday again we could not search for her." "Early on Sunday, trekkers Rahul Deshmukh and Pranay Ambore, went down rappelling in two different locations and we co-ordinated with them on walkie talkies. Around 3 pm Rahul located her body. Later, other trekkers, Mahesh Masne, Anil Andhare, Amol Perchant and Rahul, went back for the body. It took us around three hours to pull her out," he added.