Kendrapara, Sept 8: A woman and her son have gone missing after they ventured into the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district to collect crabs.

The missing persons have been identified as Anjana Mirdha (45) and her son, Ratindra (18), residents of Debendra Narayanpur village.

As per reports, the incident took place five days ago when the mother-son duo entered the Bhitarkanika National Park to catch crabs, accompanied by fellow villagers Ahalya and Chandra.

While Ahalya and Chandra returned home in the evening, Anjana and Ratindra remained missing.

It is reported that the duo had ventured about 10 kilometers deep into the forest but failed to return. Having entered the forest illegally, their family and fellow villagers have been searching for them ever since.

In the evening, a meeting was held in the village, after which the family approached the Rajnagar police to file a complaint. Locals and family members are actively assisting in the search, with growing suspicions that they may have been dragged away by a crocodile.

The forest department was notified about the incident only last night, and a search operation was initiated today.

Over 10 forest officials, along with Ahalya and Chandra, who had accompanied the missing pair, combed the forest area, but they were unable to locate them.