After a long search, the bodies of a dad and his two kids have been found, but many troubling mysteries of the case are still yet to be solved. The trio was initially reported as missing, but 12 days after their last contact it was discovered that all three family members had tragically died.
Dad Kumaraswamy, 39, was reported missing on April 19 alongside his son Advith, 9, and daughter Akshara, 7. It turned out that the last contact with them had been two days prior, when Kumaraswamy called his dad at around 9pm before turning his phone off and becoming untraceable.
He and his kids were found dead in their car, which was submerged in water in a canal. Authorities investigating the deaths suspect the worst, claiming that the dad may have driven himself and his children into the canal on purpose after a dispute at home.
They’re still figuring out his motives, but unearthed a detail which suggested that his troubling behaviour might not have been fully out of character.
The case began in Krishnarajanagara, a town in the Karnataka state of India. On April 17 Kumaraswamy called his dad saying he was on his way home from a visit to a nearby dam. He then turned his phone off and wasn’t heard from again, according to The Times of India.
The outlet reports that sources close to Kumaraswamy and his family claimed it wasn’t the first time he’d gone AWOL, having previously taken his kids and left home following a domestic dispute. That time, he returned with the children after some time away, with his family thinking history was repeating itself this month.
They reported him, Advith, and Akshara missing on April 19, but still held up hope that they’d come back home as they did before. That changed 12 days after last contact, when their bodies were found on April 29.
The trio was discovered thanks to a report from members of the public, who called the police after noticing a car half-submerged in the Visvesvaraya Canal. At the time that it’s believed Kumaraswamy and the kids entered the water the canal would have been full, but the water receded enough over the following days that the vehicle could be spotted.
Police, fire, and emergency services worked together to remove the car from the canal, finding Kumaraswamy and his young children inside.
Tragically, authorities suspect that Kumaraswamy may have purposefully driven into the canal rather than it being a tragic but accidental fall.
Not only due to his prior behaviour of running away with the children after a domestic dispute, but due to the mystery of how they ended up in the area at all.
The canal wasn’t part of Kumaraswamy’s regular travel routes or destinations, with police suspecting he deliberately drove there when it was full.
Although the bodies were found 12 days after their last contact with family, police are still trying to get to the bottom of Kumaraswamy’s motives and piece together what happened after he turned his phone off for the last time.
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