A 14-year-old girl who had been missing from Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior for the past seven days has been safely traced by the police following an intensive search operation involving CCTV surveillance, route mapping, and intelligence inputs. The minor, who had also gone missing two months ago and was recovered from Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh, has refused to return home after her rescue and has been temporarily shifted to a One Stop Centre for counselling and care.

According to police officials, the girl disappeared from her residence in Shatabdipuram under the Maharajpura police station limits on June 21. After her family failed to locate her through personal efforts, they approached the police and reported her missing.

Considering the sensitive nature of the case, a dedicated search team was immediately constituted under the supervision of City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Nagendra Singh Sikarwar. Station House Officer (SHO) Yashwant Goyal led the investigation, which included analysing CCTV footage from Shatabdipuram and nearby localities, questioning suspected persons, and activating the local informer network.
Police officials said that the search team carefully tracked the girl's movement through route mapping based on surveillance footage. The coordinated efforts enabled investigators to locate and recover the minor from the outskirts of Gwalior on Sunday evening.

Following her rescue, the girl was brought before the authorities. However, during preliminary interaction, she declined to return to her family. In view of her refusal and to ensure her safety and proper counselling, officials shifted her to a One Stop Centre, where she will remain under the supervision of counsellors and child welfare authorities until further legal and counselling procedures are completed.

During verification and counselling, police discovered that this was not the first time the minor had gone missing. Official records revealed that she had also disappeared on April 1, 2026. On that occasion, the Maharajpura police had launched a similar search operation and successfully traced her to Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh before handing her back to her parents.

Investigators are now examining the reasons behind the repeated incidents of the minor leaving home. Authorities are expected to conduct detailed counselling sessions to understand the circumstances that prompted her decision and to determine whether any intervention from child welfare agencies is required.

SHO Yashwant Goyal said that the police acted immediately after receiving the complaint and relied heavily on CCTV footage and route mapping to trace the girl's movements. He added that since the minor has refused to return home, she has been placed in a One Stop Centre to ensure proper counselling and care before any further decision is taken regarding her rehabilitation.

The case highlights the importance of swift police response in missing child cases and underscores the role of counselling and child protection mechanisms in addressing the underlying issues that may lead minors to repeatedly leave their homes.