P. Kannammal, 61, of Jayaprakash Street at Varadharajapuram in Coimbatore had been passing her days in agony since February 20, 2024 after her mentally-challenged sister P. Rajathi, 65, whom she was taking care for over 40 years despite all the odds in her life, went missing from their residence.

The sisters were reunited on Tuesday, after a special team of the city police solved the long-pending missing case.

According to the police, Ms. Rajathi went missing when Ms. Kannammal had to go to Dharapuram to attend a marriage, leaving the former alone at home. Ms. Kannammal approached the Singanallur police the next day and a case was registered. Though the police launched a search for Ms. Rajathi, she remained untraced.

City Police Commissioner A. Saravana Sundar tasked a special team comprising Singanallur inspectors S. Elangovan (Law and Order) and A. Dowlath Nisha (Investigation Wing) to launch a fresh search for the missing woman as part of a special initiative to solve long-pending cases. K. Sooryamurthy, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, in-charge of crime against women and children, supervised the investigation.

The police team, also comprising special sub-inspectors Latha, Parameswari and Gangadevi from the Anti-Child Trafficking Unit and head constable Chinnadurai, traced Ms. Rajathi to an old-age home at Kasigoundenpudur near Avinashi in Tiruppur district.

According to the police, the home authorities had rescued Ms. Rajathi after she was found wandering on streets. As the woman was unable to speak, she could not communicate her name or address to the home authorities. The police brought her to Coimbatore and reunited with Ms. Kannammal on Tuesday.