Tuesday, January 4 2005 18:21 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kanhangad (Kerala): The week-long suspense over the mysterious disappearance of an Israeli woman, in the light of December 26 tsunami strike, ended today (Jan 4, 2005) with the 25-year old woman landing in police custody.

Ditsa Israeli was traced from a private lodge in Udma, close to tourist resort of Bekal fort near Kanhangad along with Farooq Ahmed, hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, with whom the woman had been touring parts of the State since she reached Kerala.

The woman, holder of both Israeli and American passports, was found inside the lodge room in the afternoon after a police team raided the place on a tip off that a foreigner was staying in the lodge.

Ditsa would be handed over to police in Varkala near Thiruvananthapuram where a complaint had been lodged against the woman after she went missing on the tsunami eve on December 25.

Dista Israeli told the police that she had toured Kollam, Alapuzzha and Kochi before reaching the Bekal fort a few days ago.

Meantime, the Israeli consulate in Delhi had contacted the woman in the police station, Hosdurg deputy superintendent of police Habib Rehman told reporters.

Ambassador to Israeli Foreign Minister Amikam Levy had come all the way from Jerusalem to Kerala after the woman was found missing since the tsunami waves struck Kerala causing heavy loss of lives and damage to property in a few coastal belts of the State.