A 41-year-old worker from Mangaluru has been missing in Israel for 12 days after losing contact with his family and failing to report for work, prompting appeals to the Indian government, local police and the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv.
Shadrach Immanuel, a resident of Padil Kannur Kodakkal in Mangaluru, had travelled to Israel on an employment visa on May 16, 2025, with assistance from a recruitment agency in Karnataka. He was working for UCT Liquid Solutions, a construction company in Nof HaGalil near Nazareth in northern Israel.
According to his family, Immanuel regularly spoke to them over WhatsApp. His last conversation was on Friday, October 16, when he spoke to relatives for about 22 minutes. The call was later disconnected, and he has not responded to subsequent calls from his family or friends in Israel. He also did not report for work after that conversation.
His mother, Ratna, told reporters on Tuesday that Immanuel had stopped answering calls after their conversation on Friday night. Family members and his friends in Israel have repeatedly tried to contact him but have received no response.
Immanuel’s sister, Savitha, said the family became aware on Monday that he was missing. She said the matter had been brought to the attention of the Mangaluru police commissioner and local Member of Parliament Captain Brijesh Chouta. The company where Immanuel worked has also reportedly filed a complaint with the police in Israel, according to the family.
“His employer has filed a complaint with the police there. We need the support of the central government to trace him,” Savitha said, according to Prajavani.
Immanuel’s wife, Daisy, said he had been given leave on Friday and Saturday. She said he had gone out on Friday and was unreachable after about 8.45pm. The family is in contact with the Indian embassy in Israel, but has not received information about his whereabouts, she said.
Daisy also said the embassy had indicated that elections were under way in Israel and that further efforts to trace Immanuel were expected after the process was completed. The report did not specify the election or provide details of any official investigation.
Captain Brijesh Chouta said he had written to the Union Minister for External Affairs about the disappearance. He said the Indian embassy in Israel was working to trace Immanuel and that he had also spoken with the Consul General of Israel in Bengaluru.
“I have written to the External Affairs Minister and brought the matter to his attention. The Indian embassy in Israel is also making efforts to trace him. We expect him to be found at the earliest,” Chouta said, according to the report.
The case places attention on the role of employers, local police, Indian diplomatic authorities and family representatives when an Indian worker abroad becomes unreachable. The family is awaiting further information from the authorities and efforts to establish Immanuel’s whereabouts remain ongoing.
