Sixteen members of a family from Sindhuli’s Golanjor Rural Municipality-6 have been missing since Thursday, raising concerns among local authorities and community members.

The missing individuals, including Urmila Hayu, had reportedly received their social security allowances just a day before disappearing.

According to ward chair Rabin Kumar Shrestha, the 16 family members each collected allowances of three months—totalling Rs191,520—from Himalayan Bank’s Khurkot branch on Wednesday.

Of the household's 18 members, two were absent at the time—one residing in Kathmandu and another abroad.

The family vanished from their remote residence in Bhandas Bippar Kateri, near Chetpa, shortly after holding a pig feast on Thursday.

When a police team and ward chair Shrestha visited the house on Monday, it was found abandoned. The kitchen showed signs of burning, utensils were scattered, and five goats were discovered starving in the pen. A dog was seen crying nearby.

Local resident Motiraj Sapkota said the family had not been seen since the night of the feast, and neighbours—who live only 15 minutes away—reported no activity at the house since Friday.

Police Superintendent Lal Dhwaj Subedi, chief of the Sindhuli District Police Office, said a mobile phone location pinged from Manthali, Ramechhap, prompting speculation the family may have travelled.

However, all phones are now switched off, and no physical trace of the group has been found. Some reports claimed sightings in Khurkot on Friday, but these remain unverified.

The Hayu are classified by the government as a highly endangered indigenous group, with a population of just 3,069 in the country, according to the 2021 census. They primarily reside in Sindhuli and Ramechhap districts.