A 55-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Tholpetty under the North Wayanad Forest Division on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Lakshmanan of Pannikkal tribal hamlet at Narikkallu near Tholpetty on the Kerala-Karnataka border.
Lakshmanan, a guard of a private coffee plantation, had gone missing after Tuesday evening. Though he left home on Tuesday evening for duty, he did not return on Wednesday morning. Villagers found his body in the plantation during a search later.
Meanwhile, Forest officials said the exact reason for the death could be ascertained after an autopsy to be held on Thursday.