NEED TO KNOW
- Pennsylvania police were able to locate an elderly person who went missing thanks to a drone equipped with a spotlight and thermal imaging
- Police said an officer who was “cross-trained as a drone pilot” was able to locate the person and direct other officers to their location in a wooded area
- In December last year, the L.A. Sheriff’s Office also used a heat-seeking drone to locate an elderly man with dementia who disappeared after going to fetch his mail
An elderly person who went missing in Pennsylvania was located safely — all thanks to new technology.
The West Chester Borough Police Department (WCPD) announced on social media on Monday, Dec. 29 that it was able to locate an elderly person who was lost in the woods by using a drone equipped with thermal imaging and a spotlight.
A WCPD officer who was “cross-trained as a drone pilot” responded to the scene and was able to use the drone in order to locate the elderly person — who was found in a wooded location — from above. He then directed other officers on the ground to his location, the WCPD shared.
The WCPD shared photos of the thermal drone images which were used to help find the person, including a shot in which the elderly person could be seen highlighted white on the ground while surrounded by darkness.
WCPD did not share the name of the missing person.
West Chester Borough Police Department
A second photo police shared showed an overhead image of what appeared to be at least two officers helping the elderly person get back on their feet and get out of the area.
The WCPD, which had initially been called in by a neighboring agency to assist in finding the missing person said the elderly person was located safely and “medical care was delivered swiftly.”
“At WCPD we are proud to say that this is an example of us leveraging technology with training to deliver high quality service to our community,” the department said in a statement. “It’s another way we are helping to build safer and stronger communities.”
Police did not say how the elderly person ended up in the wooded area, or what led to the search. It also did not say what condition the person was found in, or whether they required hospitalization.
This isn’t the first time that thermal drones have been used to locate a missing person. Last December, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LACSD) utilized a heat-seeking drone to find a missing 78-year-old man, 80 minutes after his family reported him missing, according to ABC News.
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The family informed sheriffs that the man, who suffers from dementia, was missing after leaving his home at around 4:30 p.m. to pick up his mail. The LACSD noted that he was successfully found a few hours later thanks to the drone.
“At approximately 8:50 p.m., a UAS located the missing person lying in a field of thick brush about a quarter mile away from his residence. Fortunately, he had only sustained minor abrasions from a fall and was transported to a local hospital for treatment and further evaluation,” the sheriff’s department told the outlet at the time.
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