FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Family members and first responders were relieved when a 3-year-old child was safely recovered from a 100+ acre cornfield he wandered into, largely thanks to the use of a drone with a thermal camera that was able to locate the child using a heat signature from above the field.
As detailed by the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office via social media, authorities received a report of a missing child at 8:49 p.m.CST on August 25th in the Township of Alto. The child’s parent explained that they thoroughly searched all barns and buildings on the property, expressing their fear that the child wandered into the standing cornfield alone.
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from a drone unit with the City of Fond du Lac’s Police Department to support their own drone. As Alto fire crews began to search the area on foot, the drones were deployed above the 100+ acre property to search for the child’s heat signature.
Around 9:30 p.m. CST, roughly two hours since the child was last seen, one of the drones picked up a heat signature in the middle of the cornfield. The drone was used to guide a deputy and fire team member to the child, who was safely found at 9:46 p.m. CST. The child wound up a half-mile from home and was guided back to his family without any injuries.
“Instances like these highlight the importance of technology and collaboration amongst law enforcement in our community,” a statement from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office read. “Without the use of the thermal imaging drone, it would likely have taken Deputies and other first responders hours to search the entire cornfield and the outcome may have been different. Below is the full press release and thermal imaging video from the drone.
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