Newly released footage captures the remarkable moment when a drone successfully finds a three-year-old boy who had been missing for an hour in a vast Wisconsin cornfield.
The child’s parents called 911 to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office after their son disappeared on August 25 in a 100-acre cornfield behind their home. Officials determined that the boy was last seen around 7:30 p.m., and he was not found in any of the family’s barns or buildings.
To expand the search area, the Sheriff’s Office enlisted the help of the Alto Fire Department and a drone operator from the City of Fond du Lac Police Department.
A Facebook update from the police highlighted how the drone significantly aided the search by quickly covering the extensive area and navigating the challenging conditions.
Footage from nearly two hours after the boy went missing shows the drone detecting a heat signature in the cornfield, which was identified as the missing child. Emergency responders, including Fond du Lac County Deputies and fire personnel, quickly made their way into the cornfield and rescued the boy.
One of the responders assured the child, saying: “We’re right here, buddy. You’re safe now. We’ll take you back and find your mom, okay?” The child, found half a mile from home and unharmed, mentioned he had been chasing a cat.
Lt. Alex Volm of the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office commented on the incident, noting the situation could have been much worse without the use of the drone and collaborative efforts with other agencies. The authorities’ social media post emphasized the critical role of technology and teamwork in such operations.
The use of the thermal imaging drone allowed for a much faster and more efficient search, which could have taken hours without it. For more details, including the full press release and the thermal imaging video, check the authorities’ official channels.
