On early Thursday morning, the Bargersville Community Fire Department in Indiana used its unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to successfully locate a missing woman who had wandered from her home.
According to a Facebook post from the department, the firefighters were called in to help the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department to find the woman, who “was having a medical issue” and had wandered from her home on foot two hours earlier. According to a local report from WTHR, dogs and rescuers on foot had been unable to track her down in the rural area in the dark.
Luckily, the department’s FLIR infrared camera-equipped UAS spotted the woman a quarter mile from her home within 15 minutes’ time. She was then able to be transported to the hospital, the Facebook post says. The WTHR report notes that the local Johnson County Community Foundation had donated $10,000 to the department for the purchase of the drone.
“We would like to thank all those that have made it possible for us to have this new technology and appreciate being able to assist our neighboring departments!” the Bargersville Fire Department adds in the post.
