After 16 hours of being missing, a 72-year-old man was found crouched in a fetal position in thick vegetation by the Pueblo Police Department in Colorado. The essential element that led to the missing man’s discovery? A DJI Mavic 2 drone.
Drone finds missing senior in Colorado
On September 16, Pueblo police were made aware of a missing elderly man who had walked away from Bonaventure of Pueblo, an assisted living community. The man was last seen at the facility at around 10 p.m. the day before. He was reported to be dependent on medication.
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Not wanting to waste a single second, Pueblo Police Department decided to seek help from its drone unit. As Officer Lee Medved, one of the seven licensed drone pilots with the department, told a local news outlet:
No one had any contact with him at all, so that really increased the urgency quite a bit for us.
With phone pings revealing that a field near the facility could be the senior’s approximate location, officers and dispatchers decided to work together. Soon, the DJI drone discovered the man some 300 yards away from the road, bang in the middle of thick vegetation.
Medved said:
It was a huge open area that we were in. It would be nearly impossible to walk that area. It would take several hours and tons of people. With the drone, we could just fly over the area and scan it. It’s a game-changer for us.
After 16 hours of being missing, the man was found alive but dehydrated, disorientated, and unable to walk. He was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.
The use of drone technology proved to be invaluable, with Medved explaining:
Given the temperatures and his condition, I don’t think he would’ve lasted too much longer out there.
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Photos: Pueblo Police Department
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