MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — When police are looking for a missing person, they may use deputies or K-9s to search the area where the missing person was last seen. Last week, Sergeant Kemeyan Colvard said the Monroe County Sheriff's Office decided to use their drone to find a teen who was reported missing.
"Cause the quicker you can get on scene and put the drone in the air, it helps out a whole lot," Colvard said.
The teen was found in the woods near Rumble Road. Colvard said the technology on the drone helps them find people in wooded areas.
"During this time of year, the brush and trees is not so thick, so if you get it up in those areas you can find heat sources. Of course, any human being will put out heat sources, so you can find them that way," Colvard said.
With the help of the drone's heat signature technology, a 16-year-old boy was found in less than ten minutes and later returned to his mother’s custody.
Sheriff Brad Freeman said without their drones, they’d have to depend on helicopters from a state agency.
"That helicopter may be used by another agency, so you may be in line to get the helicopter. Another issue you got with helicopters is fuel. By the time they fly here from wherever they're based out of which is not Forsyth, they already may have burned some of their fuel so they can only hover for maybe 30-45 minutes to get fuel," Freeman said.
Having a bird’s eye view when looking for a missing person can be a game changer. Sheriff Freeman said the drone can help assist in other ways too.
"We use it for accident investigation, other crime scenes, documentation, obviously missing persons, and fugitives," Freeman said.
Freeman said their drones have helped them in this case and others before.
"I believe we’ve apprehended probably five to six fugitives and I believe two missing juveniles I believe," Freeman said.
Colvard said having drones has made the sheriff’s office more efficient because they can find people in less time, preventing the missing person from covering more ground and getting out of their reach.
Freeman said the wait time for the helicopter could mean life or death.
"If somebody goes missing whether with Alzheimer's, a small child, you can instantly get that drone up. I mean you can get it up in a matter of minutes," he said.