Advertisement

Police drone locates missing 81-year-old woman in North Carolina

Click to play video: 'Police use drone to find elderly woman suffering from dementia'
Police use drone to find elderly woman suffering from dementia
WATCH: Police use drone to find elderly woman suffering from dementia – Nov 8, 2017

The search for a missing 81-year-old woman had a happy ending Sunday in Asheboro, N.C., after a police drone was able to locate her in a corn field.

According to Randolph County Sherriff Robert A. Graves, police responded to a call of a missing elderly person around 11:30 a.m. Sunday after a woman suffering from dementia wandered away from her home.

Police immediately deployed K-9 units to assist in the search, in addition to an aerial drone, due to what Graves described as “difficult terrain” in a corn field.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Less than half an hour later, Officer Adam Krolfifer located the woman, identified in local news outlets as Mary Brown, wandering in a corn field.

Story continues below advertisement
“[The cornfield] ain’t too far, I went a long way from there. I went to the river and then backtracked,” Brown told WNCB News in North Carolina.

In the video, we see the drone locate Brown, wearing a blue coat and standing alone in a corn field. Within moments, officers were able to zero in on her location. She did not suffer any serious injuries in her brief disappearance.

The department is hailing it as a big win for their drone, which was only acquired by the department less than two months ago.

“The Drone program at the Sheriff’s Office is one of our newest projects and one more project in our effort of going from ‘Good to Great’ in professional community service,” Brown said in a statement on the department Facebook page. “I am thankful to hear the good news of the safe return of the missing person.”

Advertisement

Sponsored content

AdChoices