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.
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.
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.”