Lifesaving Technology Used in Search

December 02, 2024
Elise Schaffer, PIO, (608) 284-6142
Sheriff's Office

Dane County Deputies used lifesaving technology to find a missing man over the weekend. Sheriff’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operators assisted Sun Prairie Police after an 87-year-old man had walked away from his senior living facility on South Bristol Street just before midnight on November 29th. Time was of the essence, as he was only wearing a shirt, pants, and socks, and wind chills were in the single digits. Using thermal optics on their UAV, they identified an unusual “hotspot” in a marshy field about a quarter mile northeast of the senior living facility within seven minutes of their flight. The UAV operators then directed searchers to the location, where they found the man crawling through the field. He had sustained minor injuries, and EMS treated him at the scene. Paramedics shared that given the weather conditions, had the man not been found quickly, he would have been severely hypothermic within an hour and would not have survived the night. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office UAV Team consists of 13 FAA-certified UAV operators.