A thermal drone had to be deployed to rescue a three-year-old US toddler who got lost in a cornfield at night. The child wandered into the vast 100-acre area alone and was unable to find the way leading to the exit. The incident unfolded on August 25 in Alto, Wisconsin. Deputies of the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office were informed about the missing child at around 8:45 PM and the officials immediately rushed to the spot.
The officers found it difficult to locate the toddler in the 6-foot-tall cornfield amid darkness. That’s when they decided to use a thermal drone which could help the rescuers trace the child’s location through heat signatures, as reported by the New York Post.
A clip featuring the smart rescue operation was uploaded on Facebook by the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office. The video opened with footage of the thermal drone, which captured the dense cornfield in grey colour. The police cars were seen standing by the road and a group of officers had already begun their work.
In the next frame, a rescuer was seen navigating through the cornfield while holding a torch in his hands. It was no doubt challenging for them to locate the toddler in the bushes. Thanks to real-time information from the drone operators, they finally managed to rescue the missing toddler after 15 minutes, the New York Post report claimed.
The thermal drone made the job quite easy for the rescue team as its heat signatures helped narrow their search to a specific area of the cornfield. The young boy was safely brought back to his parents who were waiting to reunite with their son with bated breath. The toddler was reportedly half a mile away from his home when the officers found him.
About the rescue operation, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, “This incident underscores the importance of technology and collaboration among law enforcement in our community. Without the thermal imaging drone, it likely would have taken deputies and other first responders hours to search the entire cornfield, and the outcome could have been different."
Many Facebook users were left stunned after watching the cinematic drone footage. One of them expressed her concern for the missing child and commented, “That was an awesome rescue. The poor baby must have been so scared."
“I can only imagine how heart-wrenching this had to be for everyone involved including the officers," said a user. Another person lauded the rescue team, saying, “Great Work. So glad that the outcome was positive. Frightening situation for sure." The video has already garnered more than 1,40,000 views on Facebook.
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