Two Phantoms Assist in Search for Missing 4 Year Old

[ablythe]

It has been a tough month for Central Florida... We had a missing four year old in my neighborhood today. We heard helicopters flying low and talking on their loud speaker, so went out to investigate. Police were everywhere and told us they were looking for a four year old boy who went missing. We live in a neighborhood full of lakes, so the helicopters were flying over each lake looking. My neighbor and I both have Phantoms (He has a 3 and I have a 4). I told the police officer that we had drones and could assist if he thought it would be helpful. I told him I didn't want to interfere with the police helicopter that was already overhead. He told me to hang on while he radioed the chopper. He talked to the pilot and came back to me and said, "keep them low, but yes, please, get them in the air ASAP... we need all the help we can get". So we put them up and kept them at near roof top level. We went house to house checking pools, yards and the lakes. We were very quickly able to check every pool in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the story does not have a happy ending. The little boy's body was found by a diver in a lake just behind the house he was visiting.
It's amazing the outpouring of help from all the neighbors and the openness of the police to accept assistance. It's unfortunate that it often takes a dire situation like this for people to see the value in UAVs/Drones.

I was interviewed by the local news agencies onsite. I'm curious to see if they mention the drone assistance in a positive light.

My thoughts and prayers for his family... I can't imagine the pain they must be going through...

Missing 4-year-old found, drowned, in Viera, officials say

 

[alokbhargava]

Keep up your GOOD WORK. We are proud of you.

 

[Gary M]

Good deal Man! I have thought for a while how drones would be SO handy in situations like that.

 

[Erised]

My deepest sympathy to the family... Ablythe you rock, I hope some day I can assist in a search and pray for a happier ending.

 

[jcoop]

I feel terrible for the family...

Good work with your drone though, and it's great that you immediately helped.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[dirkclod]

Sad ending and my thoughts with the family also .
Doing SAR'S are great when you have better endings and good all worked together .

 

[theTastyCat]

How terrible. Thanks for trying - at least the public got to hear about a drone being used for good! We could use more of that.

 

[BigAl07]

Good for you for offering to help. It sounds like your local SD/EMS might need some UAS support. It might be worth while to go meet with them and see if there is a larger role you can play. The key to SAR work with a UAS is learning to integrate with existing resources in a safe and predictable manner.

Go create a relationship with the relevant agencies and you'd be surprised how many things you can do to assist them.

SAR work with a UAS is a VERY rewarding yet a demanding and STRESSFUL endeavor. At the end of the day it's worth it but just go into it realizing it's a lot of work and training.

 

[N017RW]

Great Job ablythe.

Condolences to the family.

I've had the parents of visiting kids (sleep-overs, etc.) if I had any guns in the house but not one ask about a pool, lake, or other similar hazards.


Everyone... teach your kids to swim!!!