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Prescott Valley drone rescue saves 2 boys
Officials in Prescott Valley credit a fire crew drone with quickly locating two missing children before tragedy struck. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz reports.
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. - Eyes in the sky are saving lives, as two Prescott Valley boys are home safe after police say their parents reported them wandering from their home.
Central Arizona Fire was called to assist, whose drone was able to find the pair in less than 30 minutes.
The backstory:
On Nov. 8, Prescott Valley police went to a home near State Route 69 for a call no parent wants to make.
"Two boys had gone missing from a residence nearby, and hadn't been seen. There was some developmental disability which added to the concern, and the need to make sure that we had a quick and and effective response," said Detective Alec Kovac, public information officer for the Prescott Valley Police Department.
Officers immediately began their search of the area, which included terrain difficult to canvass quickly by foot.
"A lot of ravines, creeks, different places that they can hide or get injured," said Ryan Moore, engineer and public information officer for Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority.
Dig deeper:
They called in crews from Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority to help.
"Utilizing our partners, and having their tools available was huge," Kovac said.
Those tools included drones, which CAFMA fire crews have used since 2019.
"Time is of the essence. And if it takes us 30 minutes to cover something that a drone can cover by flying up to 100 feet and circling around, why would we not use something like that to help?" Kovac said.
Only 10 minutes after the drone got into the air, crews spotted one of the boys on the screen.
"We found that first [boy], in a ravine about a quarter mile from the initial location," Moore said.
Minutes later, they found the second a little farther away.
"That child was actually waist-deep in a creek with water," Moore said.
Both boys were unharmed and reunited with their family.
What they're saying:
Police and fire officials say the technology saved time in a situation where every second made a difference.
"Being able to at least locate them, keep eyes on them, was huge and important for this positive outcome," Kovac said.
"This is the best outcome we could have hoped for. We got them home safe. And very quickly," Moore said.
Officials say the decision to use the drone could've been the difference between the happy ending they got, and one that could have turned out tragic.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Prescott Valley Police Department Public Information Officer Det. Alec Kovac; Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority Engineer and Public Information Officer Ryan Moore.