High-tech rescue: Drone saves missing man
SOMERSWORTH — Public safety officials used a drone and infrared imaging to rescue a missing man in the woods on a cold and rainy Sunday morning, using the technology to locate the man in 17 minutes after 7 1⁄2 hours of unsuccessful traditional searching.
The multi-agency rescue, which occurred off Route 108 near The Works Family Health and Fitness Center in Somersworth, is one of the exact scenarios the Strafford County Sheriff ’s Office envisioned when it purchased its first drone in 2018.
“It’s probably a perfect example of how that technology can be applied in law enforcement and in a rescue,” said Somersworth police Capt. Russ Timmons. “It’s just the best of examples. The ground search would’ve been difficult because we were experiencing some rain and the overall terrain. Having that drone in the air couldn’t have helped more.”
Timmons said Somersworth police and fire personnel, sheriff’s office employees and Stewart’s Ambulance Service rescued the missing 36-year-old man, who was wet and cold but otherwise OK, around 9 a.m. Sunday.
The man used his cell phone to call 911 to request assistance around 1:30 a.m. Sunday after he got “disoriented” and lost the trail he had started walking behind The Works around 12:30 a.m., according to Timmons.
Officers responded and began their search after the man’s 911 call. Timmons said that call ultimately was the only one authorities had with the man because communication difficulties prevented police from being able to call his number back.
That elongated the search, as did the fact that cell towers couldn’t narrow the search area past a large, half-mile-long tract of woods between The Works and Velcro USA.
“The midnight shift guys managed to check the area ... with our (police dog) Bravo,” said Timmons. “Hampered by some of the weather conditions, they were unable to locate him.”
Police requested Somersworth Fire’s help around daybreak, which eventually led the departments and the sheriff’s office to establish a command area behind The Works. First responders from Dover and from the Maine communities of Berwick and Lebanon provided mutual aid during the rescue.
Timmons said a mere 17 minutes after the drone was deployed, the drone’s operator located the man on infrared imaging as the man waited for assistance and signaled for help. Officials rescued the man, who was shoeless at the time, approximately 1,500 feet from the command area in The Works’ parking lot and roughly 300 feet off of the closest section of the trail.
Strafford County Sheriff Dave Dubois said he’s pleased they could help Somersworth first responders secure a positive outcome Sunday.
“With the support of the Strafford County commissioners and delegation we are able to deploy this equipment throughout Strafford County on request,” Dubois wrote in a text.
Strafford County Commissioner George Maglaras voiced similar remarks in a Facebook post about the rescue, calling it “Money well spent for the benefit of all.”
SOMERSWORTH — Public safety officials used a drone and infrared imaging to rescue a missing man in the woods on a cold and rainy Sunday morning, using the technology to locate the man in 17 minutes after 7 1⁄2 hours of unsuccessful traditional searching.
The multi-agency rescue, which occurred off Route 108 near The Works Family Health and Fitness Center in Somersworth, is one of the exact scenarios the Strafford County Sheriff ’s Office envisioned when it purchased its first drone in 2018.
“It’s probably a perfect example of how that technology can be applied in law enforcement and in a rescue,” said Somersworth police Capt. Russ Timmons. “It’s just the best of examples. The ground search would’ve been difficult because we were experiencing some rain and the overall terrain. Having that drone in the air couldn’t have helped more.”
Timmons said Somersworth police and fire personnel, sheriff’s office employees and Stewart’s Ambulance Service rescued the missing 36-year-old man, who was wet and cold but otherwise OK, around 9 a.m. Sunday.
The man used his cell phone to call 911 to request assistance around 1:30 a.m. Sunday after he got “disoriented” and lost the trail he had started walking behind The Works around 12:30 a.m., according to Timmons.
Officers responded and began their search after the man’s 911 call. Timmons said that call ultimately was the only one authorities had with the man because communication difficulties prevented police from being able to call his number back.
That elongated the search, as did the fact that cell towers couldn’t narrow the search area past a large, half-mile-long tract of woods between The Works and Velcro USA.
“The midnight shift guys managed to check the area ... with our (police dog) Bravo,” said Timmons. “Hampered by some of the weather conditions, they were unable to locate him.”
Police requested Somersworth Fire’s help around daybreak, which eventually led the departments and the sheriff’s office to establish a command area behind The Works. First responders from Dover and from the Maine communities of Berwick and Lebanon provided mutual aid during the rescue.
Timmons said a mere 17 minutes after the drone was deployed, the drone’s operator located the man on infrared imaging as the man waited for assistance and signaled for help. Officials rescued the man, who was shoeless at the time, approximately 1,500 feet from the command area in The Works’ parking lot and roughly 300 feet off of the closest section of the trail.
Strafford County Sheriff Dave Dubois said he’s pleased they could help Somersworth first responders secure a positive outcome Sunday.
“With the support of the Strafford County commissioners and delegation we are able to deploy this equipment throughout Strafford County on request,” Dubois wrote in a text.
Strafford County Commissioner George Maglaras voiced similar remarks in a Facebook post about the rescue, calling it “Money well spent for the benefit of all.”
