On Wednesday, July 19, the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas used a UAS to locate a missing elderly man who had been reported missing by his family.

The UAS located the 91-year-old man approximately 12 hours after he had been reported missing. The man was found dehydrated with possible injuries, but he was alive and is receiving treatment at a local medical facility.

According to Harvey County Sheriff Chad Gay, the UAS was integral to saving this man’s life.

“It was critical to saving that guy’s life last night. No doubt about it,” Gay says via the Hutchinson News.

Harvey County Sheriff’s Office Corporal Brandon Huntley decided to deploy the UAS to continue searching for the man after he, along with Harvey County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Paul Jones and Hesston Police Officer Chris Eilert conducted a ground search of the property where the man’s vehicle was located.

Huntley, a trained UAS pilot, enlisted the help of another trained UAS pilot, Harvey County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Matthew Stovall, for the UAS flight.

Shortly after 1 A.M. on Wednesday, the UAS was launched and flown by Stovall, with Huntley serving as the visual observer.

During the first flight, a heat signature was detected using the UAS’ infrared camera, but the power system for the aircraft needed to be changed out. While that system was being changed out and replaced, Jones and Eilert were tasked with conducting a search of the identified area.

When the UAS was launched for a second flight, it once again located a hot spot, and the image on the monitor resembled a human body.

Huntley directed the search team to the exact location, and a medical unit was requested. The man was found alive under a tree, and treated by medical responders from Hesston Fire/EMS. He was then transported to Newton Medical Center, where he is recovering.

For Gay, having this technology at the disposal of the sheriff's office for a situation like this is nothing short of a luxury.

“The technology, the ability to put that thing up and to find people and do things like that, is pretty awesome,” Gay says. “I feel fortunate that we had access to that technology to be able to deploy it and be successful with it.”