A 3-year-old boy from Alto Township, about 80 miles northwest of Milwaukee, was found safe in the middle of a vast 100-acre cornfield, thanks to the quick thinking of Wisconsin authorities and the use of a thermal imaging drone. The area, which spans the equivalent of 100 football fields, was searched after the boy went missing on the evening of August 25.
Deputies from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office responded around 9 p.m., following reports of the child’s disappearance. According to their August 30 news release, the toddler had been missing for over an hour and a half by the time authorities arrived. After an initial search of nearby barns and buildings yielded no sign of the boy, the sheriff’s office called in a drone operator from the City of Fond du Lac Police Department to assist with the search.
By 9:30 p.m., the drone’s thermal camera detected a “heat spot” deep within the cornfield. Deputies quickly located the boy and carried him to safety, reuniting him with his relieved parents. Thankfully he child was unharmed.
Thermal imaging drone
Body camera footage shared by WISN captured the emotional moment first responders reassured the boy. “We’re right here, buddy,” they said. “You’re safe now. We’re going to go back and find your mom, okay?”
The boy had wandered about half a mile from his home, explaining later that he had been chasing a cat into the field, according to Lt. Alex Volm of the sheriff’s office.
While the situation thankfully ended without injury, Volm emphasized how critical the collaboration and technology were in locating the child. “It was a harmless thing, you know, but it could have turned out really bad had we not had the opportunity to use our tools and work with our law enforcement partners,” he told WISN.
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