Divers who recovered a drone from the bottom of the sea hope to find a young couple featured in its video footage and photos.
David Steele, 75, and his diving group found the drone on the seabed at Geo of Sclaites, off Duncansby Head, northern Scotland on August 18.
The drone is no longer useable but incredibly the memory card still works and contains video footage and images taken before it crashed into the ocean.
They show a young couple who were out with their dog and David and fellow diver Greg Benson, 30, want to find the pair so they can give the card back if it’s theirs or see if they know who the owners are if it’s not.
David, chairman of Caithness Diving Club, said: ‘The club is used to seeing shipwrecks at various sites around the coast.
‘But they found a more unusual ‘wreck’ in the geo in the form of a downed – and drowned – drone lying on the bottom.
‘This was brought to the surface initially as litter removal, but Greg decided to see if anything could be recovered from the unit’s memory card.
‘Somewhat surprisingly, the card was still functioning in spite of its immersion in the sea and two videos plus some still pictures were recovered.’
One of the videos shows the drone descending – under control – from the cliff top and down the side of it, taking in the scenery and birdlife.
However, its final plunge into the sea is not recorded.
On the video, it is possible to read the registration number on the couple’s camper van – GD 936CH – on what looked like an Italian number plate.
Retired David, from Falkirk, Stirlingshire, added: ‘The drone itself is obviously a write-off, but it would be nice to get the memory card back to the owners at least.
‘It is possible that someone reading this – perhaps a campsite owner or receptionist – might have spoken to the couple and got the story of the lost drone and also have contact details from their check-in at the site.’
Greg added: ‘To be able to return the footage is great – you see stories of things like this happening on social media, of people returning lost items.
‘But you never think you’ll be on that side of it.’
Anyone with knowledge of who the drone belonged to should contact [email protected].
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