ALTO, Wis. (WBAY/WISN) – Authorities said a cat is the reason a 3-year-old boy turned up missing in the middle of a massive cornfield in Wisconsin.
It happened last Sunday in rural Fond Du Lac County.
Within hours, sheriff deputies found the boy and they credited training, teamwork and technology for the toddler’s safe return.
With a flashlight in hand on the ground and a drone above leading the way, officers found a missing 3-year-old boy surrounded by 6-foot corn stalks.
“We are going to find your mom, OK? We are going to find your parents,” a deputy told the boy when he was rescued.
The recovery was made possible by teamwork, training and technology.
“Immediately they realized the need for a drone, and more specifically, a drone with thermal capabilities to be able to essentially see in the dark,” Fond Du Lac Sheriff’s Lt. Alex Volm said.
The Fond Du Lac Police Department did not hesitate to send its pilot to do what ground crews were not able to.
“Obviously the drone assisted us greatly and being able to look for heat signatures, something that people on foot wouldn’t be able to do, and the longer through time, something like this progresses, the bigger the search area, the potential search area becomes. So truly grateful that we were able to help,” Fond Du Lac Asst. Police Chief Scott Krause said.
Once the drone was in the sky those on the ground knew what to do.
“Our drones, they have lights on them and everything so deputies can see them. And when we have we have trained for these circumstances. What we essentially direct our ground deputies to do is, ‘Hey, we know you can’t see the heat sensor but you can see the drone, so walk until you are directly underneath the drone and you will essentially find what you are looking for,’” Volm said.
In this case, it was a missing 3-year-old boy who was about half a mile away from home. Police said he was chasing a cat who has not been found.
“We will put out an APB on the cat,” Krause said.
The boy was in good shape when he was found.
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