LADY LAKE, Fla. (WSVN) — An elderly man is back home safe and sound thanks to some help from high-tech gear.
Officers from the Lady Lake Police Department rushed to a home after the man’s wife said he put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and wandered out into their neighborhood, Tuesday.
With temperatures dipping near freezing, time was of the essence to track down the 88-year-old, who also suffers from dementia.
“It was the 30s temperatures out, right? Very cold, and he had troubles walking as well, along with his dementia and altered state,” said Lady Lake officer Robert Chausee.
Chausee was one of the officers who arrived to the home. Upon reaching the area, he quickly grabbed his drone to ramp up search efforts.
“So I put the drone up directly over the house and I knew there was a golf course directly behind the house. So I figured, let’s start there,” said Chausee.
Chausee’s initial hunch was correct. Within three minutes of scanning the area, he spotted the elderly man walking along a cart path at the golf course.
Authorities said the man was taken to the hospital to be treated for a head injury and hypothermia.
This wasn’t the first case where a drone proved critical in helping officers track someone down.
In December, a drone helped Lady Lake Police track down a hit-and-run suspect after, officers say, a man rear-ended a truck and took off.
“We’ve got a heat signature over here,” said an officer flying a drone at the time.
Chausee said having these drones to assist in law enforcement duties is becoming an essential tool in their arsenal to keep their community safe.
“If we can use these tools to help us and help them, I think we’re better for it in the long run,” said Chausee.
Authorities say things could’ve been much worse for the elderly man if they weren’t able to track him down as fast as they did.
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