Heat-detecting drone aids in swift rescue of missing Minnesota boy
A Twin Cities mom got a big scare this weekend when her 8-year-old son wandered far away from home.
Sarah Curfman's son, Felix, who has Down syndrome, was playing with his bigger sister Sunday morning, when his mom said he suddenly went missing from his Shakopee, Minnesota, home.
"The panic was very real," said Curfman.
After Curfman and her husband shouted Felix's name with no luck, the Scott County Sheriff's Office was called.
"Luckily the sheriff's department had way better tools than the two of us to try and find him," said Curfman.
The sheriff's office took the search to the air with the help of a heat-detecting drone. Roughly 40 minutes later, Felix was found walking on a frozen creek bed.
"If he had gotten kind of farther up, there was much more open water," said Curfman.
Thankfully, Felix was fine, returning home after his half-mile trek with just a wet sock and shoe.
The Scott County Sheriff's Office has been using drones for six years, thanks to donations from local banks and rotary clubs, said Scott County Sheriff Luke Hennen.
The technology was key in significantly cutting down on search time, he said.
"I think easily in a case like this, it could have turned into an hour or two, right, just to get enough fire personnel walking, you know, sweeping through the different areas," said Hennen.
Curfman is now taking extra precautions with Felix.
"We ordered a ton of air tags in the short term. I ordered a shoe insert that can go in his shoe, a little pin that we're going to put a sheriff's badge on that he'll wear on his body," said Curfman.
All as Felix gets a better gasp of boundaries.
"He's an 8-year-old boy that is probably going to go on more adventures, so we just have to figure out how to keep him safe," said Curfman.