Project Lifesaver aids crews in swiftly finding missing boy in NE Minnesota
Police in Pine County, Minnesota, say new technology helped save a 5-year-old boy who got lost in the woods.
The search began Friday more than 100 miles north of the Twin Cities in Sturgeon Lake for the boy, who wandered off while his family was camping at a nearby lake. Rescuers knew water in the area added danger to the situation.
Body camera video shows the search that included ATVs, drones and even a deputy who commandeered a horse to speed up the search.
"Time was of the essence," said Chief Deputy Scott Grice. "Autism, non-verbal, there was a lot of risks involved in the area where that child was."
But they had help on the way. The boy's parents enrolled him in Project Lifesaver, a system that uses a unique radio frequency to track people prone to wandering.
It took deputies just 20 minutes to find the boy with the help of that tracker.
Grice credits Pine County's human services department for getting Project Lifesaver up and running.