Drone helps police in Denver metro area locate missing woman with Alzheimer's

Police in the Denver metro area are crediting a police drone for helping officers locate an older woman with Alzheimer's.

The woman was reported missing and endangered after she disappeared from her home on Tuesday night, the Commerce City Police Department said. According to the department, the CCPD drone captured footage of the woman walking in traffic just 24 minutes after her husband called 911 to report her missing.

Authorities said it was 44 degrees at the time, and the 76-year-old left without wearing a coat. Drone operators at the Real Time Crime Center used the drone's thermal imaging to locate the woman, who was reportedly walking in the middle of the Highway 85 and Highway 2 interchange.

According to the department, a CCPD officer quickly found the woman confused and cold, but otherwise unharmed. He helped her to his patrol car and called EMS to make sure she was physically alright. Once cleared, the officer gave her a ride back home.