Wisconsin
Drone helps rescue 3-year-old boy lost in dark Wisconsin corn field
Thermal drone footage shot in late August shows the search and rescue of a 3-year-old who had wandered into a 100-acre corn field alone and at night in Alto, Wisconsin. (Courtesy: Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office / TMX)
ALTO, Wisc. – Thermal drone footage shows the rescue of a 3-year-old who became lost after he had wandered into a 100-acre corn field alone and at night in Alto, Wisconsin.
Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputies received a call for help from the boy’s parents around 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 25 that their son had wandered into the expansive 6-foot-tall corn field behind their home. With the darkness, deputies brought a thermal drone to the scene to help in the search.
The video begins with the drone surveying the large expanse of the cornfield of 6-foot-tall corn stalks. The thermal image makes the rows of corn appear as a textured black and white image.
At around 9:30 p.m., a bright white shape appears to move through the corn, breaking up the monotonous pattern they form in the frame. It’s the toddler!
The child in the cornfield, circled in red.
(Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office /TMX / FOX Weather)
By noting this heat signature, deputies were able to focus their rescue efforts to a specific part of the cornfield.
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The footage continues to show a Fond du Lac County deputy and Alto Fire Department personnel on the scene. The rescuers, also appearing as white shapes in the footage, can be seen moving through the corn and toward the child.
First responders at the scene.
(Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office /TMX / FOX Weather)
After about 15 minutes, they converge around the toddler.
First responders approach the boy.
(Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office /TMX / FOX Weather)
The boy was then brought out of the corn field and driven back to be reunited with his parents.
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“Instances like these highlight the importance of technology and collaboration amongst law enforcement in our community,” the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office said.
Bodycam footage of finding the boy, whose face is blurred.
(Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office /TMX / FOX Weather)
“Without the use of the thermal imaging drone, it would likely have taken Deputies and other first responders hours to search the entire cornfield and the outcome may have been different,” he added.
The Sheriff’s Office noted that the boy was found about half a mile away from home.