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!

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.

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On Thursday, President Joe Biden will visit Wisconsin for the first time since dropping out of the presidential race in July — and announce a massive investment in rural electric companies along the way.

The president will launch the new initiative in Westby, a city in southwestern Wisconsin with a population of just over 2,300 people. The event comes exactly two months since his last visit to the state, an early July campaign rally in the Madison area.

Here’s everything you need to know about Biden’s Wisconsin visit, including from when he’s speaking to how to watch.

When is Biden speaking in Wisconsin today?

The president is expected to speak about 3 p.m. CST.

Where in Wisconsin is Biden speaking tonight?

Biden will speak at the Vernon Electric Cooperative in Westby, WLUK reported. The electric utility company services about 10,000 people in southwestern Wisconsin, according to its website.

Westby itself is located in Vernon County, close to the western border of Wisconsin. It’s home to one of the oldest Norwegian American communities in the U.S.

How to watch Biden’s speech in Wisconsin

You can watch Biden’s address in Westby through the livestream on this page.

Local news channels may also carry the speech live. In Milwaukee, that’s channel 12 for ABC News, channel 58 for CBS News, channel 6 for Fox News and channel 4 for WTMJ-TV.

Why is Biden visiting Wisconsin?

Biden’s visit to Westby on Thursday is part of a series of trips the president will be making over the next few weeks to highlight his administration’s investments in local communities, a White House official told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In Wisconsin, the president is expected to announce more than $7.3 billion in financing for the electrification of rural America — the largest such investment since the 1930s, according to USA Today. The initiative will be funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration’s 2022 law that targeted everything from drug prescription prices to green energy incentives.

The president’s Thursday visit is a White House event, meaning it is not officially part of the Harris-Walz campaign.