PRESCOTT VALLEY — A fire department drone helped find two missing boys in rugged terrain in Prescott Valley in under 30 minutes, officials told FOX 10 Phoenix.
Prescott Valley police were called Nov. 8 to a home near State Route 69 after the boys’ parents reported them missing. “There was some developmental disability which added to the concern,” said Det. Alec Kovac, a police spokesperson.
The area around the home includes ravines and creeks that are hard to search quickly on foot, said Ryan Moore, an engineer and spokesperson for the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority. Police called in CAFMA, which has used drones since 2019.
About 10 minutes after the drone went up, crews spotted the first boy in a ravine about a quarter mile from where the search began, Moore said. “That child was actually waist-deep in a creek with water,” he said.
Officials said the drone also helped searchers keep track of the boys until crews reached them. Both were returned home safely.
“This is the best outcome we could have hoped for. We got them home safe. And very quickly,” Moore said. Kovac said covering the same ground on foot could have taken far longer.
Sources: FOX 10 Phoenix. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: cogdogblog / CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.
