Missing Tennessee woman found with the help of a drone

A woman from Rutherford County, Tennessee, has been found by an emergency response team using a drone to aid in the search. The drone was used to locate the woman from above, who made her way into the woods sometime earlier.

Earlier in the week, deputies were responding to a call concerning a house off of U.S. Highway 41, where a distraught woman was seen walking into the woods in freezing temperatures.

Due to the low temperatures, two drones were sent up to search for the woman. The drones were launched by the Rutherford County Emergency Management Agency and the Rutherford County Fire Rescue.

Not long after the drones were launched, the woman was found about 1,900 feet from the area the drones were launched from near the house. The drone pilots then helped guide deputies to the woman’s location, where she was then taken to the StoneCrest Medical Center for an evaluation.

Assistant director Tim Hooker of the Rutherford County Emergency Management Agency said:

This shows how well all agencies worked together to bring this incident to a successful conclusion.

On top of the cross-agency work, this wouldn’t have been over in such a short amount of time with a great result if it wasn’t for the drones in the air. It’s always great to see drones being spoken about positively and that they are actually a useful tool for many people, rather than a negative thing that is used to spy or cause harm.

Take a look at some of the other search and rescue missions that drones have helped on:

• Indian teen saves 4 drowning fishermen with the help of a drone
• Drone helps locate a man who slipped off a cliff in China
• Drone sent into Henty Gold Mine to find missing worker
• DJI drones to detect Koalas that survived the bushfires
• UK coastguard looks into drones for Search and Rescue

Photo: Sam McGhee