Missing 8-year-old found fast with DFR support
When a family called 911 to report their 8-year-old son missing, officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department immediately began searching the surrounding neighborhood. The child had been gone for over an hour — something his family said had never happened before.
LVMPD’s Drone as First Responder (DFR) team was launched to support the search. From overhead, the DFR pilot rapidly scanned areas that would have taken ground units significantly longer to cover on foot. Within minutes, the drone located the child.
Using real-time location data from the DFR pilot, officers were guided directly to the boy and reunited him safely with his parents.
- Need to search towards this four eighteen, uh, forty-two twenty-nine East Wayne
- Avenue, break. It's gonna be involving a
- eight-year-old juvenile that was last seen forty minutes ago.
- Copy. Is there a direction of travel?
- Unknown.
- Stand by.
- Three and a three, we're arriving now.
- We're, uh, just now starting our investigation.
- Three and a three.
- Go three and a three, copy update.
- Three and a three.
- Our juvenile is gonna have blonde hair, wearing a white shirt, blue jeans,
- white Jordans, and a possibly black jacket, break.
- Unknown direction of travel approximately twenty to twenty-five minutes ago.
- Three and a three.
- Still three and three, he's gonna be possibly wearing a SpongeBob
- SquarePants
- backpack.
- Copy.
- Three John Charlie three. Can you get center three and a three,
- I'll help ATL.
- Is there any way we can get a hold of the school to see if they can ATL the camera
- at the corner interview?
- Three John Charlie three. I'll call
- them. Three and a three.
- Control DFR five nine, I have a possible on that juvie
- walking westbound Swain Avenue from Sand Hill.
- Units around the four eighteen, there's a possible westbound Swain from
- Sand Hill.
- So three and a three, who was that unit without a possible?
- It's DFR five nine.
- Copy. It was, uh, westbound from where? Swain?
- Swain and Sand Hill.
- Westbound Swain from Sand Hill on the north side.
- He's looking right at the drone.
- He looks like, uh... He has a yellow backpack, black pants,
- and a...
- Looks like a green jacket. Confirmed it is a SpongeBob backpack.
- Okay. There will be no other way.
- Three and a three.
Watch Time
2 Mins 9 Secs