Police drone finds 'vulnerable' 10-year-old Mansfield boy who went missing after argument

The child, who was reported missing in Bull Farm, Mansfield on Thursday evening, fled his house without any shoes on. When officers on the ground were unable to locate him, a drone was launched to search from the skies.

Aided by a clear description of what the boy was wearing, the drone pilot was able to locate him using the drone’s zoom capability. By using this feature the pilot was able to see a vast area and spot he was only wearing socks and was appearing to hide in a street.

The boy was unharmed and was later returned home.

Nottinghamshire Police’s drones unit was launched in January and has helped in 44 arrests and locate 10 high-risk missing people. Fifteen officers based at Hucknall Police station have been trained to use the force’s three high-tech drones and can be called to assist in any incident across Nottinghamshire 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

PC Vince Saunders, Nottinghamshire Police’s chief drone pilot, said: “Our drones are particularly useful for finding missing people because they can search a very large area in a relatively short space of time.

“They can also use their thermal imaging cameras to find people hidden by trees or by darkness. Results like this really show the value of our drones and also serve as a timely reminded why we’ve invested such a lot of time and money to get them off the ground.”