DeSoto Police ‘Drone as First Responder' program finds missing boy

NBC DFW ^ | 3/3 | Noelle Walker

[nickcarraway]

A 4-year-old boy who has autism and is non-verbal went missing from his DeSoto home Sunday afternoon. A police drone spotted him and directed officers to his rescue.

The 200 block of Jordan Drive in DeSoto was a buzz of activity on Sunday afternoon, as neighbors joined in a search for a missing 4-year-old boy with autism who is non-verbal, who had wandered away from his home.

"Mom radar is all the way up, and I'm just consoling her on the side, because I'm just imagining how she's feeling," neighbor Kandice Middleton said. "It felt like years that we were looking for him, but I'm just so glad everything worked out, and he was found safe!"

The boy was found with the help of the DeSoto Police's 'Drone as First Responder' Program.

"He was right here in front of our house, and it was like a little laptop, and you heard the little thing buzzing around," Middleton said, recalling the drone search. "It was just so neat how this drone was able to see where we couldn't see."

"We're able to get over the top," DeSoto Police Cpl. Eric Montemayor said. "It's pivotal because we can cover such a large area. Where he was, and it's such thick brush, it's not easy to get down into it, get down into the creek area, and with that, we were able to tell officers exactly where to go and how to get to him."

DeSoto Police started its Drone as First Responder Program in November 2024.

"We use it all the time for shots fired or robberies," Montemayor said. "Where a rapid response is needed. There might not be an officer in the area, but now we can actually give firsthand knowledge as they arrive."

The boy's mother said her son is home and doing well.

"Here, we can see drones actually being used for something to save lives," Middleton said. "It was over with pretty quick, and with a happy ending, and that was good!"

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TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Hobbies; Local News
KEYWORDS: autism; desoto; dfw; drone; drones; ericmontemayor; kandicemiddleton; noellewalker; texas; vaccine; vaccines

[No name given]

Heartwarming.

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

And we found four women sunbathing in back yards and a pot stash and an old guy urinating in his back yard because he could not make it inside....he got the public urination ticket. The othets got my phone number said officer dudley.

[SunkenCiv]

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