PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sheriff’s Office UAV Finds Missing Woman
Public Information Officer:
January 20th, 2022
Major Kevin Tieman,
Cass County Sheriff’s Office
816-380-8615
On Sunday October 11, 2020 around 8:30 pm the Cass County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a missing 93-year-old woman in the 17000 block of S. Reynolds Road north of Strasburg.
The caller stated that his wife had gone for a walk around 5:00 pm and not returned. Deputies arrived on scene, searched several acres around the residence, and were unable to locate the missing woman. Deputies called for the assistance of the Sheriff’s Office UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to search the farm and surrounding area using a thermal camera.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office uses a DJI Matrice 210 with FLIR camera that was donated in 2019 by the Sheriff’s Office Auxiliary. The UAV gives deputies the ability to search large areas quickly and the thermal cameras can see heat signatures.
On Sunday, deputies used the UAV and in less than five minutes located the missing woman in a field about a quarter of a mile from her house. Deputies and EMS personnel responded to her location and found her exhausted and missing a shoe, but otherwise in good health.
“This is an excellent use of current technology to help our citizens. The ability to deploy a UAV in these types of situations saves time and resources, especially when time is of the essence. Every minute counts,” said Sheriff Jeff Weber.