Elderly man with dementia rescued by Scottsdale PD's 'cutting-edge' drones

Scottsdale Police shared drone footage of an elderly man with dementia being rescued and detailed the importance the technology serves in the department. 

It all started when a request was sent out for a helicopter to do an air search for the missing man, but no chopper was available from any of the Valley departments.

Scottsdale PD says their only hope was the drone, and thankfully it worked.

"It’s invaluable. For something like this, it was really the difference because where he was located was nowhere where people would normally be walking," said Scottsdale Police Officer and drone operator Greg Now.

On June 12, the man was reported missing by his family north of Pima and Cave Creek roads. Scottsdale PD launched one of their drones with infrared capabilities to find him.

"This particular community is a golf community. A golf course is heavily watered, so it’s nice and cool at night. So here, signatures are a little easier. Unfortunately, he wasn’t on the golf course itself. He was off in the desert," Now said.

Within minutes officers located him.

The drones are relatively new to the Scottsdale Police Department but have already proved useful in this search for a missing person, and other criminal investigations including a barricade situation in the last few months.

He describes how the drone was able to help in that barricade situation.

"He started coming out, nothing in his hands, hands above his head just like we would want them to. However, the officers weren’t able to see that. So it was nice because I was able to tell them ‘Hey, he’s coming out, and he’s being compliant.' So for his safety and for our safety, that drone was invaluable," he explained.

Drones with infrared technology cost about $8,000.

The department says they don’t deploy drones unless a call is made that requires it.