On Monday afternoon, we received a 911 call for help on the Greater East Side after a good Samaritan spotted a child in a pond who appeared to be struggling to get out. Saint Paul Police immediately launched one of our docked drones, flown by a trained officer.
The docked drone arrived on scene two minutes prior to officers’ arrival and was able to provide them with essential information about the location and status of the child. Officers were able to pull the child safely from the water.
According to the child’s family, the child has autism and had wandered away from their home without them knowing. Our ability to swiftly locate and guide officers to the child using our docked drone resources resulted in this positive outcome.- Saint Paul, Minn. Police Dept.
Learn more about SPPD’s Docked Drone Program at http://stpaul.gov/publicsafetytechnology
From Google AI:
The Critical Safety Risk
Wandering (Elopement): Autistic children frequently bolt or wander off toward attractive stimuli like pools, ponds, or streams.
Drowning Danger: Because they often lack an inherent sense of danger or fear regarding deep water, accidental drowning remains a leading cause of death for autistic youth. [1, 2, 3]