Saving Blind Man The Defining Moment For Vernon Police Drone Unit

VERNON, CT — Helping locate a missing, distressed blind man in Enfield amid frigid conditions — and essentially saving his life — over the Presidents Day weekend is being considered the high point in the five of so years the Vernon Police Department Drone Unit has been around.

There have been other assists:

• Finding a lost horse in Coventry.
• Spotting for crews getting a hiker off a cliff at Valley Falls Park.
• Pinpointing the exact location of suspects in a standoffs in Vernon and Enfield to assist negotiators (both ended peacefully).

The VPD drone unit also has a major presence at the Manchester Road Race, an event that draws more that 10,000 participants and thousands of spectators to the central part of town every Thanksgiving. It has also assisted with accident reconstructions and monitored the dismantling of the old Sacred Heart Church in Vernon.

Saturday's rescue of a blind man who had wandered off from his Enfield home and became lost in the woods stands out, said Sgt. Todd Thiel, one of the licensed and certified drone pilots.

"It helped save a human life," he said. "It can be like looking for a needle in a haystack and in this case, we found the man and he was rescued."

Here's how the weekend drama unfolded:

At 8:43 a.m. Saturday, the Enfield Police Department was contacted by a family member of a blind man who lives in town. The man's brother told police he had been unable to make contact with the man, which was unusual.

Police then determined that the man had walked away from his home about 24 hours earlier and became disoriented.

With temperatures falling into the single digits overnight, there was concern about hypothermia, police said.

Vernon police were then contacted for assistance and Thiel went to the scene.

The blind man was located by the drone using an infrared camera approximately 100 yards into a patch of woods, down an embankment, hidden from view and near the highway, according to police.

The man had been outside for about 33 hours and told police he became disoriented "due to medical conditions."

He was taken to an area hospital for evaluation, police said.

"The Town of Vernon leads the way in the innovative and practical use of drone aircraft technology for municipal operations," said Michael Purcaro, Vernon's town manager and emergency management director. "I am proud and grateful for Sgt. Theil and all of our police officer pilots and first responders who go above and beyond the call of duty to provide extraordinary life-saving services to our residents and neighboring communities."

The drone Thiel used on Saturday featured both an infrared camera and traditional 30X zoom lens on a second camera. It costs about $24,000 fully equipped, he said. Images are transmitted to a screen below and the drone then hovers over the object to spot for the rescue team, he said.

(VPD)

Thiel said reality set in when the infrared camera picked up heat from the man and outlined him in red.

"I saw some movement with the red dots and said, 'Holy cow ... that's him ... and he's still alive," Thiel said. "Kudos to everyone in Enfield that day. The rescue crew was able to get to the man in thick brush in about 10 minutes."

(VPD)

Here is a video of the rescue from Vernon police:

(VPD/EPD)

Thiel said a winter operation can be easier for the pilot because of temperature contrasts and a lack of a "canopy," usually consisting of leaves. The rescue teams must work quickly, though, because of temperatures and the potential for hypothermia, he said.

In addition to the search-and-rescue drone, Vernon police have several others ranging from a pair with traditional cameras to one small enough to fly inside buildings. The traditional cameras were used for an inspection last week after a third-floor fire in Talcott Avenue left a home too damaged for the fire marshal to go inside.

"What this rescue does, because it saved a life, is show the value of drone teams not only in Vernon, but everywhere," Thiel said. "It's advancing technology put to good use and it's why we have it."