Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Boy found by drones, uninjured
COLTON — The boy who went missing from his Colton was found safe after nearly 100 first responders spread out for a search.
Reports say the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home west of Colton at 9:30 p.m., Friday, June 7.
According to a press release from the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office, the three-year-old had been missing for an hour.
Responders were informed the child had autism.
“In regards to a 3-year-old with some cognitive issues, we were concerned the child may have trouble trying to communicate. It was getting dark but we had a really good turnout,” said Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers.
Deputies called emergency responders from Whitman County Fire District 14 out of Colton, Uniontown and Latah County Search and Rescue.
“The response time was excellent,” said Myers. “We are really pleased anytime we can find the person and in most cases, we do find them.”
The Pullman and Moscow Police Departments, Washington State Patrol, Latah County Sheriff’s Office and Whitman County Emergency Management were also called for a search.
Reports say a volunteer K-9 search unit was also dispatched.
After an hour of searing, the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office deployed drones with heat-sensing cameras.
According to the press release, an officer from the Moscow Police Department operating one of the drones detected a heat signal in a nearby field approximately one mile away.
“Those drones are the best value if they are equipped with forward-looking infrared sensors. The ability to identify heat and light it up makes it possible to search an area. Ten years ago, we had some hand-held devices, and sometimes, we were at the mercy of using a helicopter. Now that we have these, we can start using them in an immediate area, and we knew there was a chance he would be close to home,” Myers said.
First responders located the boy and returned him home unharmed.
Myers also stated that it is not uncommon for people who live out in the country to turn their back briefly while a small child wanders off.
“Often times kids can go missing and generally speaking we get going on those and try to determine them. It was getting late and the family lives out in the country. It is not uncommon to be doing something, turn your back and the child disappears,” said Myers. “Sometimes, the endings aren’t that particularly good, and we are glad it turned out this way.”
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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