Authorities are calling it a holiday miracle. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, a 78-year-old man with dementia who went missing in Malibu two days before Christmas was found within hours using drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras.
Sheriff's officials said in a written statement posted on Facebook that the elderly man was reported missing on Dec. 23 around 7:30 p.m. A caller told dispatchers that the man had dementia and had left his home to pick up his mail at 4:30 p.m. but had not returned and could not be found after a search of the area.
Sheriff's officials said they immediately filed a missing person report and notified surrounding stations because temperatures were above 40 degrees but falling. The department said the sheriff's Lost Hills/Malibu Station search and rescue team used drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras to help search the area where the man disappeared.
At 8:50 p.m. that same day, the drones located the man lying in thick brush on the side of the road about a quarter of a mile from his home.
A miracle just in time for the holidays! On Monday, December 23, at 7:30 p.m., @MalibuSAR was asked to search for a 78-year-old man missing from his home in #malibu. The informant told us that the missing man picked up mail from his mailbox at 4:30 p.m. but never pic.twitter.com/f1KBo51aRX
— Malibu Search Rescue (@MalibuSAR) December 25, 2024
On the social media site X, the Malibu search and rescue team shared photos of the operation. Below it was a grainy gray screen with a red image of the man lying in the undergrowth.
“When rescuers arrived on scene, they discovered that the missing man was suffering from a cold, was confused and could no longer walk,” one of the posts said. “He was examined, wrapped in a blanket and placed in a rescue basket.”
The sheriff's department said the man was transported to a local hospital by paramedics. His condition was unknown.
The Sheriff's Department said the operation demonstrated the value of using drones.
“A miracle just in time for the holidays,” the department wrote on X.
The American Civil Liberties Union said drones have many useful uses, including for search and rescue missions, scientific research and mapping. But the ACLU also fears that they could be misused to violate people's privacy.
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