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Drone Helps Missouri PD Find Missing Teen

Police were able to locate Cameron Stoney just one minute after the drone was deployed. Stoney was only separated from his family for about 90 minutes.

September 21, 2022
Drone Helps Missouri PD Find Missing Teen

The value of police drones was proven when authorities from three agencies were able to team up and find a missing teen just one minute after the drone was deployed.

Photo: Canva/Pettis County Sheriff's Office/Pettis County Ambulance District/Sedalia Police Department/Government Fleet

1 min to read


A teen who was reported as missing during a family hike in Missouri's Bothwell State Park has been found thanks to a police drone, according to Pettis County Sheriff Brad Anders.

Cameron Stoney, 18, was reported missing the night of Monday, September 19. Members of Pettis County Fire, as well as Pettis County sheriff's deputies deputies and the Pettis County Admbulance District (PCAD) responded. Four search teams were deployed by the time Sedalia Police arrived with its drone.

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Cameron Stoney was found by a Missouri police drone just one minute after it was deployed.

Photo: Pettis County Sheriff's Office

Police were able to locate Stoney just one minute after the drone was deployed. Stoney was only separated from his family for about 90 minutes.

"Within 60 seconds of drone deployment, SPD Officer Fellows reported to me that he located what appeared to be an individual laying in a nearby field," Anders wrote in a Facebook post. "Pettis County Fire Chief Harding and myself responded to the area in a side by side and located Mr. Stoney in the field. He was escorted to PCAD who verified his well-being."

Click here to see how other police departments are utilizing drones in their everyday operations. 

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