The High Ridge Fire Protection District used a drone to find a 70-year-old Byrnes Mill man who went missing on Sunday (Nov. 5). The man, who has early stage dementia, was found after a nearly seven-hour search, authorities reported.
Byrnes Mill Police Chief Frank T. Selvaggio said the man’s landlord called 911 at 12:15 p.m. that day to report him missing.
The drone located the man at 7:05 p.m. in a wooded area behind Hoods Discount Home Center, 4401 Hwy. 30, in House Springs, High Ridge Fire Capt. John Barton said.
Barton said it was the first time the district used the drone, which was donated to the district in July 2019, to search for a missing person.
He said it likely would have taken much longer to find the man without the drone.
“It's hard to say if we would have found him or located him that night,” Barton said.
He said the drone probably helped save the man’s life because the temperature dropped to 40 degrees that night.
“It was extremely cold out that night,” he said.
Byrnes Mill Police Capt. Jamie Mayberry said when the man was found, he had hypothermia because he had gotten wet after walking in a creek.
Barton said finding the man was rewarding.
“I think everybody involved was happy to see the proof of the technology,” he said.
The search
Selvaggio said the man is known for enjoying walks in wooded areas, and before he was reported missing, he had been spotted in the area, but no one knew there was a problem.
A police officer had seen the man at 9:30 a.m., and a resident saw him at 10:20 a.m., Selvaggio added.
“It was nothing out of the ordinary,” he said. “He appeared to be in good health.”
Selvaggio said when the 911 call came in, officers started to search.
Mayberry said at around 5:30 p.m., officers were searching under the Hwy. 30 bridge in House Springs near Hoods Discount Home Center and found the man’s wallet and clothing.
A homeless person reported seeing the missing man, adding that the missing was “acting crazy” and took off all his clothes and started walking up Heads Creek, which runs into the Big River behind Hoods Discount Home Center.
“We knew he was wet because he was walking through the water,” Mayberry said.
Barton said High Ridge Fire was dispatched at 6:25 p.m. to help with the search, and a firetruck arrived on the scene three minutes later.
In addition, Barton, who was off duty but is the fire district's only drone pilot, arrived on the scene with the drone at 6:45 p.m. Barton said he got the drone in the air at 7 p.m. and by 7:05 p.m. could see the man.
“Looked like he was crawling on his hands and knees,” Barton said.
With coordinates from the drone, a search crew was able to locate the man, Barton said
“They were able to navigate directly to him,” Barton added.
He said a Big River Ambulance ATV was used to get the man out of the woods, and then he was put into an ambulance at 7:55 p.m.
Mayberry said the man was taken to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County.
He said he knew the man was cold.
“We were pretty cold and freezing ourselves by the time we found him,” Mayberry said.
He said the Jefferson County Sheriff's also responded to the scene with a dog, but it never had to start searching for the man.