Rescuers Use Heat-Seeking Drone to Find Man, 78, Who Vanished While Going to Get His Mail: ‘A Miracle’

A missing 78-year-old California man was found alive through the use of drones after disappearing while going to get his mail, authorities said.

In a Facebook post shared on Tuesday, Dec. 24, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Malibu Search and Rescue Team (Malibu SAR) said that it received a request on the evening of Monday, Dec. 23, to help search for the man.

According to authorities, the person who reported the man missing said he had gone to his mailbox around 4:30 p.m. local time but never returned.

The person, who has not been identified, told authorities she couldn’t find the missing man and said he had early-onset dementia. She then contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

At the time of the man’s disappearance, the temperature was 48 degrees Fahrenheit and “falling,” authorities said.

Both Malibu SAR and the sheriff’s department’s Lost Hills Station deployed several drones, one of which contained infrared heat-seeking technology.

According to the Malibu SAR, a drone noticed “a significant heat signature over the side of the roadway in thick brush” and that the object was motionless. Suspecting that it may be the missing person, Malibu SAR said its operators were deployed with medical and evacuation equipment.

“Upon arriving on scene, the rescuers observed the missing man suffering from cold related illness, confused and unable to walk,” the Malibu SAR shared.

The team added that the man was evaluated, wrapped in a warm blanket and placed into a rescue basket. He was later taken to a waiting ambulance.

“A miracle just in time for the holidays!” officials added in their post.

“This UAS [drone] deployment proved the incredible value that these newly adopted tools provide for our search and rescue operations…Great work by everyone involved,” the post later read.