A Las Vegas police drone was used to locate a missing child within minutes of a frantic 911 call coming in this month.
Using thermal imaging technology, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s (LVMPD) Drone as a First Responder unit located the child. This led to a safe reunion with the child’s alarmed family.
Vegas Police Drone Finds Missing Child Using Thermal Camera
LVMPD Drone Locates Missing ChildWhen a family called 911 to report their child was missing on January 5, LVMPD’s Drone as a First Responder (DFR) team responded immediately.Within minutes, the drone was in the air near Charleston and Fort Apache and used its thermal camera… pic.twitter.com/0RxDGNkgok
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) January 12, 2026
According to the LVMPD, a family called 911 on January 5 when their child went missing near the intersection of Charleston Boulevard and Fort Apache Road. Within minutes of the call, officers deployed the department’s police drone, equipped with a thermal camera, in Vegas. The device is designed to detect heat signatures from the air.
The remotely piloted drone scanned the area from above and identified what investigators believed was a heat signature consistent with a small child in a nearby backyard. Once the thermal signal was confirmed, the drone pilot relayed the location to dispatchers and ground units…