GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — The Gaston County Police Drone Unit helped find a lost hiker alone in the dark in rugged terrain on Crowders Mountain.
The hiker called 911 at about 5:50 p.m. on Monday and Crowders Mountain State Park rangers were talking to them by phone, which eventually stopped working because of a low battery.
The park rangers and the police drone searched the area where they thought the hiker may have been.
The drone unit had two teams to search two parts of the mountain.
Drone pilots launched one drone from the summit of King’s Pinnacle. The hiker walked toward the drone and started shouting for help. The drone then pinpointed the hiker’s location using thermal technology.
The drone pilots helped park rangers get to the hiker, who was sitting on a large boulder on a steep and rugged mountainside.
The hiker was not hurt and park rangers walked with them to an ATV where they were safely brought back to the state park office.
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