Prescott Valley drone rescue saves 2 boys

Two Prescott Valley boys are home safe after police say their parents reported them wandering from their home. Central Arizona fire was called to assist and their drone was able to find the pair in less than 30 minutes. Fox and Taylor Wertz has more from Prescott Valley. First responders here in Prescott Valley say time is always of the essence when it comes to missing children, but especially in an area like this, one that includes a ravine, water and a lot of open land. To cover more ground, they decided to use a drone, a decision that ended up making a crucial difference in this case. On November 8th, Prescott Valley Police went to a home near State Route 69 for a call no parent wants to make. Two boys had gone missing from a residence nearby. Um, and hadn't been seen. There was some developmental disability, which added to the concern and the need to make sure that we had a quick and effective response. Officers immediately began their search of the area, which included terrain difficult to canvas quickly by foot. A lot of ravines, creeks, different places that they can hide or get injured. They called in crews from Central Arizona Fire to help utilizing our partners. And having their tools available was huge. Those tools included drones, which fire crews have used since 2019. Time is of the essence, and if it takes us 30 minutes to cover something that a drone can cover by flying up to 100 feet and circling around, why would we not use something like that to help? Only 10 minutes after the drone got into the air, crews spotted one of the boys on the screen. We found that first juvenile in a ravine. About a quarter mile from the initial location. Minutes later, they found the second a little farther away. That child was actually about waist deep in a creek with water. Both boys were unharmed and reunited with their family. Police and fire officials say the technology saved time in a situation where every second made a difference. Being able to at least locate them, keep eyes on them was huge and important for this positive outcome. This is the best outcome we could have hoped for. We got them home safe. And very quickly, everyone here today believes the time saved by using that drone could have been the difference between the happy ending they got and one that could have ended a lot more tragically. Reporting in Prescott Valley, Taylor Wertz, Fox 10 News.