Virginia

Police Use Drone to Find Missing 92-Year-Old Hunter

It took just 20 minutes for the drone to find the missing hunter

A police drone has helped authorities find a 92-year-old hunter who had gone missing in a heavily wooded area in Virginia.

Bill McDonnell says he wasn’t lost -- but, as he was out hunting Saturday, misjudged the time and terrain. He took a shortcut and climbed rocks out of a gorge. Then, the early winter sunset enveloped McDonnell in darkness.

“All of a sudden, it got pitch black dark, and I couldn’t go forward. I was stuck,” he said.

In an unfamiliar area with a dead cell phone, McDonnell did what many 20-year Army veterans would: he made himself a bed of branches and sticks several inches thick and settled in for the night.

“It kept me off the ground,” he said.

Meanwhile, McDonnell’s family contacted authorities. His wife of 70 years feared the worst.

“All night long I cried,” his wife, JoAnne McDonnell, said.

During the night, a helicopter shone it’s searchlight over McDonnell. He said he jumped up and waved his hat, but wasn’t seen.

At 9:30 a.m., seven people from the Loudoun County Sheriff's search and rescue team deployed a drone to search for McDonnell. At 9:50 a.m., authorities saw McDonnell on the camera. The drone search had only lasted 20 minutes. Search teams were given McDonnell’s coordinates and he was found -- safe and uninjured.

The sheriff's office said it was the first successful use of the new drone, which is equipped with infrared and high resolution cameras.

When McDonnell came home to Winchester, Virginia, his family greeted him.

“He came home, I grabbed him, hugged him and kissed him,” his wife said.

The McDonnell family made Bill promise not to go hiking alone again. He agreed, but has some reservations.

“I didn’t want to promise. I just love to be out in that woods by myself,” he said.

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