Police in Nottinghamshire, UK, last Thursday flew a drone in search of a teenager who had called the police in distress during the night.

The vulnerable teenager was located by the police drone and reunited safely with his family.

“The young man had contacted police shortly before midnight on Thursday to report he was unwell but was only able to give a vague description of his location to call handlers,” Nottinghamshire police said in a statement.

“Officers began a search of land to the north of Bingham and later called in a police drone to help. Within a few moments of launching the drone, the police pilot was able to locate the young man by a like using a thermal imaging camera.

“Officers on the ground were then able to give him the support he needed.”

The Nottinghamshire Police Drones team was launched in January 2020 and is a shared resource with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service. It operates six drones and is available to carry out responsive and pre-planned operations across the county at all hours of the day.

“This is another example of how drone technology can be used to very quickly locate missing or vulnerable people,” said Sergeant Vince Saunders, chief drone pilot at Nottinghamshire Police.

“A traditional foot search in the dark could have taken many hours, but with this additional eye in the sky we are able to locate people within minutes and keep them safe.”