Drones help locate lost woman in freezing temperatures

Drones located a distraught woman who ran into a wooded area in 32-degree weather Saturday near Hoovers Gap Frontage Road, a sheriff’s supervisor reported.

Sheriff’s deputies were called about 1:30 pm. to a home off U.S. Highway 41 (Manchester Highway) for the woman lost in the woods, Sgt. Tyler Morten reported.

Due to the freezing weather, Detectives Ty Downing and Detective Jason Dowdle launched two drones to search for the woman.

“After a short search, he (Downing) was able to locate the female approximately 1,900 feet from the launch location,” Morten reported.

Assistant Director Tim Hooker of the Rutherford County Emergency Management Agency said Rutherford County Fire Rescue also launched a drone to search.

The woman was located in a heavily wooded area. The drone pilots guided deputies and the Special Operations Response Team to quickly rescue the woman.

She was transported to StoneCrest Medical Center’s emergency room for an evaluation.

Hooker said the emergency teams worked quickly to rescue the cold woman.

“This shows how well all agencies worked together to bring this incident to a successful conclusion,” Hooker said.