Medina County Sheriff's Office locates missing elderly woman using drone (VIDEO)

At about 5:35 p.m. Friday, the Medina County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a missing elderly woman from a residence on Jeffrey Road in Harrisville Township. It was reported that an 83-year-old woman had been fishing with her husband. At about 3:30 p.m., she began walking back to her residence on the property. A short time later, her husband returned home and could not find her, which prompted him to contact the Medina County Sheriff's Office. As deputies arrived, they began searching the residence, surrounding buildings, nearby fields and wooded area. A Medina County Sheriff's Office Unmanned Aerial Vehicle unit also responded and initiated an aerial search. Shortly after, the drone operator detected a heat signature and, using onboard cameras, located the woman lying in a soybean field approximately a quarter mile from her home. "Thanks to this technology, deputies and EMS personnel were able to quickly reach her location and safely reunite her with her family," the sheriff's office stated. "Fortunately, she did not require hospitalization. The use of the drone facilitated a rescue that otherwise may have ended differently." The sheriff's office was assisted by the Lodi Fire Department and the woman's neighbors.