A missing person report of an autistic five-year-old Florida girl ended on a happy note thanks to sheriff’s deputies who spotted her with a drone.
Bodycam footage captured the miraculous moment the little girl was rescued out of a wooded, swampy area where she had wandered from her home on Monday.
“On February 26, 2024, at 5:10 p.m., HCSO’s Aviation Unit was called to the 5000 block of Windbrush Drive in Tampa to assist deputies in finding a five-year-old girl who had left her home on foot,” the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reported in a news release.
“Using a thermal imaging camera, aviation found the girl walking through a heavily wooded area with wetlands. In the footage, you can see the child approaching a body of water,” the news release continued.
“Recognizing the pending danger, the aviation unit worked quickly, guiding deputies on the ground to her location, where she was found safe and without injury,” it concluded.
Footage from the thermal camera helped deputies on the ground get to the autistic girl who was lifted out of the swampy water, miraculously unharmed.
“They thought she was at the neighbor’s house,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said about the parents looking for the child, according to WFLA. “They go to the neighbor’s house and realize she’s not there, no we haven’t seen her. Now the panic starts to kick in.”
“In situations like this, every second counts, and it’s always rewarding to see this quick response for our deputies, and to see such a positive outcome,” Chronister said.
“When you have to work with people that suffer from autism, there are a lot of obstacles that are created,” he said. “One is, they’re drawn to water. The second is a lot of times they struggle with communication.”
Video footage showed how the technology was used to locate the child and get deputies to her in a short time.
“Hey I think I got her in the woods, she might be able to hear your name if you call her now,” a deputy can be heard saying during the search. “She’s about 80 feet running. I got two deputies moving in that direction.”
“Oh, there she is,” said another deputy on foot.
“Hi baby girl,” said one who stretched out his arms to pull her up and out. “Let’s get you out of the water.”
“We were looking for you sweetheart,” the deputy told her after getting her back to the rescue vehicles.
Chronister described the “Safety Net” program that helps find missing children with autism or elderly adults.
“We have it on our aviation units and have it on some of our cars, where we can hone in on this beacon and help us recover these individuals sooner rather than later,” he said.
Chronister praised the deputies for quickly acting to save the child Monday.
“Their quick action saved the day, turning a potential tragedy into a hopeful reunion,” the Sheriff said in a statement. “Their dedication shows what service and protection are all about here at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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