NY drone pilot finds lost pup that had been missing for over a week

A New York drone pilot used his unmanned aircraft to find a Golden Retriever pup that had been missing for over a week in a wooded area near Andes, NY.

NY drone pilot finds lost pup that had been missing for over a week

Thanks to the power of the Internet a lost pup was safely returned home after being missing for 10 days in the woods. Drone pilot Brian James, of Cairo, New York saw a flyer online about the missing one-year-old pup Meadow.

James, who is a licensed hiker and drone pilot was moved by the outcry for help and decided to help search for the missing dog with his drone.

“I'm realizing that [it] might be easy to see her from the air if we find her before snow [falls],” said James, who is a licensed hiking guide and drone pilot.

James went to Andes, NY, and used his drone to canvas the wooded area where Meadow was last seen. It didn't take long for the NY drone pilot to spot a patch of white.

“I was able to get a visual on Meadow from the air,” said James.

He rushed to the location where he had seen the pup and reunited Meadow with her family shortly after. The family was overjoyed to have Meadow safely returned home, reported Good Morning America.

“At the last second, he saw a small white dot on the forest floor. … It was Meadow,” said owner Gary Morgan.

Gary and his wife, Debbie Morgan are thankful for James' help and glad he brought his drone along for the search.

“[We're] just so grateful for Brian for showing up when he did and being able to rescue her,” said Debbie Morgan.

James said that anybody can help.

“Everybody's got the capability to help,” he said. “You never know what will come of it.”

DroneXL's take

Over the last few years, we have seen drones often play a crucial role in Search and Rescue missions. Especially drones that are outfitted with thermal cameras have shown to be very effective in finding missing people and animals. Thermal drones are not very expensive and First Responders should consider adding these devices to their set of tools. However, even regular drones can be helpful as this NY drone pilot has shown in this story.

Stay in touch!

If you'd like to stay up to date with all the latest drone News, scoops, rumors, and reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or…

Subscribe to our Daily Drone News email.*

Submit tips If you have information or tips that you would like to share with us, feel free to submit them here. Support DroneXL.co: You can support DroneXL.co by using these links when you make your next drone purchase: Adorama, Amazon, B&H, BestBuy, eBay, DJI, Parrot, and Yuneec. We make a small commission when you do so at no additional expense to you. Thank you for helping DroneXL grow! FTC: DroneXL.co uses affiliate links that generate income.


* We do not sell, share, rent out or spam your email, ever. Our email goes out on weekdays around 5:30 p.m.

Photo credit: ABC