Skydio X10 Drone Finds Missing Alzheimer’s Patient in 24 Minutes

A 76 year old woman with Alzheimer’s walked out of her home into a cold Colorado evening. Within 24 minutes, a drone had found her standing in live traffic.

That is not a futuristic concept. It happened last week in Commerce City.

Drone as First Responder Moves Fast

On February 17, just before 7pm, the woman wandered from her residence near East 62nd Avenue. The temperature hovered around 44 degrees. She had no coat. Darkness was settling in.

Her husband called 911.

Officers from the Commerce City Police Department knew the clock was ticking. In missing person cases involving Alzheimer’s patients, minutes matter. Exposure, traffic, confusion, panic. The risks stack up quickly.

Instead of waiting for patrol units to search block by block, operators inside the department’s Real Time Crime Center launched a Drone as First Responder unit.

The aircraft was a Skydio X10, one of the most widely adopted police drones in the United States. The X10 has become a favorite among law enforcement agencies for its autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, and advanced thermal imaging capabilities.

Piloted remotely from headquarters, the drone was airborne in minutes.

Thermal Camera Spots Her in Highway Traffic

Using its thermal camera, the Skydio X10 quickly detected a heat signature in a place no one wants to see a vulnerable person standing.

She was walking in the middle of the northbound interchange between Highway 85 and Highway 2, with vehicles speeding past her on both sides.

From the air, the drone operator maintained eyes on the woman and guided a ground unit directly to her location. Within seconds of arrival, an officer made contact.

EMS was called to ensure she was not physically injured. Thankfully, she was unharmed.

Police then drove her home, where her husband was waiting anxiously. What could have become a tragic headline instead became a reunion story.

Why Skydio X10 Is Everywhere in U.S. Policing

The Skydio X10 is now massively adopted by police departments across the U.S., especially in Drone as First Responder programs. Its ability to launch quickly, navigate complex urban environments autonomously, and see in low light through thermal imaging makes it ideal for:

• Missing and endangered persons
• Armed suspect tracking
• Night operations
• Large event monitoring
• Search and rescue

Commerce City’s DFR operators now work from 10am to midnight, seven days a week, extending aerial coverage well beyond traditional patrol capacity.

This case shows the practical reality of DFR. A drone in the sky can cover ground faster than any cruiser, see through darkness, and reduce the time between disappearance and discovery.

In this case, that time was 24 minutes.

And that made all the difference.

DroneXL’s Take

The debate around police drones often centers on privacy, but stories like this remind readers why departments are investing heavily in platforms like the Skydio X10.

Speed saves lives. Thermal vision changes the search equation at night. And remote deployment from a Real Time Crime Center eliminates critical delays.

When a vulnerable person is walking in highway traffic in 44 degree weather, technology is not a luxury. It is a lifeline.

Expect more departments across the country to double down on DFR programs as platforms like the Skydio X10 continue to prove their value in real world emergencies.

Photo credit: FOX 31 KDVR