New Eye In The Sky For Yakima County Sheriff’s Office
The Yakima County Sheriff's office has a new tool to help catch criminals and locate missing people. A drone is now part of the sheriff's office. Chief Criminal Deputy Robert Udell says a specially trained deputy carries the drone with him and is called to help in a variety of situations. "The number one thing we use it for is search and rescue. You can imagine how great it is. You get an elderly person or a young kid lost and you get that up in the air you can really see so much better."
In fact Udell says the drone was helpful in finding burglary suspects hiding in the lower valley over the weekend. Udell says they also use the drone for deputy safety. The drone can search around homes and other areas before a deputy is sent to prevent any surprises or hidden dangers. Udell says the aim is to have drones in every deputies car for their use. He says it's been a great new tool and it's uses he says will only expand in the future.