Missing man located by police drone within minutes

A missing man from Canterbury was located by a police drone just 20 minutes after he called for help.

Kent Police was called at 5.50pm to assist South East Coast Ambulance staff in locating a man in his 70s who was having a suspected medical episode in Upstreet.

The caller had phoned the ambulance service and stated that he was unwell, but didn’t recognise where he was. He had described to emergency staff over the phone that he was in a rural area but was feeling confused.

Officers were on the scene by 5.53pm and quickly realised that the search and rescue effort would require additional resources. A Drone Support Unit responded to the incident, and a drone was launched by 6pm to search the surrounding fields.

Kent Police has a variety of drones that can be used in multiple scenarios from search and rescue to public order incidents. The drone that was deployed for this search effort utilised specialist spotlight capabilities as well as a thermal imaging camera.

Officers kept the patient on the phone and were able to relay information to the drone operator, as well as paramedics.

By 6.10pm, a heat signature had been identified by the drone about 500 metres away from where emergency services had begun their search. The man was safely located by officers and passed into the care of medical professionals, all within half an hour of the initial call on Sunday 9 November.

Chief Inspector Adam Duke said:

‘This incident shows how vital our drone technology is in saving lives. Within minutes we were able to cover a large rural area that would have taken much longer on foot and locate a member of the public who was in need of help. So far in 2025, we can directly attribute eleven incidents where a high-risk missing person has been located by using a drone. ‘Cutting edge technology like this allows us to respond faster and more effectively to keep our community safe.’