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The Iuka Fire Department’s thermal drone quickly found three persons who went missing during the heavy Monday night rains in the Dismal Creek bottoms in Clay County.   The department had been called to provide mutual aid to the searchers and had located the three in a clearing about three minutes after launch.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a parent stating that her daughter had gone ‘tubing’ with two friends in the backwaters but hadn’t had contact with her since around 7:30 p.m. on Monday night.  When deputies arrived, they located the vehicle but were unable to locate the occupants or any additional information on their whereabouts.  One of the three suffers from a medical issue and requires medicine to keep it regulated.

The sheriff’s department requested assistance from Clay County ESDA/Rescue, Iuka Fire Protection District, and North Clay Fire Protection District.  After deploying the drone at 12:31 Tuesday morning while emergency personnel were staging nearby, the Iuka drone located the three missing individuals in a wooded area about a quarter mile from their vehicle.  Deputies walked into their location and escorted them to the road.

The three were checked by EMS, but declined treatment and were left in the care of their families.

Iuka Assistant Fire Chief Chad Eagan says the thermal drone shows white on the screen when it discovers a heat source, such as that put off by the missing people.  This is the second rescue of a missing person the Iuka Fire Protection District has made with its drone.  In the first case, an elderly female who had wandered away from her home was found.