CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Bee County sheriff's deputies have been using a drone equipped with the Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system to hunt down suspects at night who try to hide out in the brush.
The system has been used over the past few days on several night cases including an incident where a felon out of San Antonio had run from Live Oak County deputies. Bee County’s drone helped capture him.
”Without that probably we would not have caught that individual," Bee County Sgt. Adrian Zermeno said. "By the time we were flying the drones, he had managed to get out of the search area.”
Zermeno is one of two FAA certified drone pilots the sheriff's office has right now. He said along with the drone’s thermal imaging capability, it also has a spotlight on it. Both were used to track and find a driver who took off running into the brush after a high speed chase.
The drone isn’t the only tool law enforcement has at its disposal to find a criminal in the brush or perhaps a missing person, but often times it might be the best option.
”Tracking dogs if they are available would be another option," Zermeno said. "They are not always an option, but that only gives you the ground view.”
Sheriff Alden Southmayd said he used asset forfeiture funds to buy the $19,000 drone. He says he's ready to buy another one.
”The drone can do so much more actually with the tracking," Southmayd said. "Dogs are very valuable, but for tracking I think I would call the drone before the dog.”
3NEWS checked with CCPD about their drone program. Officials said the department has 10 drones with the FLIR capability and 10 FAA certified pilots, but the program is not active at this time. They added that they are looking to buy a new drone and are prepared to spend $16-21,000 for one with the FLIR system.
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