Photo: Richard Newstead / Moment / Getty Images
Last Saturday night, Michigan State Troopers used heat-seeking technology to rescue a missing two-year-old boy in Blackman Charter Township. The child’s parents reported him missing around 8 p.m. after they noticed their front door open and the toddler no longer in the living room. With temperatures dropping into the 40s and the boy wearing only a diaper, troopers knew the situation was urgent.
Sergeant Cole Martin and Tactical Flight Officer Brandon Franklin were already in the air in a helicopter when the call came in. Using an infrared camera, they searched the area and, after 15 minutes, spotted movement in a ditch near a highway. In footage released by Michigan State Police, a trooper can be heard confirming, “We got him!” as they spotted the child.
The toddler was found conscious and alert, taken to a local hospital, and later reunited with his grateful parents. Both officers, who are fathers themselves, say they were determined not to leave until the child was found. “We train for this,” says Martin, who adds that it was important the search had a happy ending.
Source: GOOD MORNING AMERICA