Missing 10-Year-Old Is Found with a Thermal Imaging Camera

A missing 10-year-old girl was found safely thanks to the assistance of a drone with thermal imaging technology after nearly 24 hours away from home.

On Saturday, September 14, at 10 p.m., Peyton Saintignan went missing from her home in Dubberly, Louisiana, near Shreveport, after sleepwalking into the dense woods. The 10-year-old’s family and friends went in search of the girl, but to no luck, so they contacted the police for help. 

Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker, the Louisiana State Police, and hundreds of volunteers searched for the little girl. One of those volunteers turned out to be drone operator Josh Klober, who traveled from Arkansas to help out. 

“Our office was notified that Peyton was missing,” Sheriff Parker shared. “The family and neighbors had already been looking for her for about an hour.”

Peyton was finally found with thermal technology

The search was made possible by drone operator Josh Klober, whose drone with thermal imaging technology helped locate the missing 10-year-old.

Thermal imaging cameras detect heat energy from people or objects and convert it into an image. These can be used for a number of operations, including firefighting and wildlife observation. The camera was a great option to help locate Peyton, who had disappeared into the dark woods.  

A trail camera had recorded Peyton early Sunday morning, which aided the Sheriff, Klober and the rest of the search party in finding her. The operation was a big set up. “We staged up and got everything set up, set the generator up,” Klober explained on the equipment. “We had a big, flat-screen TV.”

At 11 p.m. on September 15, the thermal imaging drone was able to locate Peyton, who was found curled up on the ground, asleep in a pair of Frozen pajamas and no shoes. She was approximately 1.5 miles from her home.

See the drone footage below:

“She was in dense woods roughly 300 yards from where a trail camera had recorded her earlier Sunday morning,” the sheriff explained. “She was asleep when we found her. We’ve had her checked by EMS and she is fine, back at home and hungry.”

Klober shared that everyone was nervous when they found her lying on the ground. “We saw the purple and white pajamas that she had been wearing,” he explained. “She was lying there. She wasn't moving and everybody was just kind of holding their breath.”

Peyton was found unharmed after a long day of searching

Luckily, Peyton was found well and unharmed after the near 24-hour long search. The trail camera photo that helped the search process showed the little girl without food, water or any kind of supplies, which was a worry since she was gone for an entire day. 

“It's truly a miracle that she was unharmed,” the sheriff said.

Although it was a stressful 24-hours for everyone on the lookout for Peyton, it turned out to be a happy ending. Sheriff Parker is “thrilled” for the positive outcome, as he and everyone else is aware that it could have been much worse. 

“I can’t tell you how thrilled we all are to have a happy ending to this,” the Sheriff shared after finding Peyton. “A lot of prayers were answered today. And, I want especially to thank all the agencies who helped bring Peyton safely home, and all the volunteers who gave their time and efforts. This was truly a cooperative effort.”

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