On Sunday, July 20th, Avery County Emergency Management and Linville Central Rescue launched a search and rescue operation in the Harper’s Creek area for two hikers who had become lost. The pair had reportedly spent nearly nine hours trying to find their way back to their starting point.
The Avery County Sheriff’s Office Drone Unit was called in to assist. Detective Ridge Phillips, the on-call drone pilot, responded to the scene and worked with Emergency Management and Linville Central Rescue to identify a target area for a focused search. Operating in complete darkness, Detective Phillips deployed a drone equipped with thermal imaging technology and was able to locate the hikers within hours. He successfully made contact with them using the drone’s loudspeaker.
Sheriff Mike Henley said they were thankful for the outcome of this search and for the work of their personnel, Emergency Management, and Linville Central Rescue.
Photo courtesy Linville-Central Rescue Squad
