Last edited Thu Oct 2, 2014, 11:20 AM - Edit history (1)
Police Using Drone in Search for Hannah Graham
Oct. 1, 2014
As the search for 18-year-old Hannah Elizabeth Graham expands into the county, it's also expanding into the sky with new technology. ... Wednesday, Albemarle County Police deployed a drone in the search for the missing University of Virginia student. This marks the first time in Virginia that a drone is being used by law enforcement.
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The drone is on loan from Virginia Tech. Engineers say the high-quality camera and endurance of the Sky Ranger is perfect for this this type of search. ... “It's our hope this will give us a perspective you can't get from the ground, allow us to cover more area, and hopefully bring this to conclusion sooner,’ said John Coggin with Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership.
While the use of drones has been controversial, engineers hope that Wednesday's search effort will show there are positive uses for the technology. ... Even civil liberties group, The Rutherford institute agrees. In a statement John Whitehead said "The Rutherford Institute has long recognized that there are beneficial uses for drones, such as tracking wildfires or locating missing persons. We are all concerned about what has happened to Hannah Graham, and if using aerial drones can find her or at least provide some leads to law enforcement, all the better."
Police say they got authorization from the FAA to fly the drone, which will be 300-500 ft. in the air. Law enforcement also received permission from landowners to fly over their property.
Police employ drones in Graham investigation
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by Kelly Kaler | Oct 02 2014
Albemarle County Police employed the use of drone technology Wednesday in their continuing efforts to locate missing second-year College student Hannah Graham.
Officers employed an Unmanned Aerial System, or UAS, equipped with advanced sensors. The UAS belongs to Virginia Tech’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, headquartered at the university’s Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science in Blacksburg. This is the first time a UAS was used by Virginia authorities for a search of this kind, and its use required prior approval by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Carter Johnson, a public information officer for the Albemarle County Police Department, said the UAS was used to search areas where all-terrain vehicles and helicopters are unable to reach due to terrain restrictions or power lines.
“We are grateful that this technology was available to help us find Hannah Graham,” Johnson said in an email. “Our focus is on finding Hannah and we appreciate the support by VT in allowing us to use their UAS.”
Click here to watch a video of the drone search in action.
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