Fond du Lac County drone search, child found in corn field: sheriff

FOND DU LAC, Wis. - The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office said a thermal drone helped locate a 3-year-old child who wandered into a corn field on Sunday, Aug. 25.

First responders were called to the field in the town of Alto shortly before 9 p.m. that night. The sheriff's office said the 3-year-old had been last seen around 7:30 p.m. and, after all barns and other buildings were searched, extra help was needed to search the field.

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While members of the sheriff's office and Fond du Lac Police Department drone teams searched from above, the Alto Fire Department began a systematic search of the corn field. 

The drone found a heat spot in the middle of the field around 9:30 p.m. A deputy and fire department personnel were then guided to the child, who was found uninjured around 9:45 p.m. 

The sheriff's office said, without the drone, deputies and others would likely have searched the 100-plus acre corn field for hours. 

Ultimately, the child was found roughly a half-mile away from home.