57-year-old gets stuck in thick brush on snowy walk, WA cops say. Drone helps in rescue

A 57-year-old man was rescued after he was reported missing when he didn’t return from a walk in the snow, Washington officials said.

Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call at 5:23 a.m. on Feb. 26 about a man missing in Humptulips, according to a Feb. 28 news release posted on Facebook by the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office.

A man from Aberdeen went on a walk in the snow around 5 p.m. on Feb. 25 in the Humptulips area, according the release.

When the man didn’t return from his walk, the “reporting party believed” that he “may have gotten a ride into Aberdeen,” officials said.

The caller went into Aberdeen to look for the man but couldn’t find him, according to the release.

After they weren’t able to find the man on their own, deputies called in “dog teams from West Coast Search Dogs of Washington and a drone with thermal imaging capabilities” for help, deputies said.

Around 4:20 p.m., almost 24 hours after the man had gone on his walk, a “drone operator was able to guide the K9 team to the man who was located in some thick brush and was unable to get out on his own,” according to the release.

The man was sent to a hospital in Aberdeen after being treated by first responders for hypothermia and potential “seizure activity,” deputies said.

Humptulips is about 130 miles southwest of Seattle.

This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 8:06 AM with the headline "57-year-old gets stuck in thick brush on snowy walk, WA cops say. Drone helps in rescue."