Early this summer, Mike Herdman went missing during a camping trip in Los Padres National Forest in California. Rescuers searched for the 34-year-old firefighter, but the forest spanned an area twice the size of the Grand Canyon. The story ended on a sad note, when Herdman was later found dead, presumably from an accidental fall. However, during the search process, authorities were able to cover more ground in a shorter amount of time than a typical search on foot, thanks to the use of unmanned vehicles.1
Unmanned vehicles, often referred to as drones, are frequently on the receiving end of close scrutiny, especially when used in domestic situations. But these vehicles are not used only in the surveillance capacity with which they are most typically associated. According to experts, unmanned vehicles can have an impact in other ways, such as helping law enforcement agencies get a bird’s-eye view of a situation without risking officer safety or breaking the bank for traditional manned aircraft.
