SHREVEPORT, LA – A remarkably successful collaboration between a drone operator, a local sheriff, and hundreds of volunteers led to the safe recovery of a missing 10-year-old girl in Shreveport, Louisiana. Known for sleepwalking, Peyton Saintignan had mysteriously wandered into the woods adjoining her home on September 14th and couldn’t be found by her family and neighbors.
Responding to the family’s notification, the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office teamed up with the Louisiana State Police and volunteers to search the densely wooded area. Josh Klober, co-owner of Drone Management Services LLC, joined the search efforts, bringing with him a thermal imaging drone.
A trail camera provided a recent picture of Peyton aiding the search. On the night of September 15th, Klober’s drone, hovering over the challenging terrain nearly 1.5 miles from the child’s home, detected Peyton’s thermal image. Dressed in her purple and white pajamas, she had curled up on the ground and wasn’t moving.
Peyton’s best friend’s father, part of the search team, reached Peyton and woke her. Webster Parish Sheriff, Jason Parker, said Peyton was unharmed except for a few mosquito bites. First responders and Child Protective Services checked Peyton’s health and wellbeing before she was returned to her family.
Describing the successful recovery as a “miracle,” Sheriff Parker noted that despite Peyton’s history of sleepwalking, this was her first venture out of the house.