Wisconsin state trooper uses drone to find dog missing after car crash
Trooper Jones and River, the dog he helped locate after its owner got in a car crash. (Wisconsin Department of Transporation)
(FOX 9) - A Wisconsin state trooper using a drone helped locate a puppy and reunite it with its owner after it went missing following a car crash last Friday.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation said a driver and her dog were traveling on Wisconsin Highway 57 in Brown County Friday morning when a deer darted onto the road. The driver swerved to avoid the deer and crashed her vehicle into the median. She was taken to a hospital for her injuries.
The dog, a three-month-old Australian Shepherd named River, ran from the vehicle after the crash. Emergency responders searched the area, but were unable to locate the dog. The driver’s family and friends spent several hours searching for River near the crash site.
A state trooper, identified by WisDOT as Trooper Jones, responded to the scene. The trooper was a certified drone pilot, so he put his drone into the air to help search for the dog.
Jones spotted paw prints near a mound of snow-covered grass. He walked to the location and found River hiding in the grass. The dog was scared, but uninjured.
After getting checked out at the local animal hospital, the dog was reunited with its owner.