Columbia County deputies are using drones as a way to speed up search-and-rescue efforts. Lt. Wayne Smith said the agency purchased its second drone a few weeks ago at a cost of $3,500, not including accessories.
He said the amount of time and costs related to manpower drones can save, as well as their potential to save lives by getting to scenes quicker, makes them well worth the cost.
"We started looking at it as a way to respond much more timely to our rescue situations," Smith said. "Unfortunately most of our rescues turn into recoveries because we can't get there quick enough."
Smith said the Sheriff's Office added its first drone a year ago. Before using drones, deputies had to mobilize teams of volunteers who then searched at ground level.
"We have a volunteer dive team that, when it's called in, requires our volunteers to come from their place of work, their home, wherever they're at," Smith said. "They're not actually on duty when a call comes. So it takes a while to mobilize all those folks."
Now one deputy can begin a search in minutes using a drone.
"We can have our smaller drone...up in the air in less than 10 minutes," Smith said.
Smith said deputies aren't just using drones for search-and-rescue. He said they've also been using it for serious crash investigations, getting an aerial shot of the scene for later reconstruction.