K9s, drones, and cell data: How modern law enforcement finds missing people

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — While missing persons cases happen frequently in East Tennessee, it often isn’t as well known how law enforcement searches for the individuals at the center of those cases. Recently we met with the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office to see the traditional, the tactical and the modern tools deputies and officers use to find those who go missing.

Sheriff Jimmy Davis said they start the search by asking a lot of questions. Some of the information they ask about includes a description of what the person was last seen wearing and a physical description. Deputies also start looking for what direction the person may have gone.

He explained that missing person case can be very different depending who they’re trying to find.

“Age group has a big influence on what we do. If it is a juvenile that is missing under the age of ten or someone who is 15-16 years old and maybe gone with someone who has access to a car or driver’s license. And you have the adults who go missing and then you go to a Silver Alert, someone who is elderly and has a condition, something of that nature,” Davis explained.

When it involves children, Davis said the search almost always starts by looking around the home.

“Percentage wise, we usually find the child in the home, whether it’s in the bedroom. I found a child in a toy box. He was in his room and ended up falling asleep in his toy box,” he said.

Davis, who has more than three decades of police experience, added that while many missing people cases are not always quickly solved, law enforcement is getting better at finding those who seem to vanish. That’s because Loudon County and many other East Tennessee departments have several tools that can help. That includes drones, dogs, flock cameras, pinging a cell phone, social media and sharing photos with the media.

“We use them as another tool in our toolbox. If they have gone outside the area we can concentrate on, the media is the next step,” Davis explained.

To get a better idea of how the tools can be used together, we asked the Sheriff to show us how his department might look for a child who has wondered off, which often gets a high priority response. For that demonstration, Davis brought us to a field where deputies could see most of the area, but not all of it.

Detective Sgt. Chad McVay acted as the missing person and was standing along a tree line on the other side of a small hill, and while we couldn’t see him from out vantage point, Emergency Management Director Kelli Branam put his drone in the air and quickly found him with and without infrared heat sensor.

If that wasn’t enough, K-9 Rosco was tracking every step Detective McVay made.

“We have a bloodhound on our team especially for children and elderly, if its available we use it,” Davis said

Davis said when someone goes missing, don’t wait to call law enforcement because, in many cases, every minute matters. Unlike the myth, you don’t have to wait 24 hours. The sooner the better, and, he added, recent photos help and while clothing is important to help deputies visually. Knowing the mindset of the person who has vanished can be a big help.

Davis also told 6 News about Project Lifesaver. It’s available in Loudon County, Knox County, Anderson County and others areas in East Tennessee. As part of the program a person with Alzheimer’s or dementia or autism wears a tracking device that helps deputies find them if they go missing. In one case a few years ago, they found the man with Alzheimer’s 21 minutes after he was reported missing.

You have to sign up for it, so call your local sheriff’s office or police department and see if your county or city police office is part of project lifesaver.

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