CASS COUNTY, Mo. — Missouri deputies used a drone equipped with a thermal camera to find a 93-year-old woman who had gone missing, authorities said.

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Deputies with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office used the equipment in a dark farm field Sunday evening, The Kansas City Star reported.

The woman’s husband called authorities about 8:30 p.m., saying his wife had gone for a walk at 5 p.m. and had not returned, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Deputies searched several acres on foot but were unable to find the woman, KMBC reported. Officials decided to use an unmanned aerial vehicle, a DjI Matrice 210, which was equipped with the thermal camera, the television station reported.

Within five minutes of launching the drone, deputies found the woman about a quarter-mile from her home, the Star reported. She was tired and missing a shoe but was in good health, the sheriff’s office said.

“This is an excellent use of current technology to help our citizens,” Cass County Sheriff Jeff Weber said in the news release. “The ability to deploy a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) in these types of situations saves time and resources, especially when time is of the essence. Every minute counts.”

Cox Media Group