Missing Kids Quickly Found In Point Pleasant Beach With Police Drone Unit

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — When a child gets separated from their family in a public place, every minute counts in trying to find them.

In Point Pleasant Beach, the police department has added a tool to help it reunite children and their families in a speedy fashion: a drone.

The police department's drone unit has put its skills to use twice in the span of eight days, finding quickly helping to find two children who went missing in the borough on very busy Saturdays.

On July 5, an 8-year-old girl went missing near Arnold Avenue, police said. With the assistance of the department's drone operated by Police Officer Arthur Gant, the girl was found 27 minutes later near New York Avenue, Detective Jeffrey Latshaw said.

A week later, a nonverbal boy who is on the autism spectrum went missing near the boardwallk in the area of Parkway, Latshaw said. The boy was found 26 minutes later, he said. Police Officer Christopher Levan was flying the drone, he said.

The drone unit was formed in April, Latshaw said, and there are four officers who are licensed drone pilots.

The drone unit is dispatched to nearly every missing child search and or Silver Alert, especially on the beach, Latshaw said.

"Incredible work by our officers and drone team!" a post on the police department's Facebook page said regarding the missing children. "Keeping our community safe from the sky."