Palm Springs Police Department utilizes drone in hiker rescue; how the department hopes to expand the program

Palm Springs Police are using a new tool to help them in a number of areas, including helping in a hiker rescue on Museum Trail Wednesday.

A young woman needed help after falling ill because of the heat and a lack of water.

The Palm Springs Fire Department received help from Riverside County Sheriff’s Department by utilizing their helicopter to airlift the hiker out of the mountains and onto a nearby golf course.

They also received help from Palm Springs Police who used a drone to try to deliver much needed water to the hiker.

"We never want to see someone in that condition because it takes time for us to hike up those trails and get you out of there," said Palm Springs Fire Chief, Paul Alvarado.

Palm Springs Police pitched-in with their dynamic drone, that can quickly navigate up a mountain with the steady guidance of an officer’s remote.

"We attached five water bottles and a bag to the drone, and we lifted that and started going to the location," said Lt. William Hutchinson, spokesperson for Palm Springs Police Department.

The DJI Matrice 300 RTK has been utilized by the department for a little over a year.

"Unfortunately, because that drone lost connection with the the pilot, it returned to its location. And the fire department was able to get down the hill before they needed us to try it again," added Lt. Hutchinson.

Although PSPD wasn’t able to successfully complete its mission, Lt. Hutchinson says the department learns from each operation and makes the needed changes to their training.

The department has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in state grants to expand their drone program and include more mobile, smaller models.

"Our officers can grab them and literally launch them from the seat of their police car, rather than waiting for a large drone to show up," said Lt. Hutchinson.

Equipped with thermal imaging, 55 minutes of flight time, a PA system and a spotlight, the drone provides a bird's eye view that spans several miles.

"We use it to search for suspects who have fled from officers or who may be in the area, just committed a crime, and they ran from the scene. We use it for crime scene and traffic accident diagraming," said Lt. Hutchinson.

Palm Springs Police has assisted the Fire Department with multiple missions and hopes to continue collaborating.

"The drones provide us with with that ability to save lives far faster than we we can today without that asset," said Lt. Hutchinson.

Palm Springs Fire Department spokesperson, Cpt. Ronald Skyberg also shared his appreciation for Palm Springs Police's efforts.

"The Palm Springs Fire Department and the Palm Springs Police Department collaborate on many emergencies that we respond to. Specifically when it comes to hiker rescue emergencies...We want to be able to also leverage the asset so that we can efficiently and effectively remove the hiker from the mountain. A drone provides eyes in the sky that we don’t have," said Cpt. Skyberg in a statement to News Channel 3.

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