A piece of grant-funded equipment was able to help authorities locate a man who got lost in a wooded area Tuesday evening.

Deputies from the Livingston County Sheriff's Office were dispatched around 6:45pm to a wooded area near the intersection of Patterson Lake Road and Country Lane in Putnam Township. Livingston County Central Dispatch had received a call from an 18-year-old man who advised he was walking in the wooded area, was lost, and did not know how to get back to where he had parked his vehicle. The individual advised his cell phone was about to "die" due to a low battery. Dispatchers were able get an approximate area where the man was by using the cellular phone towers. Sergeant Chad Sell utilized the Sheriff's Office Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and was able to locate the man near Monks Road. Deputies were then able to guide him safely back to his vehicle. Sgt. Sell tells WHMI the 18-year-old got turned around on horse trails. He says the man went for a walk but realized he made a couple of wrong turns and only had 10% battery life so he made the right call to 911.

The UAV was purchased by the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in 2018 and a grant was awarded by Fire House Subs to help offset the cost. The Office says it is very thankful to have the equipment available to assist with rescue calls such as Tuesday’s incident. (JM)