LEE COUNTY, FL - Drones continue to have an increasingly large presence in both security and law enforcement. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida is one example of this, having adopted Autel Robotics’ Dragonfish. Their drone gained notoriety during the high-profile Brian Laundrie case, which took place in September 2021.

Lee County, located in Southeast Florida, is home to over 700,000 residents and is served by 1,600 officers. These officers are responsible for over a wide area of over six towns.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office leveraged Autel Robotics’ Dragonfish drone to conduct a fugitive search operation. The mission was to locate the missing person, Brian Laundrie, who had been missing for several days. The Sheriff’s Office was able to use the Dragonfish’s advanced heat-seeking technology to locate the missing person in a matter of hours.

Needle in a Haystack

When Brian Laundrie went missing, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was tasked with finding him as quickly as possible, over a large area. With terrain inside the Carlton Reserve famously difficult to traverse, it was clear the search was not going to be a simple one. The sheriff’s office, therefore, needed a solution that could cover a large area quickly and accurately.

A warrant was first issued for Brian on September 23rd, with the FBI raiding his home a few days following to collect evidence and to better understand his possible whereabouts.

By mid-October, the search had been scaled back and yielded little.

It was by this time, weeks into the search that the sheriff decided to deploy a drone to cover the difficult terrain as efficiently as possible, and this was where Autel’s Dragonfish took action.

The Dragonfish was able to uncover Brian’s remains in Carlton Reserve, officially identifying him publicly on October 21st, 2021.

Dragonfish used to identify Laundrie

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office used the Dragonfish drone to quickly discover Laundrie after weeks of no success.

The Dragonfish, as a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone, is designed for large-scale operations. It weighs in at 7.5kg, with a fully automated takeoff and landing procedure, and over two hours of flight time.

“It can go over 18.6 miles away from the operator while we’re viewing exactly what it’s seeing. It has all the capabilities our helicopter does... (but) where a helicopter costs $2,000 an hour roughly, give or take, our drone is $0.75 an hour”.

-          Sheriff Carmine Merceno, Lee County Florida

Dragonfish models are also customizable with payloads that allow for varying use cases. In a situation where there is a possible felon or fugitive, the multi-sensor DG-T3  payload was a perfect choice. A 4K, 20x optical zoom with thermal capabilities ensures a potential target can be identified even if obscured or underwater.

An Intensive Search, Modernized

 "You can't hide from this thing," commented Sheriff Carmine Merceno, who gave his thoughts on the Dragonfish after the search.

Ultimately the Dragonfish was able to cut down on search time in the search for Brian Laundrie. Its advanced heat-seeking technology and customizable payloads contributed to the search, while its efficient, low-profile design gave a cost-effective solution for local law enforcement. This is just one case where drones increase efficiency, safety, and savings for police departments nationwide.  

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