A Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office drone was used to locate a 73-year-old man that had been reported missing by his wife, late Sunday evening. 

According to a Calhoun County Sheriff's Office press release, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched at around 10:00 p.m. after a call was received from a woman whose husband had left home at around 4:00 p.m. to take a walk on their property, in Marengo Township, and hadn’t returned. 

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Deputies arrived on the scene, in the 19000-block of Michigan Avenue, with K9 teams and officers from the Battle Creek Police Department, to begin a search of the swampy area in the dark of night. 

The Michigan State Police were contacted for helicopter support, but weather conditions blocked that effort. The only air support would come from a drone, launched by the Calhoun Country Sheriff’s Office Drone Team. 

Search teams trudged through the swamp, with water waist-deep in some areas, and temperatures in the mid to upper 20s. It was during this frigid search that the drone picked up a heat signature in the swamp and deputies, along with an area resident, were directed toward the image. 

The missing man was located, partially submerged in the murky water. He was placed onto a backboard and carried over 100 yards through the swamp, to the main roadway where additional medical personnel were waiting 

The victim was transported by Marshall Area Fire Fighters Ambulance Authority to an area hospital, where he later died. Deputies were treated on the scene for extended exposure to freezing water temperatures.

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