A Valentine’s Day hike in Union County turned into a backwoods scare on Saturday when a mother and her four children got lost on the trails at Jesse Helms Park. What could have been a long, anxious search wrapped up quickly after deputies launched a drone that zeroed in on the stranded family within minutes and guided rescuers straight to them.
According to a Facebook post from the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the family was out for a holiday walk when the mother called 911, reporting they had become disoriented on the back trails. Deputies first tried the old-school approach, using sirens and an air horn to help the group navigate back. When that did not work, they moved to Plan B and put an aerial unit in the air.
The post states that a trained drone operator quickly located the family in the wooded area and guided deputies directly to their position. From there, deputies walked the group back out of the woods and reunited them with their vehicle at the park.
How the drone sped the search
Union County deputies are no strangers to using drones in tense searches. In December 2024, WSOC-TV reported that the department used a drone equipped with thermal imaging and a floodlight to find a missing teen in wooded terrain, highlighting how aerial tools can quickly narrow down large search areas. Officials say that kind of technology can cut search times significantly and reduce risk to ground crews, which likely helped bring Saturday’s situation to a calm, quick close.
Where it happened and what to know
Jesse Helms Park, located at 1505 Summerlin Dairy Road in Wingate, features walking trails, a playground and picnic spots, and a trail map available through Union County Parks and Recreation. Park visitors are encouraged to stay on marked paths, head out with a fully charged phone and have a simple plan before venturing onto wooded routes. If you do get turned around, calling 911 lets deputies coordinate a targeted response.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies ultimately guided the mother and her children safely out of the woods and back to their vehicle, with the department publicly crediting both the drone operator and responding deputies for the swift, safe outcome.
