Authorities: Private drone likely saved missing Floyd County person’s life

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A drone identical to the one Floyd County recently purchased was likely responsible for saving a missing person’s life recently near Colwell, members of the county Emergency Management Agency Commission discussed at a meeting Wednesday evening.

In a rundown of highlights of the year, EMA Coordinator Jason Webster noted that the county had recently purchased a new drone with an almost $10,000  grant that had come from the Floyd County Community Foundation.

Outfitted with an array of cameras including thermal imaging, the drone can be used to search for missing persons, track suspects for law enforcement, or get an overview of grass fires or other rural fires, hazardous material spills or other situations where quickly sizing up the nature and extent of a situation is important.

Webster said the drone the county purchased is the same model as one owned by a private citizen that helped out in December when a person was reported missing north of Colwell.

Addressing Chief Deputy Pat Shirley, Webster said, “Pat, you were out there that night. I would say that that drone probably saved that girl’s life.”

“It’s the only reason she was located,” Shirley said. “She wasn’t anywhere close to where we thought she was.”

Sheriff Jeff Crooks added, “She wouldn’t have been located until the next morning if that drone hadn’t picked her up” on its cameras.

Shirley said drones are “one of the best tools that’s come out lately for law enforcement, search and rescue, fire departments.”

“The time it saves to cover ground rather than boots on the ground is amazing,” he said. “They’re way worth it.”

Webster said he had also applied for a grant through Valero Renewables so he could purchase six additional drone batteries at $320 each. That would be enough that the drone could be kept flying almost continuously if needed for a longer period, by rotating in fresh batteries while depleted ones are charging.

The Floyd County Emergency Management Commission holds a couple of meetings at least annually to approve the EMA budget for the upcoming fiscal year, discuss potential policies and get a general update from the EMA coordinator.

The commission is made up of the county sheriff, a member of the county Board of Supervisors and the mayor of each city in Floyd County.

Webster said he would like to be able to start building up the annual budget carryover amount so there was money available for things like initial reaction to disasters, capital projects or to replace his vehicle when necessary.

“It’s going to be tough for us to do unless I can really start showing the positive ending fund balance,” he said.

The group agreed to double the cities’ contribution to the county EMA from the current 27 cents per capita to 54 cents per capita, but noted that increase will only take their total contribution from the current $2,840.40 to $5,681.80, adding less than an additional $3,000.

Webster said the county supervisors were also considering an additional $25,000 in funding for the EMA in next year’s budget, but that hadn’t been decided yet.

Charles City Mayor Dean Andrews talked about the help Webster had been during the flood last summer, and how he had filed for about $71,000 in disaster aid for the city.

The EMA estimated fiscal year 2025 budget which ends June 30 shows $73,945 in total revenue, including $50,000 from Floyd County, $21,105 from the federal government, and $2,840 from the cities in the county.

Total expenditures are $103,096, including $72,946 for Webster’s salary, taxes and benefits; $11,450 for commodities including fuel, equipment, parts and other supplies; and $18,700 for other services and charges including vehicle equipment and repairs, training, equipment insurance, and office supplies and services.

Webster’s revised proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 with the additional city contribution will have $76,785 in total revenue and $100,620 in expenditures, although that will change slightly  with a 3% salary increase the commission approved for him Wednesday evening.

The decline in expenditures from the current fiscal year comes primarily in reductions in estimated expenditures on fuel, parts and office supplies and services.

The commission set Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 5:30 p.m. for the next meeting including the budget hearing.

In Webster’s rundown of highlights and accomplishments for the year, he said the most rewarding thing he had been involved in was working with Lt. Travis Bartz, Floyd Volunteer Fire Chief Ben Chatfield, Dispatch Administrator John Gohn and others on the project to upgrade the county’s public safety radio communications system.

That includes getting all new digital radios and pagers for law enforcement, firefighters and other emergency responders, switching to the Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System (ISICS), and installing a new 300-foot radio tower near Rockford to extend reliable communications to the western side of the county.

Floyd County issued about $5 million in emergency communications bonds in August 2023 for the project.

“We’re hoping that we’ll get the Rockford site online next week to start utilizing it over there,” Webster said. “And then final completion after everything’s been tested, certified, probably will be late March, early April.”

Webster also said he had made progress on updating and improving the system of gauges that monitor the level of the Cedar, Shell Rock and Winnebago rivers in Floyd County, and had worked with the Iowa Flood Center to install a hydro station near the Cedar Valley Transportation Center to monitor wind, rain, soil temps, soil moisture and water table depth.

Other highlights included hosting a mental health awareness program for first responders, offering water rescue training in Rudd with North Iowa Underwater Search and Rescue last summer, helping with some city water issues in Colwell and Nora Springs including working with Hy-Vee to donate bottled drinking water, and various other training exercises held or planned.