from http://www.cpr.org
The bodies of the three men who were lost following the massive landslide in western Colorado on May 25 may never be recovered, but not for a lack of trying. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or drones, played a key role in an exhaustive search that failed to yield signs of the men.
“I think a certain amount of time having elapsed to this point is a strong suggestion as to the potential to actually recover those bodies and I think it speaks to the size of the mudslide itself,” says Ben Miller, Mesa County’s unmanned aircraft program manager.
On Sunday, hundreds gathered in a school in the small town of Collbran to remember the men who went missing after the landslide occurred — 51-year-old Clarence “Clancy” Allen Nichols, his 24-year-old son, Daniel Allen Nichols, and 46-year-old Wesley “Wes” Melvin Hawkins.
Miller says drones were used to help understand the extent of the debris field. He says he’s has never seen such extensive damage from a natural disaster.
Continue Reading at http://www.cpr.org
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com