A group of hikers, including six children, was rescued late on the night of April 27 after getting lost on the Cherry Creek Falls Trail near Duvall, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.
The emergency call came in around 9:30 p.m., when a man reported that he and six children—ranging in age from 2 to 13—were lost.
The group had no food or water, and the temperature was in the low 50s and dropping.
Deputies from the Sheriff’s North Precinct and Sammamish Police Department responded, along with King County Search and Rescue volunteers.
A sergeant from the Sammamish Police, who is trained as a drone operator, deployed what the department refers to as an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to help find the group.
The sergeant was able to locate the hikers using the drone, and rescue teams on the ground made contact with them about a mile up the trail.
The drone followed the group as they made their way back to the trailhead, providing both light and reassurance for the children.
One Search and Rescue volunteer noted the drone was especially helpful not just for lighting the path, but for distracting and calming some of the frightened kids.
All members of the hiking group were safely returned without injury, authorities said.
The King County Sheriff’s Office currently has 41 trained drone pilots across its agency.
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