Missing dog found safe in Rothbury after mountain rescue drone search
Mountain recue volunteers used drone technology to find a lost dog that had been lost near in Rothbury.
The Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team (NNPMRT) turned out after local man Andrew Charlton’s dog, Jock, went missing for three days during the recent heatwave.
The volunteers scoured Blaeberry Hill in the early hours of May 28 to help in the search for him.
Using a drone equipped with thermal imaging cameras, Jock was found by members of the team at around 6am and returned safely home to his owners.
In a post to Facebook, Andrew wrote: “I want to issue a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped in the search for Jock.
“Carl from the rescue team located Jock with a heat seeking drone.
"He is fit and well, if a little hungry.”
He added: “I would love to thank you all individually but that is impossible, but special thanks to Dale Collis, Councillor Steven and Andrew Miller.”
A spokesperson from NNPMRT said: “We try to help out the local community as much as possible. It’s not the sort of search we usually get involved in, but as you know, members of the local community had been out searching but to no avail so we were keen to help.
“Thanks to some great local knowledge from local members and expert drone flying by one of our drone pilots, they were able to locate Jock and we were delighted to see him reunited with his owner.”
Rothbury Councillor Steven Bridgett helped arrange the rescue.
He said: “My sincere thanks go to Andrew Miller for agreeing to this and for bringing the drone over from Pegswood, to the drone pilot who travelled up from Hexham, and to all the other team members involved.
“We’re chalking this one up as a training exercise, but it’s important to remember that every member of the team involved is a volunteer.
"The NNPMRT is a charity, and your continued support is always hugely appreciated.
"You never know when one day we might need them ourselves.”