Officers in LA County use infrared tech to rescue missing man: 'Miracle just in time for Christmas'

(KTLA) — A 78-year-old California man with dementia who had gone missing on a chilly December day was located thanks to infrared heat-seeking technology, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Malibu Search and Rescue Team.

The man, whose identity was not released, was reported missing in Malibu at about 7:30 p.m. Monday, three hours after he'd gone to check his mailbox and never returned, officials said on X, formerly Twitter.

The temperature was "48 degrees and falling," the sheriff's department noted.

Using a drone equipped with infrared heat-seeking technology, Malibu Search and Rescue were ultimately able to detect "a significant heat signature" in the brush alongside a road, authorities said. But the signature — which appeared to look like a human — was not moving.

"Believing the heat signature was of the missing person, Malibu SAR operators were deployed with medical and evacuation equipment," officials detailed. "Upon arriving on scene, the rescuers observed the missing man suffering from cold related illness, confused and unable to walk. He was evaluated, wrapped in a blanket, and placed in a rescue basket."

The man was then treated for his illness and put into an ambulance. The sheriff's department did not share any update on the man's condition as of Thursday, but called his rescue "a miracle just in time for the holidays" in its X post.

"Great work by everyone involved," Malibu Search and Rescue concluded.