Lost Pets of Omaha Area®
Two calves that desperately needed regular bottle feeding were lost in the woods but were found with the help of a thermal imaging drone.
At 7:30 in the morning, a message came into the Lost Pets of Omaha Area Facebook page about two baby calves lost in the woods. They had been missing for 14 hours and were in serious trouble since they needed to be bottle-fed. Luckily, our drone pilot was available, and with cloudy skies and cool ground, conditions were ideal. On sunny or warm days, the thermal drone struggles because it detects heat, and warm surfaces like bare ground, stones, logs, or hay bales can make it hard to tell them apart from an animal’s heat signature.
Still, there were three challenges. The first was that the calves were possibly lost in deep woods. At this time of the year, the tree canopy can hide most any heat signature. Next, the location was in Eppley’s Class C restricted airspace. So, the first step was to create a flight plan and get approval via LAANC (“Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability.”). Eppley Air Traffic Control approved it immediately as I requested a max AGL (Above Ground Level) that was under the Class C limit in that area. Here is the response from Air Traffic Control:
ASL25CF548G0 / OMA, 2026-05-05T15:00:00Z – 2026-05-05T23:00:00Z, 250
In accordance with Title 14 CFR Part 107.41, your operation is authorized within the designated airspace and timeframe constraints. Altitude limits are absolute values above ground level which shall not be added to the height of any structures.
This Authorization is subject to cancellation at any time upon notice by the FAA Administrator or his/her authorized representative. This Authorization does not constitute a waiver of any State law or local ordinance. (pilot’s name) is the person designated as responsible for the overall safety of UAS operations under this Authorization. During UAS operations for on-site communication/recall, (pilot’s name) shall be continuously available for direct contact at (pilots’s phone) by Air Traffic.
The third challenge was navigating Iowa’s SF 491 drone laws, which ban flights over farmland without explicit permission from landowners. I enjoy working with rural communities because they always rally together to support one another. When I arrived, the whole neighborhood was out on ATVs, searching, and everyone made it clear they welcomed the search.
After a couple of hours, we picked up a few possible heat signatures, so some people went to check them out. There had been cows in that spot recently, but they were nowhere to be found. Then the sun came out, making it impossible to continue, so we rescheduled for just before sunset.
The weather seemed to play along at first, with heavy clouds rolling in and strong winds high above. Gusts at 200 feet slightly exceeded our drone’s limits, so we hoped things would calm down by sunset. We returned to the scene at 7 PM with updated LAANC approval to fly until 11 PM. As a front moved in, the winds picked up even more, but given the seriousness of the situation, we pushed the drone to its limits.
The drone resumed its search in several new areas. After about an hour, as the ground cooled, we spotted numerous deer and turkeys. Expanding the search to another area, we noticed two similar heat signatures close together but barely moving, hidden deep in the trees and brush. In these cases, we circle around for a better view. To our surprise, the two calves were right there! We quickly called the owner. The drone recorded the exact GPS coordinates in a QR code, which we handed over. Scanning the code opened a Google Map with precise walking directions to the spot. The owner and several neighbors headed out in ATV’s deep into the woods.
Two heat signatures spotted from 178 feet
We flew the drone over the area, keeping it high enough so the propeller noise wouldn’t scare the baby calves. As people approached, the calves bolted—one was caught right away, but the other took off again. Eventually, both were rounded up, loaded into ATVs, and brought home around 9:30 p.m. Two large bottles were waiting for them, and the hungry calves were more than ready for their meal.
Finally, dinner time, safe at home.
The following is 20 minutes of about 5 hours of drone video taken of the search. If you hover over the video, you can expand the video to full screen by clicking the [ ] just to the right of the speaker icon
