LEITCHFIELD, Ky. (LEX 18) — A drone played an integral role in helping law enforcement find a suspect who was hiding in the woods in Leitchfield on Saturday, according to the Grayson County Sheriff's Office.
According to a release from the office, 40-year-old Henry Harris was arrested and charged after he reportedly attempted to evade law enforcement in the woods after violating a Domestic Violence Protective Order.
The office says that deputies responded to a call in regards to the violation on Armes-Lively Road in Leitchfield. An elderly woman identified as the suspect's mother in the release filed an EPO (Emergency Protective Order) against her son, Harris, after he made threats to harm her, made fraudulent charges on her debit card, and assaulted her in the past. It was also revealed through an investigation that he had been terrorizing her on a consistent basis.
The mother called the police on Saturday because Harris had turned up at the home, gone through her barn, and was banging on her door to get in. Deputies arrived on the scene and determined that Harris was likely still on the property.
Deputies then called for the County's drone to be deployed to assist in the search. After the drone was up in the air, they found Harris lying in a ditch about 100 yards away from the house. Using FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared), the drone pilot was able to lead deputies to Harris's location.
Once deputies got close to Harris, he led them on a foot pursuit through rough terrain and barbed wire fences, according to the release. Harris was then tackled by a deputy and placed under arrest.
Harris was charged with second-degree wanton endangerment of a police officer, first-degree fleeing or evading police (on foot, domestic violence), third-degree criminal mischief, first-degree second-offense possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and violation of Kentucky EPO/DVO, and taken to the Grayson County Detention Center.
Grayson County Sheriff Norman Chaffins said, "The drone that the County received is a valuable tool for our law enforcement. In this case, we were able to prevent a potentially violent domestic by apprehending the perpetrator before he hurt someone. This was a perfect situation to use the drone. It not just kept our Deputies safe, but our K-9 as well as we did not have to deploy Zeus to locate the suspect."
