Henderson Co. missing girl found with THP helicopter
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HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A Henderson County child is home safe and sound after going missing Sunday night, and officials say a new piece of equipment may have saved her life. Two-year-old Hadley Jean Richardson was playing at her grandmother’s house when she wandered off around 6:30 p.m. Sunday. “When seconds count, it’s good to have the right equipment needed,” Tennessee Highway Patrol Lt. Brad Wilbanks said. And for this 2-year-old, that equipment — a THP helicopter — may have saved her life. “About 40 minutes into the search they were able to use the FLIR, the Forward Looking Infrared Radar,” Wilbanks said. “They did locate an object. Trooper Russell then conducted a low-altitude search light and was able to identify that it was an object that appeared to be a child.” Using technology from the helicopter, officials were able to pinpoint the child’s location using her body heat and send ground crews in to rescue her. The search lasted only three hours, and officials attribute that short time period to the THP Aviation Unit. “So they tracked her right along the woodline from where the trailer was, walking around the woodline right into it looked like a path going into the woods, and the dog followed her right to where she was at,” said Investigator Anthony Woodfin with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. “It was some cold temperatures last night,” Wilbanks said. “The dew had already fallen. That’s a matter of life and death, and I have no doubt that the searchers last night and the helicopter saved this child’s life.”
