The Marshfield Police Department has added another set of eyes for officers on the ground — only these eyes can fly hundreds of feet above them and see things officers sometimes can't.
The department's new law enforcement drone can help search for missing people and suspects, check crash scenes, and provide an overhead view during large community events.
Marshfield Police Chief Doug Fannen said the department wanted more than a basic drone.
“We tried to get a drone that was weatherproof,” Fannen said. “A lot of drones are not.”
Fannen said the department has flown its drone in winds reaching about 40 miles per hour. It also features thermal imaging, night vision, a spotlight and a public address system.
For Fannen, the biggest benefit is safety.
The drone could help locate a missing child or elderly person. It could also reach an Interstate 44 crash when backed-up traffic makes getting an officer to the scene difficult.
Thermal imaging gives officers another advantage when searching wooded areas or heavy vegetation because it detects body heat.
“If you can hide good enough, you can get up next to a tree,” Fannen said. “The night vision may not work as well under that canopy, but the infrared will pick that person out.”
A recent incident gave the department an example.
Several people ran from a traffic stop and hid in a bean field with plants about four feet tall. They were found before the drone could be deployed, but Fannen said thermal imaging could have helped officers locate them.
“Our infrared would have picked them up hiding in the beans, even in the daytime,” he said.
The department also plans to use the drone around Marshfield's parades and other large events. Fannen said officers can fly the route beforehand and potentially during events to get a better view of what's happening around the crowd.
“Being able to observe things from a distance is really a big asset as far as keeping people safe,” Fannen said.
Four Marshfield officers are assigned to the drone program — Sgt. Eric Pedersen, Sgt. Richard Neal, Officer Michael Serry and Officer Nick Browitt.
The department plans to operate the drone with two-person teams, with one officer flying while another maintains visual contact with the aircraft.
Pedersen said the drone generally has a 400-foot operating ceiling above ground level, although federal rules allow some exceptions around tall structures.
The four officers have received specialized training and are working toward Federal Aviation Administration certification.
Neal said the drone won't necessarily be in the air every day, but its range of uses makes it valuable when needed.
“It is a very useful tool,” Neal said. “It has a lot of capabilities to meet a lot of different needs.”
Fannen said the department made professional training a priority from the beginning.
“We wanted to get a professional, high-quality one, and we wanted our guys trained properly,” he said.
The drone was purchased with help from Marshfield's law enforcement tax. Fannen credited residents and city government for supporting equipment aimed at improving officer and public safety.
Helping train Marshfield's officers was Sgt. Carl Scharpf with the Greene County Sheriff's Office.
Scharpf grew up in Springfield and joined the sheriff's office in 2014 after graduating from Missouri State University. He started in the jail before moving to patrol.
In 2023, Scharpf helped launch Greene County's drone program with now-Captain Strain.
It didn't take long for him to see the potential.
“The very first time I put it in the air, I found who we were looking for,” Scharpf said.
One case near Strafford made an even bigger impression.
Following a fatal crash, a driver fled into a rural area. A police canine team began tracking the person while Scharpf followed the search from above with a drone.
After about three-quarters of a mile, Scharpf moved the drone higher to get a wider view.
He found the person hiding in a field.
Officers took the individual into custody without using force. Finding the driver that night also allowed investigators to collect evidence while it was still time-sensitive.
“There is a zero percent chance we would have found that guy that night without the drone and without the canine,” Scharpf said. “The combination is incredible.”
Scharpf's experience eventually led him to help train other agencies, including Marshfield.
Before coming to town, he researched Marshfield's Autel Alpha. The specifications caught his attention, but actually flying it made a bigger impression.
“As soon as we started flying that thing, I was blown away,” Scharpf said.
He described Marshfield's drone as well beyond the smaller aircraft he had previously used.
“I've never seen one in person or online that does anything close to what that thing does,” Scharpf said. “It is a benchmark right now, in my opinion.”
That's exactly the kind of investment Fannen said the department wanted — one professional system with trained operators instead of relying on smaller hobby-style drones.
The technology may be new to Marshfield officers, but the purpose behind it is pretty simple.
Find people faster. Give officers a better view. And when possible, keep officers and the public farther away from danger.
Whether that means searching a field, checking an I-44 crash, or watching over the Marshfield parade, the department now has a view it didn't have before.
Sometimes, that view may be from 400 feet up.
