A Co Tyrone man has said the pain suffered by families of missing persons locally has driven him on to raise funds for a hi-tech drone which can help during search and rescue missions.
Chris Colton, from Omagh, decided to enlist the help of the local community to purchase a thermal drone after he was involved in the search for Dungannon teenager Matthew McCallan in December.
The 15-year-old was sadly found deceased in Fintona after a significant community search operation involving hundreds of volunteers.
Chris raised more than £7,000 to fund the new drone, which will help to locate missing persons in difficult to reach areas and during nighttime hours.
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“The search for Matthew 100% confirmed my decision to launch the fundraiser,” Chris said.
“Having the thermal drone will mean that searching at night will be an option now. The drone I own and had on the search for Matthew was only able to be used during the day as it didn’t have the thermal capabilities.
“Matthew’s story really broke my heart and I can’t even imagine what his family and friends are going through and I’m thinking about them every day.
“When I am out on a search for a missing person, I can’t stop thinking about how their family and friends are feeling and it motivates me to help hopefully locate them.
“It really is an honour to volunteer my time for these situations.”
After raising more than what was needed for the price of the drone, Chris then donated the remaining money to Matthew’s family.
Chris first got his drone licence in 2019 in order to expand the services he could offer through his web design and photography business, but soon realised he could put it to use in the local community as well.
“A resource like this could be the difference in life or death in some circumstances,” he adds.
“Some local search and rescue groups have access to these drones but it’s definitely a case of the more the merrier.
“I have been out in searches and other drone pilots have been there and we will split up and cover certain areas and by having the thermal drone, it will speed up searches and I will be able to cover larger areas faster.”
Chris thanked those who donated to the fundraiser, and encouraged anyone in Northern Ireland who needed help with missing persons or pets to get in touch via email at chris@seesee.ie .
“In the end I ended up raising just over £7000. I had a goal of £5500 and ended up reaching that in just over 24 hours thanks to the kindness of so many people and local businesses,” he said.
“I was blown away with the support from the local community. In such a tough economical climate at the moment and the fact that people were still donating was amazing.
“From the bottom of my heart I want to say a massive thank you to every single person and business that donated, shared or spread the word.”
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