NEBRASKA CITY – Otoe County Commissioner Rick Freshman used Tuesday’s county board meeting to highlight recent recognition for Otoe County Emergency Management.

Freshman read a letter from Pawnee County officials after a drone from the Otoe County office was deployed to help search for a missing woman in the February cold.

Two counties and the Nebraska State Patrol responded to Pawnee County’s request to help find a  50-year-old woman with health issues.

The report says a thermal drone provided by Otoe County Emergency Management was a key component in the search.

 

EMA Director Gregg Goebel said a second county drone noticed a door open on a garage and a ground crew found the woman curled up near a space heater.

Goebel: “Without the drone flight they would probably not have seen the house or seen the garage door open or actually gone to search it.”

Goebel said the county has recently acquired a drone that can used in windy conditions.

Otoe County EMA was also recognized by Nebraska Association of Emergency Management at an April 2 “Beyond the Forecast” conference in Kearney.

Otoe County was honored for its leadership to help new emergency managers in the state.

 

 EMA photo shows drone footage with thermal imaging

Letter:

Early morning hours of Feb. 6, 2025, an individual was reported missing in Pawnee City.
When a request for additional assistance was made, the Otoe County Emergency Management office was quick to answer the call and to assist in search operations.

The thermal drone that was deployed from Otoe County was a key component in searching a large area in a very short amount of time. This was a huge benefit in helping to locate the individual that had been missing and was subject to severe cold.

As fellow members of the Southeast Planning, Exercise and Training Region, as well as the Southeast Nebraska Incident Management Assistance Team, it’s greatly appreciated to know that when a request goes out there are agencies available to deploy from their home county to assist those needs.

We have found that fewer people are willing to help to assist others. Having neighbors that are willing, ready and able to answer our call with ‘what do you need?’ ‘How can we help?” makes it more likely for a positive outcome in each incident.”