Missing suicidal man located by Westport Police

Westport Police helped locate a missing suicidal man Friday with the use of some technology.

According to Detective Robert Rebello, at approximately 7:18 p.m., the Westport Police Department received a call regarding a male who had made suicidal statements to family.

The family was unable to make contact with the man after he made the statements.

A concerned family member provided police with multiple locations where they believed the man could be located. Officers checked these locations, but were unsuccessful in finding him. Due to the huge amount of wooded area where the man may have been located, it was decided the Westport Police drone could be used to assist. Detective Robert Rebello, a FAA certified remote pilot, was contacted to deploy the drone.

Detective Rebello was assisted by Officer Nicholas Frustaci in piloting the drone which had been equipped with a thermal camera. Police began checking the Forge Pond Conservation area located at 251 Forge Road. After scanning the entire area, they did not identify any heat signatures that could possibly lead to the missing suicidal man.

Police then received information that the male may be behind the Westport Council on Aging property located at 75 Reed Road, another location with a lot of woods. Upon deployment of the drone at that location, the man was located on thermal imaging behind a stone wall at the Beach Grove Cemetery.

Officers were able to contact the Westport Fire Department to have paramedics transport the male to the hospital for evaluation.