Toddler Gone Missing in 10-Foot-Tall Corn Field is Finally Detected During Nighttime Search for the 3-Year-Old

Sep 03, 2024

By Andy Corbley

A little 3-year-old wandered into a cornfield behind his house, determined to catch a kitty he had seen run between the stalks.

For anyone who’s enjoyed a late summer/early autumn corn maze, they’ll know it’s an easy micro-environment to get lost in. And sure enough, the boy was in over his head within moments.

Deputies responded to calls from the child’s parents in the town of Alto, in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin on August 25th. By 7:30 p.m., they still hadn’t found him, but suspected he was somewhere among the 100 acres of ears beside their house.

As the light faded away, all nearby homes and barns had been searched, and the deputies realized they had to comb the cornfield on foot.

But fortunately they had a special electric eye in the sky—a search and rescue drone from the Pont du Lac Police Department Technology Response Group, equipped with a thermal imaging camera.

While officers entered calling out for the boy, the drone quickly spotted a thermal signature amongst the corn stalks at about 9:30. Drone operators radioed the deputies who could be guided to the boy’s position.

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Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?