Missouri Task Force 1 Assigned to Fort Myers Beach
Missouri Task Force 1 is currently performing primary searches on Fort Myers Beach, Florida. The team was assigned to Fort Myers, Florida on Monday and have since been moved to Fort Myers Beach. The team is currently going house to house, structure by structure searching for survivors and victims as well as documenting the amount of damage to each building. This is a tedious task that will take some time; however, several other task forces have also been assigned to that area.
The MO-TF1 DSAR (Disaster Situation Assessment and Reconnaissance) Team, which is a sUAS drone team of four members, are also on their way to Fort Myers Beach. Once they arrive, they will be assigned to assist the teams on the ground. They will be able to provide tactical mapping, situational assessment and primary search of areas that are not accessible by foot.
On Monday, the DSAR team was assigned to San Carlos Island. The team arrived there to find over 300 shrimp boats, pleasure boats and sailboats that had been pushed into yards, houses and into the mangroves. The drones, primarily the DJI Matrice 30T, were used to search every boat. The camera capabilities, zoom functions and infrared camera on this drone made it the perfect choice. The team was able to read registration numbers and boat names on many of the boats and literally look inside them. By the end of the day Port Authorities were able to verify all boat captains and crews were accounted for on the boats searched by MO-TF1 DSAR.
Continue to follow for more updates as they become available.