By: Michael Achterling (North Dakota Monitor)
Drones are helping residents of storm-damaged areas in eastern North Dakota find personal items scattered during tornadoes and straight-line winds.
Enderlin native Sadie Rudolph posted on social media Monday calling on drone operators to help search for items taken away by the series of storms that rolled across North Dakota on Friday. In less than 24 hours, the post was shared more than 180 times with many people reaching out to add lost items to the list and to see how they could help.
“We’ve got a lot of people looking for things that have been scattered for miles,” said Rudolph, who now lives in West Fargo.
Rudolph said someone reached out to her on social media to report that a letter with an Enderlin address was found more than 90 miles away in Ulen, Minnesota.
“The sheer craziness of how far the storm took this stuff, it’s just mind-boggling,” she said.
The Northern Plains UAS Test Site based in Grand Forks responded to the call for help. Three drones and pilots were searching for property in the Enderlin and Sheldon areas on Tuesday, said Victor Meza, marketing manager.
A severe storm that produced multiple tornadoes, hail and high winds hit North Dakota over the weekend, claiming three lives in Enderlin.
Residents asked drone pilots for help locating missing saddles, generators, tools, utility vehicles, a horse trailer and a pickup truck, among other items, that vanished during the storms.
“It’s not just clothes or things like that, but mainly trying to find bigger items that are still missing,” Meza said.
This is the first time drones from the Northern Plains UAS Test Site are being used to search for items after a tornado, Meza said. The Grand Forks test site is one of seven approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to research how to safely integrate unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace.
The organization previously helped Grand Forks with aerial flooding observations. Drones also were used by energy companies after the 2024 Christmas ice storm to locate downed power lines faster than personnel on foot, he said.
“Manpower can be expensive and it can be exhausting,” Meza said. Swamps and bogs can be difficult to search on the ground, but drones provide a much easier way to search those areas completely, he said. Meza added it also allows search personnel to be diverted to other areas with higher needs.
“If we can save five to 10 people from going in one direction … it expands the search even more,” Meza said.
Drone teams can deploy within about 10 minutes of arriving at a scene, he said. After searching on Tuesday morning, Meza said they had not found many of the larger items, but they are finding a lot of large pieces of debris and metal poles in the fields that will need to be moved before fields can be harvested.
The drones being flown in Enderlin are using Vantis, North Dakota’s statewide uncrewed aircraft system that allows drones to be flown beyond the visual line of sight. The network, which has received state funding, allows the drones to monitor air traffic in the area and extends their range.
“This is more than technology; it’s neighbors helping neighbors, and we’re honored to be part of that,” said Erin Roesler, deputy executive director for Northern Plains UAS Test Site.
