Soldiers use drones to search for missing woman

A team of 30 Australian soldiers assisted Queensland Police during a two-day search for a woman in Spring Mountain, Queensland, last week.

Members of 11 Brigade and 9 Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, searched rough terrain for the 74-year-old woman, who went missing on December 30.

The personnel were deployed at the request of the Queensland Police Service (QPS), which had been conducting the search, with the State Emergency Service (SES), for the previous two weeks.

Platoon Commander Lieutenant Tristan Higgins said it was an important opportunity to assist the local community.

“The QPS and SES have been working hard searching over the past couple of weeks.  We were able to help them to broaden the search into rough terrain with our additional people and small unmanned aerial vehicles [UAS],” Lieutenant Higgins said.

A UAS team from 9 Regiment RAA 5/11 battery and two high-mobility vehicles were also attached to support the search effort.

Commander 11 Brigade Brigadier Mark Armstrong said that, aside from traditional warfighting training, the brigade prepares for a range of domestic operations and contingency tasks such as disaster relief.

“Defence stands ready to support our community, when required, with a range of tasks through the Defence Assistance to the Civil Community process,” he said.