Three year old child found after wandering into corn field

On August 25, 2024 at 8:49 p.m., the Fond du Lac County Communication Center received a call of a missing 3 year old on Marshview Road in the Township of Alto. The reporting party was a parent of the child and it was believed the child had walked into the standing cornfield behind the house.

As deputies arrived on scene they learned the child was last seen at approximately 7:30 PM and all of the barns and buildings on the property had been thoroughly searched. At this time Alto Fire Department was paged out for man power to search the standing cornfield. The Sheriff’s Office also requested a drone operator with the City of Fond du Lac Police Department to assist in the search. The Sheriff’s Office also had members from their drone responding to the scene as well.

The Alto Fire Department started a systematic search of the 100+ acres of standing corn and the drone operator with the City of Fond du Lac Police Department started scanning the area with a drone equipped with thermal cameras.

At approximately 9:30 PM the drone located a heat spot in the middle of the corn field and was able to walk a Fond du Lac County Deputy and fire personal into the corn field to location of the possible missing child. At 9:46 deputies advised that they had located the child and that he was uninjured. The child was carried out of the corn field and then driven back to the farm where he was reunited with his parents. The child was approximately ½ mile away from home when he was located.

The Fond du Lac Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the City of Fond du Lac Police Department Drone Team and the Alto Fire Department.