Police Drone Catches Fugitive Living in Remote Cave

Using a camera-equipped drone, police were able to track down a fugitive living in a tiny cave after escaping from a prison camp 17 years ago. — *Image: Yongshan Police*

Cave Dweller

In 2002, Song Jiang escaped from the Chinese prison camp where he was serving a sentence for trafficking women and children.

After 17 years on the lam, Song is now back in custody — because the tiny cave where he’d been hiding out was spotted by a camera-equipped drone.

Eye Spy

On Friday, Yongshan police released a statement on the Chinese messenger app WeChat. In it, they noted that they’d received a tip earlier in September that Song was living in the mountains behind his hometown.

Searches of the secluded area on foot failed to yield any trace of Song, however, so officials decided to send drones over the area to hunt for the fugitive.

drone-fugitive-living-remote-cave — Image credit: Yongshan Police

Justice Served

Eventually, a drone spotted the blue roof covering Song’s hideout. Officials then trekked to the cave on foot, where they found the elderly fugitive.

They say Song had apparently been living in the tiny cave for years — and were it not for the drone tech that helped law enforcement find him, he might have continued hiding out there for the rest of his life.