BCSO airplane clutch in search

SPIRIT LAKE — An air asset utilized by the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office is credited with bringing a swift end Friday to the search for an elderly woman with dementia.

Mary Croxton, 88, was last seen by a caregiver at a home on Bearing Lane about 7 a.m. Caregivers gave deputies a physical and clothing description of Croxton and a ground search was initiated.

There were only two patrol deputies on duty at the time. However, a Rans Designs S-6ES Coyote monoplane used by the sheriff’s office was scrambled and its crew spotted Croxton about an hour and a half into the search. The crew directed deputies to Croxton’s location on Clagstone Road.

Croxton, who has Alzheimer’s disease, was uninjured but suffering from fatigue and dehydration, sheriff’s officials said. Croxton reportedly told deputies that she meant to go for a short walk, but lost her sense of direction.

Croxton was thankful that the air crew located her.

“I am deeply grateful for the airplane finding me,” Croxton told deputies.

The light-duty sport airplane is on loan as part of grant from the U.S. National Institute of Justice, a research-and-development arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. The sheriff’s office obtained the aircraft last year and several deputies earned their credentials to fly the aircraft.

It costs the department about $45 an hour to operate the plane, compared to the $400-$600 hourly costs of larger aircraft used by metropolitan police forces.

Undersheriff Bob Bussey secured the grant to determine if such an asset would benefit the department.

“This mission is a great example of what a ‘force multiplier’ this aircraft is,” said Lt. William McAuliffe, one of the Coyote’s pilots. “We are all thankful that it ended successfully and Mary is safely back home.”