A boy who walked away from his home in Merrimac, Massachusetts, Thursday morning was found safe after about an hour thanks to a police drone, the department said.

Merrimac police said one of their drones spotted the 8-year-old in the woods near his home on West Main Street, allowing K-9s to be sent to his location.

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The boy was reported missing about 8:16 a.m., prompting a search on the ground and in the air from several law enforcement agencies, police said. The Merrimac police drone operator spotted him about 9:28 a.m.

Police brought the wet, uninjured boy back home, they said.

"This shows exactly why we invested in creating a Drone Unit for the Merrimac Police Department," Chief Eric Shears said in a statement.

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