Chinese Drone Finds Prisoner Who Escaped 17 Years Ago Living in a Remote Cave
After 17 years of evading justice, an escaped prisoner has been found in a remote cave deep in the mountains of China.
According to CNN, 63-year-old Song Jiang escaped imprisonment in a southwestern China labor camp in the Sichuan province in 2002.
He was sent to the camp for his role in human trafficking women and children, state-run China News reported.
After he escaped captivity, authorities attempted to find Song to no avail. He was believed to have completely disappeared off the grid.
Yongshan police officers received tips about the convict’s location in early September, but they were unable to properly search for him because of the rough terrain.
Thanks to a special campaign instilled by Chinese authorities using drone technology, police were able to reach new frontiers previously inaccessible.
Using previous tips, they narrowed the search perimeter down to a mountain range behind the criminal’s hometown in Yongshan county, Yunnan.
The hunt began again, but when he was not seen in the area after a few days, authorities decided to branch out and send more drones to help with the manhunt.
Steep terrains and thick foliage made it impossible to continue the search by foot, but it was quickly understood that if they were able to traverse through the greenery, they would reach the mountain range where Song was most likely hiding.
After nearly five hours of drone surveillance, a small blue steel tile was spotted, leading to a more thorough investigation of the area.
Once the lens zoomed in closer, traces of human activity were found; garbage and other residues could be seen outside of the cave.
Police quickly assembled and they reached the cliff after over an hour of hiking, using a blitzkrieg technique to approach the prisoner from multiple sides.
After silently approaching, Song was found untidy and disarranged.
Authorities attempted to question him, but his communication skills were poor because it had been years since he had last spoken to anyone. He did confess to fleeing the camp, according to China News.
Song spent 17 years in seclusion, using plastic bottles to obtain water in a nearby river and branches from trees surrounding the cave to create fire, BBC reported. He has since been sent back to jail.
Drone technology has become more prevalent for law enforcement in the past few years, leading to more convictions and captures like this one.
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