Lincoln County Commissioners on Tuesday considered a request by Emergency Management director Casey Stevens to use heat-seeking drones to look for missing people. A drone was demonstrated to the department on July 12.

Rather than purchasing one, which Stevens said could cost more than $9,000 if it included heat-seeking technology, Stevens wants to bring in an outside company, Coutts Brothers of Gardiner, to respond to reports of a missing person. The drone can search 100 acres in a little more than 30 minutes, Stevens said.

The heat-seeking technology can zero in on a human body temperature, eliminating animals and other natural heat sources from the search quickly. It would radio the GPS coordinates of the heat source to searchers, who would then look for the person on the ground.

Coutts Brothers has offered the use of the drone the first few times for free, Stevens said, and afterward, would charge an hourly rate to come out and help with the search.

Drones are already being used in other parts of the country after natural disasters, to look for problems with power lines, bridges, dams, and other infrastructure.

Stevens also reported Lincoln County had a minor earthquake in Nobleboro, near East Pond Road, on July 16 at 7:38 a.m. It registered a magnitude of 1.8, and occurred at a depth of 5 km below the surface. No damage was reported, and no one nearby reported the quake, which was below the ability for humans to feel it.  That magnitude varies from region to region based on topography, but scientists agree, most humans cannot feel a quake with a magnitude less than 2.

Commissioners approved Sheriff Todd Brackett’s request for permission to apply for a Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund grant to purchase a boat to be used by the shellfish wardens, who are now under contract to several towns.

Brackett announced the hire of two part-time officers, conditional upon satisfactory background checks. They are Paul Rubashkin and Bruce Skehan. Rubashkin retired from service at Two Bridges Regional Jail, where he performed internal investigations. Skehan retired from the Glastonbury, Connecticut police department. Both will serve on courthouse security and provide transportation to and from the jail on court dates.