Grand Forks, N.D. (AP) The Grand Forks County Sheriff's Department has flown its first nighttime drone mission.
Sheriff Bob Rost says the unmanned aircraft team was contacted after four suspects fled a traffic stop about 2:20 A.M. Sunday in rural Larimore, about 30 miles west of Grand Forks.
The drone was deployed after a k-9 unit was unable to locate the suspects. Rost says the aircraft helped locate one of the suspects in a corn field.
Two suspects were arrested on the scene, and a third was taken into custody later.
The Federal Aviation Administration in March granted the county permission for night operations. The drone unit is a joint effort among the Grand Forks County Sheriff's Department, the University of North Dakota and two unmanned aircraft manufacturers.