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Calif. PD’s drone aids in capture of kidnapping suspects, hostage release

Tracy police deployed a BearCat Armored Recovery Vehicle and a drone to respond to a kidnapping where the victim was held at gunpoint by two individuals at a home

Drone

The police set aloft an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to gather information on the situation.

Nelvin C. Cepeda/TNS

John Metcalfe
Bay Area News Group

TRACY, Calif. — Officers with the Tracy Police Department arrested two East Bay men on kidnapping charges on Friday, after using a drone and armored vehicle to aid in their capture.

A reported hostage was rescued and treated for minor injuries by private medics and firefighters from the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority.

Around 4:45 p.m. Friday, police responded to a call of a hostage being held at gunpoint in a home in the 1500 block of Lankershire Drive. Patrol officers, detectives and special-investigations unit personnel surrounded the residence and deployed a BearCat Armored Recovery Vehicle.

The police set aloft an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, to gather information on the situation. The drone observed one of the suspects fleeing from the back of the residence, police say. The person was immediately caught and identified as a 26-year-old from Livermore.

Two other people then surrendered to police at the front of the residence — the reported kidnapping victim and a 24-year-old from Oakland.

The two suspects are facing charges that include kidnapping, rape by force/fear, possession of methamphetamine and assault with a deadly weapon.

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