FAIRVIEW, Utah — It started as a way to call for help and turned into a special friendship.
Brian Telford uses his drone to take pictures of properties listed for sale across the state.
"I love photography, and I love flying and things to do with flight, and so, I was hooked,” said Telford. "It’s a blast, most of my work is in really rural areas."
On Wednesday, Telford was in the Fairview area, very close to where the Taylor family lives.
"I was sitting right here finishing up my dinner, and I noticed that there was a couple of lights through the kitchen window,” recalled Trenton Taylor. "After about 5-6 seconds, I noticed a flight path like a drone, and I was like, 'That’s a drone out the window. Dad, there’s a drone out the window!'"
Abe Taylor, Trenton's father, hurried to the door and grabbed his granddaughter's scooter, the only thing he could think of to swipe down the drone sitting outside his house.
"He hacked it at it, so it was kind of exciting because it was like, 'Yes! You took it down,” said Abe’s wife, Drue. “And then they go out and they fetch the drone, bring it in and then we're weirded out because there is a note attached."
The note was an S.O.S., reading "Help please."
"We opened up," said Abe, "and it explained to us, 'Can you please help? I’m in my truck stuck in the snow, I’m wheelchair-bound and cannot back out.'"
It was a cry for help from Telford, who had tried for about an hour to get out of his truck. When he couldn't, he sent his drone to get help.
"I just figured, 'Hey, this is worth a shot, I think this is a good idea.' Smarter than it would have been for me to try to get out," said Telford.
Realizing the drone wasn’t stalking the family, but was instead from someone looking for some much-needed assistance, Abe and Trenton set out into the night to look for the unknown drone operator.
As he watched the father and son heading out to help on his monitor, Telford was instantly relieved.
“The fact that they were coming over, I was like, 'Oh, this is good, I can breathe better,'” he remembered.
Once they found the Telford's truck and the photographer inside, the Taylor's used their side-by-side and chains to pull him out of the snow.
"People are out there that are willing to come out of their way to come out in the dark and snow and lend a hand,” said a thankful Telford.
For the Taylor's, what started out to be a somewhat odd and creepy beginning ended with a tale of lending a helping hand to someone who needed one.
"Brian turned out to be a great guy, of course, there's a gentleman dedicated to his craft," said Abe. "To be able to work while it’s not easy for him to get on site to do what he does, so to be able to help him out was very gratifying."
Thankfully, the Taylor's scooter did not get the best of Telford’s drone and it's still flying high.
