Dereks Drone Services LLC

05/12/2026

This is an example of a community coming together. Dollie managed to run away from home last week but multiple sightings by community members who then reported it, culminating to one final sighting on the day of her rescue by Ritchie's Tree Service who left a marker where she was last seen. That allowed me to focus heavily on a single search area and because of that, even with weather conditions not ideal for thermal drone work, she was found and rescued! These are the few minutes leading up to Dollie's rescue. Thank you for your business Tony and Angela!

04/20/2026

These 4 minutes and 35 seconds highlight exactly why I do what I do. Very few things come close to reuniting loving animal owners with their furry family members.

Ryegrass the pup lives on a ranch, on April 19th, 7:07AM she broke free from her leash and ran into the woods. Dragging 20 feet of leash with her she quickly became trapped in the woods in a very thick briar patch. Her owner Corrine and Corrine's friend Lindsey along with others spent 15 long hours searching the woods without any sign of Ryegrass. In about 30 seconds (a personal record for pet recovery) I was able to locate Ryegrass with my drone and guide Corrine and friends to her exact location through a combination of radios, drone spotlight and GPS positioning. What followed was one of the best moments you can catch on camera.

If you or someone you know needs a thermal drone pilot for search and rescue, pet recovery, livestock recovery or anything else I'm always willing to do everything I can to help.

I want to thank Drone Pet Recovery for their pilot map which is what allowed these good people to find me when they needed help.

04/15/2026

Torino was hit in his back legs by a truck yesterday morning and ran into the woods behind his house. His family was worried that the worst may have happened, but we found Torino hurt but alive and in one piece. He’ll need a trip to the vet but he’s home and safe!

04/04/2026

I’m happy to announce my certification as a military owned business in the state of Louisiana through the Louisiana Veterans First Initiative. I’m now listed on their site as a majority owned military business.

01/01/2026

I’ve noticed a good amount of pets running away tonight due to fireworks. I’m not partaking in the new years partying and am available for service!

12/26/2025

Do you believe in Christmas miracles? I might now!

I was requested to the Gardner area to help find a missing pregnant Jersey Cow named Dhalia. Dhalia had been missing for almost 24 hours and the owners, Corey and Lia had looked for hours for her with no luck at all.

Well, Dhalia just went to find a quiet and safe place to have her baby, Dhalia and baby couldn't hide from my drone though and they are both home safe!

What a wonderful Christmas present for this family.

11/23/2025

It's been a few months now since I began my journey into the professional thermal drone business and there has been a common theme among all of my customers. They're absolutely shocked by the amount of equipment I bring when they ask for my help!

I believe most people are expecting a guy with a drone and a remote controller to show up and stand there playing with a controller.

When I show up it's an interactive experience and everyone is involved, I bring the best in thermal drone technology, with the drone I own I can spot squirrels and raccoons through tree canopies at 400 feet in the air and spot cows, dogs and deer from across fields. The drone has a spotlight built into it for night operations and a 112x telephoto zoom using three different non-thermal cameras also built into the drone. This is the same technology that law enforcement and search and rescue professionals use.

I also bring a 24" monitor in a ruggedized case so that everyone is involved and able to watch the recovery unfold, this also allows my customers to see things that I may miss during the search.

Fun fact, a lot of times my customers see their deer or pet before I do! I'm focused on flying, maintaining awareness of where my drone is, obstacle avoidance and finally scanning, they get the big screen and see it all.

Finally I bring a large portable battery backup generator which can power all of my equipment and charge my batteries for hours of uninterrupted flying.

I love what I do and I love watching the shock on my customers faces when they see just how powerful this technology is.

11/23/2025

A few videos from last night's recovery, a dog tracker, Caleb Robison had also been called out for this deer and arrived just after I had found the deer and confirmed that it was expired. Caleb wanted to give his dog some practice and so I got to record his dog Cedar track the carcass from the shot location to the carcass, it's amazing what these dogs can do!

Some drone recovery specialists and professional dog trackers like to bicker about what works better, the truth is, both methods have their pros and cons and both have strengths and weaknesses. At the end of the day it's all about finding the deer and making sure it doesn't go to waste!

It was a fun night and some connections were made.

11/23/2025

This is a nice deer and a record that I’ll probably never beat! It took about 10 seconds to find this deer for Tim after the drone got over to the search area. The deer was clearly expired and had run about 80 yards from the shot location, the shot was taken just before daylight shooting hours were over and Tim said he had probably walked within about 20 yards of where the deer was found.

I’m glad I could help him find this monster that he’s been after for at least a year!

11/04/2025

First deer recovery of the season for CENLA is in the books. This was Ethan's first season hunting solo and first buck he's shot solo. He had a little bit of buck fever and pulled a bit and ended up with a gut shot at around 4PM. After the deer ran off he tracked him through some very high and thick brush for several hours and eventually headed home unsuccessful. He remembered that Drone Deer Recovery has a list of thermal drone pilots and found that I was recently added to that list, the only thermal drone pilot in the CENLA area.

He gave me a call and I came out to help him find his first ever solo hunt deer. Within 15 minutes the deer was found and the fun part began. His deer wasn't too far from where he made the shot but it was at the bottom of a creek and well hidden.

I hope you enjoy your deer Ethan and I'm glad it didn't go to waste!

I do pet and deer recoveries for the CENLA area, if you need a thermal drone pilot to help track your deer or your lost pet I'm your guy!

Derek

10/25/2025

I’ve conducted several flights over the last week for several missing pets unfortunately without much luck. I am still providing my drone as a courtesy to those who’ve lost their pets.

I want to stress how important it is, if you lose your pet or you know someone who has lost their pet in the CENLA area don’t wait, contact me immediately! Thermal drones are a powerful tool but they have their limitations, they can’t find a pet who’s already left the area unfortunately.

I will always be realistic with those that I serve about the likelihood of me being able to locate your pet. Always feel free to reach out and I will do my best regardless of the circumstances!

For hunters, I also provide this service to help recover animals who were able to run after a successful shot, however there are laws that must be followed, this isn’t as simple as a pet recovery.

I’ve included a video from Drone Pet Recovery explaining thermal drones in regards to finding pets, both their strengths and limitations. I have no affiliation with Drone Pet Rescue, however they were my inspiration for starting this company!

As always, if you have any questions please reach out and if you know someone who’s lost a pet reach out as soon as possible!

Thanks,

Derek

Lost a pet and wondering if a thermal drone can help? Join Kris from Drone Pet Recovery as we explore the best conditions for finding missing pets using ther...