For 20 years, flying has been a passion for Corporal Brian Maskey of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

The Wellsville-Middletown graduate has a private pilot’s license, has a drone he got as a Christmas present and was recently certified as a remote unmanned aircraft pilot. Now, he’s the first pilot of the drone program the Sheriff’s Office launched in July.

So far, the drone has been used twice. It is equipped with a thermal imaging camera, offering a new way for law enforcement to solve a case, respond to emergencies and help keep the public safe.

“If we could put the drone out there, keep deputies safe and are able to locate people without having to put ourselves straight in the middle of a bad situation, it’s a win-win for everyone,” Maskey said. “If I can find an elderly person who wandered away from a nursing home or a little child who got lost in the woods, we’re all winning. We could get these people back to their families safely and quicker.”

Maskey said Callaway County and communities such as Wentzville also have drone programs.

“We’re a rural community,” Maskey said. “However, we have crimes that take place just like anywhere else. Our sheriff (Craig Allison) is a very modern sheriff. His goal was to modernize our sheriff’s office with good equipment to better serve the people of our county.”

The corporal said he recently got to use the drone at a damaged bean field in Buell.

“I was able to go up in the air with the drone and take pictures of the evidence for the court case,” he said. “The view was amazing for a court case to present it to the judge or to the jury.”

Maskey graduated from W-M in 2002. The following year, he wanted to give flying a shot.

“My great uncles John Nation and Dick Nation were into flying,” Maskey said. “We have a runway behind what used to be my grandma’s house, and it was owned by my uncle Dick. He would go up flying. The plane would fly over grandma’s house. I told my grandma Garufy that I want to learn to fly tomorrow. She’s like, ‘That’s great.’ So I went to Howard Wehrmann Aviation in Buell. I said I want to start learning to fly. So he took me up that day. I was hooked on it from that point.”

Wehrmann Aviation was also the same place Maskey completed his private pilot training in 2008 and received his license.

Later, Maskey decided to operate a drone, which is an unmanned aircraft vehicle. On July 19, he became a certified remote unmanned aircraft pilot after passing an exam at an FAA testing center in southern Missouri.

“My wife got me a drone for Christmas several years back,” said Maskey, who is in his 19th year in law enforcement and has worked in the Sheriff’s Office since 2020. “I started flying my own drone instead of flying a plane. I enjoy it. It’s cheaper and I can still get the view. It’s not the same (as flying a plane), though. But I can still get that bird’s eye view from above that I really love.”

For more information about the drone program, call the Sheriff’s Office at 573-564-8084.