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St. Louis County Volunteer Rescue Squad Locate and ID Stolen Caterpillar D9 Bulldozer With VideoRay ROV - September 10, 2010

Stolen 49 Ton Caterpillar D9 Located With VideoRay Pro 3 GTO ROV

On Friday September 3, 2010 the St. Louis County Minnesota Volunteer Rescue Squad was called in to assist the City of Virginia, Minnesota Police Department in locating a stolen Caterpillar D9 track-type bulldozer tractor.

The City of Virginia Police Department observed an oil slick on the water surface of a mine pit along with disturbed brush leading down to the water some 300 feet below ground level. Concerned that the driver may have been trapped in the equipment, they requested assistance from the St. Louis County Sheriff Volunteer Rescue Squad to investigate slick with their underwater experience and technology. This could have been done by divers except it would have been next to impossible to transport heavy dive gear down the steep cliff.

After arriving at the mine pit and evaluating the scene, SLC Volunteer Rescue Squad Captain Tom Crossmon called in his High Level Team to transport the ROV and its tether down the steep rocky face to the water surface. Because the ROV only weighs 10 pounds, team members were able to rig the VideoRay submersible and tether to their bodies while belaying down the face. Simply lowering the ROV by its tether would not have been possible due to the thick brush that was necessary to negotiate, and transporting larger “Mini ROVs” down the face would have made the trip down extremely dangerous for team members due to the vehicle’s size and weight.

Crossmon operated the VideoRay Pro 3 GTO ROV from the squad’s mobile command vehicle with 630 feet of neutrally buoyant modular VideoRay tether, located the oil slick on the surface, submerged and then positively identified the Caterpillar D9 within minutes at a depth of 20 feet. The rescue squad performed a pattern search around the machine for any sign of the driver and did not find anything.

“Having such a portable and lightweight ROV like the VideoRay was essential to getting down the 300 foot cliff to the water surface and then identifying the D9 so quickly underwater” said Crossmon.

The St. Louis County Volunteer Rescue Squad have been operating VideoRay ROVs for 8 years in northern Minnesota – often under ice – and have located several snowmobiles, vehicles, and drowning victims.

Read About More St. Louis County Volunteer Rescue Squad ROV Operations Here

SLC Rescue Squad

SLC Rescue Squad member prepares their VideoRay Pro 3 GTO ROV for the 300 foot decent to the water surface. Photo: Tom Crossmon

SLC Rescue Squad

Negotiating the steep brush covered face with the ROV strapped to a SLC Rescue Squad Team Member . Photo: Tom Crossmon

SLC Rescue Squad

The water filled mine pit from 300 feet above where the CAT D9 was located and identified. Photo: Tom Crossmon

VideoRay Still Image

Still image from the VideoRay video depicting the “ERP” in “CATERPILLAR”. Video Still: Tom Crossmon

CAT D9

The missing Caterpillar D9 when it was above water. Photo: Tom Crossmon

About VideoRay:
With more than 2,000 Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) in service around the world, VideoRay has clearly become the global leader in Observation ROV technology. VideoRay is an extremely versatile, portable, affordable, and reliable solution for underwater operations including surveys, offshore inspections, search & recovery, homeland & port security, science & research, fish farming, and other unique applications in underwater environments. “Plug and play” technology allows you to quickly attach sensors and accessories in the field so you can successfully complete your mission. VideoRay is available on the General Services Administration.

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WHY VIDEORAY?

AFFORDABILITY

With ROVs starting under $10,000 (in the US), the cost is quickly justified when compared to commercial dive missions or funding the purchase, mobilization, staffing, and operation of larger ROVs.

PORTABILITY

One person can transport the tiny 8-pound sub, control box and tether. The Scout system weighs less than 70 pounds and packs neatly in one rolling Pelican case. All other systems fit in two Pelican cases that can be transported in a car trunk or helicopter, or checked as airline baggage.

USABILITY

Driving the VideoRay is similar to operating a video game. A specially trained ROV pilot is not needed. (In fact, kids raised on video games routinely put adults to shame piloting VideoRay.). VideoRay is equally at home with a search and rescue team as it is with a yacht owner enjoying live views of a coral reef in St. Thomas. Additional controls on advanced models include front camera focus and tilt, rear camera selection and automatic depth holding (see the product detail pages for complete lists of features and capabilities of each model).

SAFETY

Since VideoRay uses less than 500 watts of power, a car or marine battery with inverter, small gasoline generator, or any 100-240 VAC outlet powers the control box and submersible. The current running through the tether to the submersible is a comparatively safe 48 VDC, rather than the possibly lethal 360-plus VDC used by other ROVs. This makes it safe for divers to handle the submersible in the water, and for kids to swim with it in a pool.

REACH

Standard tether lengths vary by model, but additional neutral, negative, and positively buoyant tethers can be added to extend the overall reach of the VideoRay up to 1,100 feet. Tethers are available in a variety of lengths to meet the needs of particular water conditions or projects.