LINDON, Utah — Stefan Ceciu rarely goes to Utah Lake, but this past Saturday, it's where he decided to fly his drone.
"I thought I would stop by the marina there, fly around a little bit and just enjoy the scenery," Ceciu said.
Within minutes of Ceciu setting up to fly, he says first responders started to arrive at Lindon Marina.
"I thought I should ask the officer if I'm still allowed to take off given the emergency situation and he said, 'Oh yeah, go for it, no worries at all,'" Ceciu recalled. "He approached me again a couple minutes later and asked what the range on my drones were."
That's when Ceciu says he was told about the family of seven whose boat was taking on water and slowly sinking somewhere between Lindon Marina and Saratoga Springs.
"It was scary knowing that so many people were in danger in the water, and they couldn't be reached or where they were," Ceciu said.
After speaking with officials on the scene, Ceciu let his drone take flight to search for the family. Officials say about two and a half miles in, Ceciu found them and was able to give their GPS coordinates to rescuers.
"I saw from about 400 feet up a block of what looked like a big piece of wood that was still, there wasn't any water that was disturbed around it," Ceciu said. "I got closer and with each closer look it just felt like it was the family."
Unfortunately, Ceciu's drone didn't make it back.
"I was getting warnings the battery is low, won't reach back to its home point, and frankly I didn't care," Ceciu said. "The fact that I was able to find the family and help secure their safety was way more rewarding than having that drone for another few days."
Ceciu was one of many who helped the family — first responders, other boaters on the water, an off-duty Orem firefighter, and the family's life jackets all helped get them to safety.
"I was just a guy who was in the right place at the right time and was willing to go a bit out of his comfort zone and help out. Anyone can do that — just be willing to help out your peers," Ceciu said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Ceciu replace his drone.
