The boy left his home on Tuesday morning after a quarrel with his parents over a mobile phone they refused to give him. When he failed to return by evening, his father filed a missing‑person complaint at the Gudupalle police station.
A search team led by Sub‑Inspector Srinivasulu was dispatched. With daylight fading and no clear leads, the officers launched a surveillance drone to scan the surrounding fields, hillocks and isolated stretches near the village.
The drone’s aerial footage helped locate the teenager waiting at a bus stop close to the Tamil Nadu border. Police retrieved him, brought him to the station for counselling, and then handed him back to his parents.
Superintendent of Police Tushar Dudi praised the Gudupalle police for their swift response and effective use of technology, saying the operation demonstrated how drones can aid rural policing and expedite the safe recovery of missing children.