Search for a Missing Holystone Drone in a Tree - Success! Sorta

We were out flying to get some B-roll footage for a client in a new Ranch Development out in the Texas Hill Country, about 75 miles NW of San Antonio, Texas. After we wrapped up, one of the other pilots spotted this guy wandering around on another lot, holding what looked like a drone controller (with cellphone) in one hand and looking up into a tree from below.

Being the sucker we are, we parked and walked out to where he was standing, dodging the frequent Cactus that tried to spear thru our shoes or pants. We verified that yes, he was looking for his drone, so we returned to our SUV and got out the DJI Avata drone to fly. We had just recharged several batteries and figured that it would be more nimble when dodging those pesky grasping tree branches.

It didn't take us very long to find it, once we confirmed where his last video / photo was shown as being aimed. The winds were gusting 15mph-20mph and had pushed the Holystone drone sideways into the tree. Unfortunately, the drone was about 10ft too low to pass over the top of the tree and got stuck. This is an old Oak Tree (without any yellow ribbons tied to it) and many of the limbs had moss balls or were dead.

Because this is a new Ranch development with mostly empty lots, there aren't many neighbors nearby to loan you a ladder or a pole saw. The owner resorted to throwing rocks at it, trying to shift it loose. The lot has lots of rocks and Cacti, did I mention Cactus earlier? We suspect that the drone will be spending the night in the tree, or maybe the next week, until the drone owner can return with the necessary equipment. Neither of us wanted the liability to try climbing a tree, much less one that was in such bad shape.

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