CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office used artificial intelligence, or AI, to generate an image of a missing hunter to help in the search, marking the first time they have used AI for law enforcement purposes.
“It was to train our searchers' eyes, and then anybody else out on the street that might have seen Kaden, as to his clothing descriptions that we had received and all the items that he had in his possession,” Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich told Denver7's Jessica Porter.
The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office transparently released the AI image Monday of Kaden Sites, 27, who was reported missing on April 15 while hunting alone near Mount Shavano. The image shows Sites wearing a gray hoodie while carrying a rifle and a binocular pack.
Rohrich says they had many different photos of Sites circulating, and AI gave them the ability to have just one photo.
“We have a really good AI department within our agency and our IT department, and it is my 15-year-old daughter, and they know way more about the IT technology than I do,” Sheriff Rohrich said.
The sheriff asked Sites' family for permission before sharing the AI-generated image with search teams and online.
Denver7 looked through the comments on the Facebook posts and did not see any community members commenting about the image being AI-generated.
“The technology is scary to me, just on a personal level. However, I think we have to take advantage of the technology that's available to us to assist us in any way, especially in the missing persons case,” Sheriff Rohrich said.
He says there are limits to using AI, and he wouldn’t use it in criminal investigations or with images of evidence. The department already uses AI to generate police reports from deputy body cameras.
“There's going to be a lot more policies and things that come out on its use. I'm sure there will be legislation that comes out on its use as well. There should be, everything needs to be governed in this field,” Sheriff Rohrich said.
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Search for missing Chaffee Co. hunter opens to community — with a safety warning
The search team opened the area up to community members to assist on Monday. Rohrich says they were trying to control the environment in the early days of the search so dogs and drones could look for him.
Nearly 200 volunteers have covered a 12-square-mile area.
“Hunters are the most difficult ones to find in search and rescue scenarios because they don't stick to trail systems," Sheriff Rohrich said. "They go where the animals take them.”
