The man was lost in a cornfield. Here's how thermal vision helped find him

When an elderly man went missing and then wandered into a Nebraska cornfield, state troopers knew it was an "extremely dangerous situation" because of Tuesday's summer heat.

That's why using the Nebraska State Patrol Air Wing was crucial, according to a tweet by the department.

However, even with a bird's-eye view, it's "nearly impossible to see someone in the corn."

To give the pilots a chance at finding the man, the Air Wing used the NSP575 helicopter, which has a thermal vision camera.

It was that camera that led troops on the ground to the man who was lost in Merrick County.

"Pilots were able to guide troops on the ground to exactly where the man was and found him safely," the department tweeted.

Nebraska State Patrol also provided a video that shows how the camera works.

When the thermal vision is used, you'll noticed a black silhouette in the grayed-out field. At other times, the field will be green and you cannot see the shape of the man.

The video provides both views from the sky and views that look the cornfield straight on.

Toward the end of the one-minute-and-20-second-long video, you'll see the man exit the field as four people meet him and take him to safety.

Thermal "cameras" are actually sensors that detect everything that emits heat, according to Police Magazine. The man's body heat was detected through those sensors.