Drone finds missing hikers and dog in Colorado forest

A US search and rescue team harnessed the power of technology to find two hikers and a dog missing in a popular national forest.

The Douglas County Search and Rescue team located the two men on the Devil’s Head trail in Pike National Forest in Colorado on Thursday using a drone.

The men called for help about 4pm in the afternoon and were found two hours later, FOX31 Denver reports.

"Instead of an all-night search we were done in about 4 hours," commander Bruce Fosdick said.

Mr Fosdick said he was amazed how much had changed in his time with the rescue team.

"Fifty years ago basically everything was done by a group lined up in a straight line and just plodding through a field," he said.

"Now, scientifically we try to plot out a lot more where the subject is. We use a lot of different assets. Dogs, drones, helicopters.”