KNOXVILLE, Tenn., April 22 (UPI) -- A Tennessee father who used a drone to watch his 8-year-old daughter as she walked to school alone said he wants her to know "dad is always watching."

Chris Early, who owns a Knoxville video production company, said the camera drone he bought about a month ago came in handy when his 8-year-old daughter, Katie, insisted on walking to school by herself.


"She said 'you're not going to come watch me', but I had another idea," Early told WVLT-TV.

He said the drone turned plenty of heads upward when he used it to follow Katie on her walk.

"I could see other people looking up and I'm sure Katie was just like aw it's my dad," he said. "It was a way to keep eye on her make sure she was looking both ways. I let her know that dad is always watching."

Katie said she was not expecting the drone to follow her.

"I was like oh wow! He didn't tell me so I was pretty surprised," she said.