A New Jersey police department has sparked concern after it revealed that a drone it sent up to track a mystery aircraft ‘easily’ evaded their device before disappearing into thin air.
Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy said his force launched its drone after one of his officers saw 50 unmanned aerial vehicles, ‘coming off the ocean’.
The officer dialed 911 to alert state police, the FBI and the Coast Guard.
The maritime agency then reported seeing spotted 13 drones following their boat, estimating that the devices had a wingspan of eight feet.
Matronardy told NewsNation‘s Rich McHugh the force put up an ‘industrial grade’ drone to follow one of the devices, but it quickly slipped through their grasp.
The incident is just one of many drone sightings concerning locals in the Garden State and beyond.
‘If this is not our military, then it’s even more scary,’ McHugh said.
On Friday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby insisted that the public had nothing to fear, despite the mass sightings.
Kirby said most reports were likely to be cases where manned aircraft were mistaken for drones.
Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy said his officers sent up a drone to track a mystery aircraft said the device ‘easily’ evaded them before disappearing into thin air
They launched the drone after an officer reported seeing 50 mysterious flying objects coming in off the ocean
But he admitted that officials were still struggling to corroborate some of the sightings and urged the public to continue to submit reports of any unusual activity.
Ocean County Sheriff’s Office said it has been struggling to track the flying objects as they don’t give off heat like regular drones.
‘We don’t know [why]. It’s not something we’ve had our hands on or experienced,’ one officer said.
McHugh also saw the drones and presented his findings on Elizabeth Vargas Reports, admitting the discovery left him stunned.
‘If this is not the military, it is even more terrifying. These things look like they are fixed-wing and they have multiple lights,’ he said.
‘I’m not really sure how to process what I saw last night. Both the photographer and I were kind of stunned.’
The first drone sightings appeared over the US Army’s Picatinny Arsenal and over Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster on November 18.
Since then the FBI has since received more than 3,000 tips, with reports of varying levels of credibility cropping up in at least 12 counties throughout New Jersey, as well as eastern Pennsylvania and Orange County, New York.
Ocean County Sheriff’s Office launched and ‘industrial grade’ drone to track one of the devices with little success
The sightings are among scores which have been causing alarm in New Jersey and beyond
As hysteria began to spread across the country, president-elect Donald Trump led calls for greater transparency.
He demanded the drones flying over multiple US states be shot down by the Biden White House after days of mysterious sightings across the sky.
He didn’t directly address the sightings over his club, but urged action from Joe Biden and the government in a Truth Social post Friday.
He wrote: ‘Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT.’
His comments were echoed by New Jersey lawmakers as well as representatives from other states.
However, former FBI counter-drone specialist Robert D’Amico told DailyMail.com that shooting the drones down would be reckless and could result in serious injury or death.
He suggested that the uptick in reports is more likely due to ‘hysteria’ focusing more untrained eyes on the sky, as well as people launching their own drones to try and figure out what’s going on.
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