Ocean County Sheriff Says 50 Mysterious Drones Spotted Coming Off the Ocean — Claims ‘They Vanished Into Thin Air’ After Outrunning the Coast Guard and an ‘Industrial-Grade’ Drone
An eerie and unexplained phenomenon has gripped the Jersey Shore. Over the past several weeks, mysterious drones have been spotted in increasing numbers.
The unexplained aerial vehicles reportedly evaded detection, outran Coast Guard boats, and even disappeared into thin air after being pursued by industrial-grade drones launched by law enforcement.
In recent weeks, reports of fleets of mysterious drones, described as fixed-wing aircraft with 8-to-10-foot wingspans and blinking lights, have flooded local authorities, according to NewsNation reporter Rich McHugh.
Rich McHugh:
“I got to be honest here. When this story first came out a few weeks ago, as a resident of New Jersey and as a journalist, I didn’t pay it much credence. I thought it would turn out to be a bunch of pranksters, and this would all be over by now. The experience I had last night, however, changed how I feel about this story completely. What I saw was more sophisticated than I ever imagined,” McHugh said.We’ve been looking for the past hour. I think we’ve seen about 40 or 50 of these drones. In fact, there’s one over my shoulder right there.
One after another, these drones appeared in the night sky. If you look closely, they look like fixed-wing aircraft, about 8 to 10 feet wide, with colorful, white blinking lights.
Hours earlier, I was invited to join the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department. They launched their own drones to see if they could intercept the mysterious aircraft New Jersey residents have been reporting in recent weeks. The department says these mystery drones evade detection because they don’t give off heat like regular drones”
According to Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy, Coast Guard officers reported being followed by over 50 drones coming off the water, with some flying as close as 300 feet above them.
Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) supported this claim during his speech on the House floor last Tuesday.
“So last night, I was on the beach park in Ocean County with the sheriff. He has been working every single night, he’s got his own tethered drones chronicling, and one of his officers two nights ago, saw 50 drones coming off the ocean right there.”
“Then, last night, we had a number of other people here, including a commanding officer from the Coast Guard, who said that one of their 47-foot motor lifeboats was followed by between 12 and 30 of these drones as they went through the water. Followed, right behind them!”
Attempts to intercept the drones with an industrial-grade drone operated by the sheriff’s office failed spectacularly, as the mystery aircraft easily evaded pursuit before disappearing.
Rich McHugh:
One of their officers called 911 after seeing 50 of them come off the ocean.Sheriff Michael Mastronardy:
Advised after we made contact with that officer that there were 50 that came off the ocean.Rich McHugh:
Fifty?Sheriff Michael Mastronardy:
Five-zero. That was my reaction also. There were 50 that were coming off the ocean.Rich McHugh:
And this is a sworn officer?Sheriff Michael Mastronardy:
Sworn officer, yes. We contacted state police, the FBI, and the Coast Guard, at which point the Coast Guard went out with their boat and reported seeing 13 following their boat. Then, the Coast Guard also advised that they went over them about 300 feet and had a wingspan of about eight feet.Rich McHugh:
What’s your message to the White House?Sheriff Michael Mastronardy:
My message—come to the Jersey shore. I know it’s wintertime, but come see what we see, and then maybe have a better appreciation for why our residents are concerned.Rich McHugh:
The Ocean County Sheriff, that drone unit—they have an industrial-grade drone. They put it up. They were tracking one of these drones… and they said this thing easily evaded them, disappearing out of thin air. To me, if this is not our military, then it’s even more scary, and we need answers, frankly.
Video via NewsNation:
Despite weeks of sightings and growing public concern, the federal government remains tight-lipped about the origin of these drones.
In a tense interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby struggled to provide answers.
When pressed on why the drones haven’t been shot down for analysis, Kirby deflected, citing “policy options” and “inter-agency conversations.”
Martha MacCallum:
Why not just take one down and figure out what’s going on?John Kirby:
Well, okay, the idea of taking something down, again, you want to worry about public safety. First of all, we don’t have enough conclusions to take that a policy action. But let’s just assume for a minute, Martha, that we did. I mean, you’re not going to want to shoot something down where it could hit somebody’s house or hurt somebody.Martha MacCallum:
Well, the Coast Guard says that there are 30 of them following one of their ships in the ocean. So would that work?John Kirby:
I mean, again, we have to develop the policy options based on what we know we’re dealing with here, and we just don’t know enough to take those kinds of actions.Martha MacCallum:
WowJohn Kirby:
But my goodness, we’re going to do everything we can to find out, and we’re going to share as much as we can. I understand it’s frustrating for folks.Martha MacCallum::
YeahJohn Kirby:
It’s frustrating for us. We want to know as well.
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