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Fed-up NJ sheriff sends own drone to follow mystery flying objects — what happened left some ‘stunned’
By
Dana Kennedy
Published Dec. 14, 2024, 10:11 a.m. ET
A fed-up New Jersey sheriff said he tried to track the mystery drones swarming the skies above his county — but they “easily” evaded the effort.
The Ocean County Sheriff’s office sent its own “industrial grade” drone into the air Thursday in a bid to follow one of 50 unmanned aerial vehicles a local cop saw “coming off the ocean,” Sheriff Michael Mastronardy said.
Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy launched his department’s own drone Thursday night to try to follow the mysterious drone swarms above the state.Thomas P. Costello / Asbury Park Press / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The officer alerted the state police, the FBI and the US Coast Guard. Coast Guard officials then reported 13 drones, with wingspans of eight feet, following one of their vessels.
The mysterious drones, which don’t give off heat like more typical versions, swiftly maneuvered out of their clutches, Mastronardy told News Nation reporter Rich McHugh.
Do you have footage of drones over the skies of New Jersey or New York? Send it to The Post at drones@nypost.com.
McHugh told the story Friday night to anchor Elizabeth Vargas, explaining he originally thought the drone hysteria might be a result of “pranksters” until he saw them himself.
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“If this is not our military, then it’s even more scary,” McHugh said. “These things look like they are fixed-wing and they have multiple lights. I’m not really sure how to process what I saw last night. Both the photographer and I were kind of stunned.”
One of the Ocean County Sheriff’s drones prepares to land in Seaside Heights after launching to try to track the mysterious New Jersey drone swarms.Thomas P. Costello / Asbury Park Press / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The SUV-sized, unidentified aircraft
have been buzzing New Jersey and panicking residents since Nov. 18.
Theories about where the drones come from vary, with some believing they may have been sent by foreign adversaries.
On Friday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said there was nothing to fear and that people may be imagining things. He said most reports were likely to be cases where manned aircraft were mistaken for drones.
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Since then drones have been sighted in at least 12 counties in New Jersey as well as parts of eastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York.