‘Creepy’ Unexplained Drones Keep Flying Over Colorado & Nebraska

A number of unexplained drones are making communities in Nebraska and Colorado uneasy, reports The New York Times. The drones seem to come in swarms and only at night, leading one resident to label them as “creepy.”

Deepening the mystery, no one in the communities seems to know who owns the drones or what they are doing. The mystery has taken over Facebook pages, resulted in 911 calls and even prompted Senator Cory Gardner to release a statement via Twitter on the matter. It also gave rise to a federal investigation, though officials admit that they are unsure whether the drones are actually violating any laws.

“It’s creepy,” said Missy Blackman, who lives on a farm outside of Palisade, Nebraska. She said that she saw three drones levitating over her property. One hovered over her house.

“I have a lot of questions of why and what are they, and nobody seems to have any answers.”

Since 2015, most drones have needed to be registered with the federal government. However, even though the drones might be registered, there is no legal way for officials to identify a particular drone in the sky or track the drone’s location.

It doesn’t help that drone ownership has exploded in recent years. Some use the flying devices for work, such as for farming or photography. Others use it for fun.

“Like in many other areas of drone regulation, the statutory and regulatory framework is lagging the technology. It’s just that simple,” said Reggie Govan, a former chief counsel to the Federal Aviation Administration who now teaches at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

The first drone sightings came in mid-December and were centered in northeast Colorado before expanding to new neighborhoods. Officials estimate that up to 30 drones fly each night, though not always in the same place. Currently, law enforcement officials are mapping their journeys to see if it gives some hints about where they are coming from.

Coincidentally, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed new regulations last week that require a vast majority of drones to be identifiable.

Meanwhile, officials are urging residents not to take matters into their own hands, as many have threatened to shoot down drones that seem to encroach on their property. There have been a number of rumors about the source of the drones — that they come from the government, cartels or some sort of nefarious villain.

Dawn George, who lives in Wray, Colorado, said that she worries that they would never discover who is behind the drone surge.

“All the sudden, it’s just going to stop and we’re not going to have answers,” she said. “And that’s very unsettling to a lot of people. It’s the fear of the unknown.”

The drone packs are not the only creepy phenomenon to hit the region recently. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, mysterious waves were recorded in Oklahoma this past fall, in what scientists were calling “the anomaly.”