Multiple drone sightings reported over Cape Cod
HARWICH - Several people on Cape Cod reported drone activity to police on Thursday night. Multiple sightings were reported in the sky over Harwich and Barnstable.
10-15 drones reported in Harwich
A Harwich resident told police she saw 10-15 drones over her house at about 9 p.m. "The resident could not hear the drones, but stated they were very bright, and she observed these for over an hour," Harwich Police Chief Kevin Considine said in a press release.
WBZ spoke with a woman who also reported seeing drones in Harwich. Lindsay Muto said she and her husband noticed the lights and tried to get a closer look.
"So, I got my husband and I'm like 'I think, are these the drones that they have been talking about in New Jersey?' My husband's like 'oh my gosh, I think they are,'" Muto said. "So, he went out to get his drone out of his car, which he uses for work, and tried to fly it to get a little bit closer and his drone went down."
Muto says the lights were there for about 30 minutes flashing from red to green to blue.
Earlier Thursday night, at about 6 p.m., an off-duty Harwich police officer also noticed similar drone activity near the Public Safety Complex on Sisson Road.
"One of my officers also saw a couple type drones over near our station, in the vicinity of our station," Chief Considine told WBZ. "They were reported as bright white, couldn't hear anything but similar."
He says for a local police department, patrolling the skies and monitoring drones is just not feasible, making it hard to respond to this type of issue.
"They are tough to manage, and that's why the first thing we did today was just submit our report to our local partners from the federal government and the state police just so they can start looking into it," Chief Considine said.
Large drones reported in Osterville
There was also a sighting reported to Barnstable police Thursday night. A caller said three large drones were flying over the water at the end of Sea View Ave. in Osterville. The caller said they were concerned because the drones were "darting up and down." The Barnstable Police Department said it is unaware who was operating the drones.
Harwich police said the drones are similar to the ones reported recently over New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Chief Considine said the department has forwarded all the information they have received to the Boston FBI and Massachusetts State Police.
Drones over New Jersey
In a letter to President Biden, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called for more resources to be directed toward investigating the increased drone activity.
In a statement Thursday, the FBI said there is no evidence the reported drone sightings in New Jersey "pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus." The FBI said it continues to investigate the situation.