Mysterious drones seen near New Jersey Trump golf course after Gov. Murphy, FBI respond to other sightings
Ryan Hughes, Matthew Cavallo, Joe Brandt, Tom Gardiner.1/2
Updated on: December 7, 2024 / 10:57 AM EST
After sightings in northern New Jersey, police departments in South Jersey are now reporting sightings of mysterious drones in the skies.
Police departments in Cherry Hill, Mount Laurel, Medford and Evesham Township — all nearby each other — all received complaints about drone activity Thursday night, Evesham police Chief Walt Miller told reporters Friday.
Saturday, reports continued to come in from other South Jersey towns including Voorhees, which shared a community advisory making residents aware of "a recent uptick in suspicious drone activity in our area." And viewers in Medford, Burlington County and Brick, Ocean County shared that the drone activity had continued overnight Friday into Saturday.
Evesham police shared on social media that members are "aware of the recent surge in drone activity over the township" and "collaborating with state and federal authorities to identify the drone operators and understand the purpose of this activity."
Troy McNair said he saw a drone several times this week near his home in Clementon, New Jersey – it was hovering over the Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia in Pine Hill, New Jersey.
"It flew by and then it came back, and it just hovered. I said that's definitely a drone," McNair said."I'm just trying to find out if it's anything nefarious, anything suspicious going on."
Evesham police are investigating connections to other drone sightings in North Jersey this week, Miller said.
Earlier this week, a police chief in Morris County warned residents of "nefarious" drones seen near critical infrastructure like water reservoirs, electrical transmission lines and police and military installations, CBS News New York reported.
Videos from residents showed the fast-moving flying objects with blinking lights zipping around in the
The drone activity in Evesham was first reported around 8 p.m. Thursday when the department received multiple calls. Officers responded to those calls and saw drones in the sky, Miller said, estimating between four to eight were flying over the township. The activity continued until about 11:15 p.m. when the drones moved into Cherry Hill.
Miller described the drones as "very large," noting "someone described the drones as large as an SUV." They appear larger than the typical drone one could buy at a consumer electronics store and were able to fly around and stay under control despite heavy winds buffeting the area Thursday night, which prompted a wind advisory from the National Weather Service.
"There's definitely concern. We do get reports of drone activity, but they're usually like, ones that you purchase," Miller said.
"Last night was interesting just because of the wind that was present, one of those small hobbyist drones wouldn't be able to fly. [The] larger, I guess professional [drone] activity that was out there gave greater concern, especially in their ability to navigate the weather."
With drones of this size, any area where they land would be pretty conspicuous, he explained.
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/mysterious-drones-sightings-new-jersey/