In this image taken from video, what appears to be drones flying over Randolph, N.J., Dec. 4, 2024. (MartyA45_ /TMX via AP)
Reports have been coming in about mysterious aerial activity, usually attributed to drones of some sort, in the New Jersey area. Now it’s also being reported in Maryland, specifically along the Route 50 corridor.
Police in Bowie say they’re receiving calls and trying to investigate whatever it is, but they don’t seem to know any more than anyone else does. And the reports are coming from around the area.
Add former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s name to those asking questions about the odd sight. He posted video on X he says he took around 9:45 p.m. Thursday from his home in Davidsonville.
“I personally witnessed (and videoed) what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky,” said Hogan.
It was around the same time last night that Jazmine Johnson of Crofton said she saw something in the sky as she drove on Route 50 through Bowie. In fact, she said she’s seen it the last two nights.
“I was like, okay, these aren’t stars,” said Johnson. “They can’t be stars because they’re in the same position, same place, but I also felt like I saw it moving, changing lights, something like that.”
She also realized they weren’t airplanes. And it turns out, she said her brother reported seeing something similar last week while driving from Laurel to Glenarden. One thing that bothers her is that she hasn’t seen the objects flying in the day time when she’s on her way to work – only at night on her way home.
Bowie resident Mary Tutman said she noticed three objects moving north to south – toward Route 50 in fact – on Sunday night as she was taking the trash out. She was aware of the stories coming out from New Jersey, but initially figured the drones mentioned there were the more common hobby drones that people can buy on the cheap.
“It wasn’t small,” said Tutman. “And they were just coming in as in a line. The one, and then it was making this weird, like, like, deep hum.”
Minutes later, she saw two more.
“They did have red and green lights,” she said. “By that point, I was trying to go, Wait a minute, this must be what they’re talking about. And then I was trying to see the lights were kind of flashing, and I couldn’t get a sense of how big it was, but it was not small.”
Living in a neighborhood that sees all sorts of air traffic overhead, whether it’s commercial flights to and from BWI Marshall Airport, military flights to Joint Base Andrews, or small planes flying in and out of Freeway Airport — never mind the police and ambulatory helicopters — Tutman said she’s able to tune most of it out. But not these.
“The sound was different than anything I’ve heard before, which caught my attention almost more than the things that were flying,” she said.
While the government hasn’t been able to offer an explanation, the FAA said in a statement to WTOP that recreational drone flyers don’t need special permission to fly as long as drones are 55 pounds or less. And that’s assuming these are drones.
In a joint statement, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said that they had no evidence that the sightings in New Jersey posed a threat to national security or to public safety.
“Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities,” the agencies said. It’s not clear if the statement applies to what’s being seen in Maryland.
In an email to WTOP, Joint Base Andrews said it hadn’t done any drone incursions, but remains on watch and ready to respond to any risks or threats.
In his post about the activity on X, Larry Hogan said that the public was growing “increasingly concerned and frustrated” with the lack of transparency from the federal government.
“The government has the ability to track these from their point of origin but has mounted a negligent response. People are rightfully clamoring for answers, but aren’t getting any,” Hogan said.
“I don’t get the sense that they really know what it is, or, you know, if so many people have seen them, that if they know what it is,” said Tutman. “You have to say something like, we’re testing, we’re doing – no one really cares if it’s a company, if they’re testing.
“But if they don’t know, that’s pretty scary,” she added. “If they do know…they should say something more.”
“The drones are there when they weren’t there before,” said Johnson. “And I know that we do live in an area where there are different bases — Fort Meade…we’re near NSA. We’re near a lot of different places. So I think there is a lot of concern to be had with the drones being on the East Coast.
“I don’t believe that they’re going to be forthcoming about what they understand and know it to be.”
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