What we know when the FBI investigates

In recent weeks, mysterious drones have been reported flying over parts of New Jersey, prompting an investigation involving multiple police departments and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Newark.

Images and footage of the drones circulated online, prompting community members to wonder what was going on and what authorities were doing about it.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office said there was “no known threat to public safety,” in the same statement officials had issued in recent weeks.

According to NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, reports of drone sightings have emerged from several counties, including Morris, Somerset, Warren and Sussex counties.

In a joint statement on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office and several New Jersey police departments, the office said it was aware that the public had concerns about the repeated drone sightings. The office is working with local sheriff’s departments, emergency management offices, police departments, the FBI in Newark, the New Jersey State Police and partners from the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the statement said.

Here’s what we know so far.

When were the drones first spotted?

The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office first announced the sightings in November. The office said law enforcement patrol officers saw the drones on Nov. 18. At the time, prosecutors said authorities would “coordinate, monitor and investigate drone activity.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initially said it had reviewed the reports and “found no evidence of drone activity in the area.” Still, the FAA said the agency shared information about the reports with federal safety partners.

Both the FAA and FBI are aware of drone activity

Since the drone sightings began, multiple agencies have joined the investigation, including the FBI in Newark.

The FBI issued a statement Tuesday about the sightings, noting that drones were reportedly seen flying in several areas along the 70-mile-long Raritan River. According to witnesses, a group of what appeared to be drones and possibly a fixed-wing aircraft were flying in the area, the FBI said.

“We have reports from the public and law enforcement dating back several weeks,” FBI Newark said in a news release obtained by USA TODAY.

The FAA said in a statement to USA TODAY that federal safety partners have asked the agency to issue flight restrictions. The FAA last month released two temporary flight restrictions banning drones over the Picatinny Arsenal military base and the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.

“We review all reports of unauthorized drone operations and investigate as appropriate,” the FAA said in its statement. “Drone operators who conduct unsafe operations that endanger other aircraft or people on the ground could face fines of up to $75,000. Additionally, we may suspend or revoke the pilot licenses of drone operators.”

Resident comments on alleged drone sighting

Jonelle Ferentinos, who lives near Boonton Reservoir in Parsippany, told the Morristown Daily Record, part of the USA TODAY Network, that she saw the drones while walking her dog at night. One night she discovered five drones. The next evening they were back in their neighborhood, she said.

“It was dark so I really couldn’t see where they were coming from or where they were going,” she told the Daily Record. “They just seemed to fly around.”

Elsewhere in New Jersey, drones prevented a rescue helicopter from picking up an injured person after a car accident last week, a spokesperson for Raritan Valley Community College confirmed to USA TODAY Wednesday evening.

According to the college, the campus is used as a landing pad for helicopters from the New Jersey State Police Emergency Medical Services Responses Program (North-Star), which provides emergency patient transport.

The campus security department is working with police, fire and medical services to “provide rapid traffic control in the immediate area if a helicopter needs to land,” Donna Stolzer, director of media relations at Raritan Valley Community College, wrote in a Wednesday E-mail.

According to the college, the North Branch Fire Department contacted the school at 6:40 p.m. Nov. 26 about the incoming helicopter.

ByAmelia Journalton

By Amelia Journalton

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