Mysterious Drones Over NE And ‘Santa-Antics’ [Weird News & Oddities] – Patch

December 22, 2024 ndowd

Mysterious drones over New Jersey and the Northeast, some the size of a car, have baffled residents for weeks, and although public officials say there appears to be no danger to the public, residents are demanding answers and even action to shoot them down.

Dozens of drone sightings have been reported dsince mid-November. They have been seen alone and traveling in clusters and, adding to residents’ apprehension, some have been spotted near critical infrastructure such as water reservoirs, power transmission lines, rail stations, and law enforcement facilities.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday his office is taking the situation “deadly seriously” and said that while there’s no indication the public is endangered, he doesn’t “blame people for being frustrated.”
Members of Congress are also demanding an investigation, including a New Jersey representative who asked the Defense Department to investigate the large number of drones coming onshore from the Atlantic Ocean and drones that followed a Coast Guard boat off Ocean County. And on Thursday, another New Jersey congressman who previously had said drones should be shot down raised new questions about the “mothership theory” and said the Pentagon is treating the public “like we are stupid.”
The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies are investigating. The Federal Aviation has issued flight restrictions for drones over Donald Trump’s National Golf Club in Bedminster and Pictinny Arsenal Military Base in Rockaway. Firefighters in New Jersey have gotten guidance on what to do if they find a downed drone.
The mystery and intrigue have spread to other states in the Northeast, including Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York. On the West Coast, California is seeing more drones, too.
A Utah man who police said was irate that his used Subaru Outback was “a lemon” crashed it through the showroom door of the Salt Lake City area car dealership where he had bought it earlier in the day Monday, according to reports.
The unhappy used car owner, Michael Lee Murray, 35, told “Inside Edition” that he had reached “a breaking point” because, he claimed, the dealership refused to refund the $4,000 he had paid for the car.
“I was just really angry, upset about my money,” Murray told Inside Edition after his release from jail Tuesday. “I just kind of blacked out for a second.”
Employees at the dealership told police in Sandy, a Salt Lake City suburb, that Murray knew the car was sold “as is” and needed work, and that they offered him either a refund or different vehicle. Murray was not dismayed, the report said, and followed through on a threat to smash the car through the door.
“I told you (expletive)! I told you!” Murray said, slamming the car door and walking away, according to video taken from inside the dealership.
A man dressed as Santa Claus got stuck 60 feet in the air on the side of a building in Norwalk, Connecticut, earlier this month and had to be rescued. The Grinch, the holiday fun spoiler, was rappelling right along with him and flawlessly scaled the 13-story building.
Firefighters who expected a routine evening lifting kids on and off fire trucks at the Norwalk Holiday Extravaganza on Dec. 7 instead tried to distrct them during the rescue of the St. Nick lookalike. Police think his beard became entangled in the rappelling equipment, causing it to fail.
“It was definitely not part of what I was expecting for the evening,” Lt. Scott Rywolt said of the rescue. “When it wwas happening, I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool, you know? Wow, this is neat.’ ”
The ordeal was no doubt frightening for the rappeller, but also the children, especially after the Santa’s hat and beard fell to the ground. “Save Santa!” the crowd cried out. Rescuers pulled him through a sixth-floor window, saving the holiday event.
A Fall River, Massachusetts, man trying to escape arrest got stuck in a chimney Tuesday and his “Santa-antics” landed him in the hospital for evaluation before he was medically cleared to face a “slew of charges,” police said in a seasonally inspired statement.
Police were serving a search warrant at a residence when two men inside fled via the rooftop. One of the two men jumped from the roof onto a car below and escaped. The other “invoked the essence of the seasonal icon and attempted to hide inside a chimney,” police said, adding the man “quickly became stuck in the chimney and required the assistance of the very detectives he was previously fleeing from.”
Another person at the residence was arrested on drug charges, but “with less theatrics,” police said.
If Santa were as large as a 42-foot inflatable soaring high over a Farmingdale, New York, neighborhood, his reindeer would struggle to lift his sleigh and he’d have trouble squeezing down chimneys.
George and Christina Stergiopoulo added the ginormous Santa as part of their contribution to a neighborhood holiday display, and it’s drawn more attention than they imagined. Curiosity seekers have lined up for photos in front of Santa, which has gotten nationwide media attention.
“It’s actually crazy,” Christina Stergiopoulos told Patch. “… We decorate during all the holidays for the kids, our neighbors and everyone. We love it. We get very into holidays where we are, especially this year — the neighborhood went all out this year. It’s really nice to see so much more decoration and so much more lights.”
The Santa has its own Instagram account to let people know when Santa will be seeing visitors. Buoyant Santa becomes flat Santa when it’s windy.