SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — After a wave of mysterious drone sightings in New Jersey, people are concerned and demanding answers, but the government isn't saying much.
Since last month, dozens of drones have been captured on video hovering in the Jersey skies at night. Olivia Dimattio owns a coffee shop in Mendham, New Jersey near where some drones have been spotted.
“They are the size of small cars, like almost like a mini-Cooper or a Ford Escape size," said Dimattio. "It’s not something that a kid is buying off Amazon and flying around as a prank, so it’s way, way past that.”
Similar sightings are being reported in San Diego County and in other parts of Southern California.
“There is a bunch of red lights floating in the sky," Lemon Grove resident, Colin Rambo, could be heard saying on cell phone video he recorded on November 22, 2024.
“I was driving down the street, just down the street from my house, and I pulled my car over because I saw what looked like a fleet of glowing red orbs,” explained Rambo, who is a professional archaeologist. “I saw at least twenty-five of them over a five-minute period.”
Three nights ago, large drones were also seen hovering in the sky above Temecula.
“We eventually saw one like fairly close, and it was about the size of a car,” said music artist and producer @itsnomadmusic. “We were at some points right under them, and there was no noise at all.”
He told CBS 8 that the objects did not appear to be traditional airplanes or helicopters based on their shape and movements.
“They’ll be going just straight one direction, and then just all the sudden they’ll just zig or zag and keep going, or turn around, and just break really quick,” he explained.
CBS 8 reached out to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and they confirmed the drones seen in Temecula did not belong to law enforcement.
CBS 8 also reached out to Camp Pendleton about the sightings in recent weeks. "The command is aware of recent drone activity in the surrounding communities," said Staff Sgt. Kathryn Lynch Thursday. "No military unmanned aerial systems (UAS) training or activity has occurred during the time or place in question."
Meanwhile in Lemon Grove, in retrospect, Rambo thinks what he saw could have been paper lanterns in the air, but he is still uncertain about it. Nonetheless, he said it's important to look up once in a while.
“With everything that’s going on in the news, all these sightings, just please look up at night," said Rambo. "The more we look up, the more chances we’ll have to see what’s out there.”