Mysterious Drone Sightings in Eastern Sioux Falls?

Drone sightings grabbed America's attention late in 2024 when multiple mysterious flying objects appeared off the coast of New Jersey.

Culture has seemingly moved on from the term UFO and they are now known as UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena).

When East Coast residents, law enforcement, and politicians demanded to know what they were and where they came from, the United States government said that what they were witnessing were simply airplanes or hobby drones.

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No one on the planet bought that and the large box-shaped drones are still a mystery.

All kinds of conspiracy theories arose and are still wildly popular on the web today. Is there a mothership in the ocean? Are they crafts from another world?

Is this a setup for something bigger? Does the government really know and are not telling? Are the drones searching for radiation signals from a lost nuclear warhead? This list goes on...

The mysterious drones have also been reported in other parts of the United States in the past few months. Florida, California, New York, Minneapolis, and one that startled many people was the four-hour closure of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio due to large drones hovering nearby.

But a sighting in Sioux Falls?

A user on the NextDoor app posted on January 7th, 2025:

"Has anyone noticed the large drones flying over East side of Sioux Falls? I noticed one last night around 10:30 pm-ish, and again tonight around 9:30 pm. It was flying pretty low, and hovering over the neighborhoods around us. And yes, I’m sure it wasn’t a plane or helicopter. 😊 They are boxed shaped, maybe around the size of the car, and make a low humming sound."

Another user witnessed the same thing saying, "I saw it too. In the south eastern sky. E 26TH and Red Oak area."

Source: Nextdoor [photo]

This was also posted in the thread from another witness:

"I called the SFPD. I was told that both my sightings were planes that were landing and that drones can’t be the size of a car. I have lived here almost five years. We have seen plenty of planes and helicopters at night. What we saw didn’t sound like a plane, didn’t change directions like a plane, and flew at an altitude that planes don’t fly at, especially in neighborhoods."

Whether there is any validity to these unidentified flying objects remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: we've all seen airplanes and helicopters and most descriptions do not fit the drone sightings.

According to the Associated Press, several of the "5,000 drone sightings reported to the FBI in recent weeks were deemed credible enough to warrant more investigation, according to a joint statement by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense." 

One witness in California said of the car-sized object, "They’ll be going just straight one direction, and then, just all of a sudden, they’ll just zig or zag and keep going, or turn around, and just break really quick," according to NewsNation.

If, by chance, someone is operating a drone the size of a car or small SUV, there are South Dakota drone laws you may want to check out. Until then, keep your eyes in the sky.

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