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After Search Ends for UFOs, Skeptics Recall NORAD Saying It’s ‘Critical’ To Get Debris

NORAD Alaska photo

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The search for debris from all three UFOs has been suspended. The unexpected decision has left more questions than answers, as the public still seeks to understand just what went down (literally.) Some can’t help but remember a NORAD general saying how important it was to get the debris since they couldn’t categorize how the objects stayed aloft, and pilots noting at least one object might have interfered with their sensors.


The Search for Debris Was Called Off & Nothing Was Found

The balloon that officials knew was a Chinese spy balloon was shot down on February 4, AP reported. After that, followed by the Alaskan UFO, the Canadian Yukon UFO on February 11, and the Lake Huron UFO on February 12. 

Now the search for debris from all three objects has been called off. 

The search for debris near Deadhorse, Alaska, and Lake Huron was called off on February 17 — just seven and five days after the objects were shot down.

Alaska was called off after “arctic conditions and sea ice instability informed decisions to conclude search operations.” And Lake Huron was called off after officials could not identify any debris after days of surface searches and subsurface scans.

Interestingly, before it was announced that the Alaskan search was called off, a local from Alaska said that he had already noticed that all the people searching had left Deadhorse. The account Backcountry Alaska was providing the updates. 

Meanwhile, Canadian officials called off the search in Yukon, Global News reported. The RCMP said: “The highest probability area has been searched and the debris was not located… Given the snowfall that has occurred, the decreasing probability the object will be found and the current belief the object is not tied to a scenario that justifies extraordinary search efforts, the RCMP is terminating the search.” 

People’s interpretations of what all this means tends to differ. Some (such as @punkrockdub) think this means that nothing was shot down at all. 

https://twitter.com/punkrockdub/status/1627143478105841664

Others say the whole thing just feels weird. 


NORAD Commander Said He Couldn’t Categorize ‘How They Stay Aloft’

But many people are commenting that calling off the search doesn’t make sense, considering what General Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), said in a briefing about the whole thing on February 12. 

When asked, if aliens or extraterrestrials could be connected to the objects shot down, VanHerck said: “I’ll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out. I haven’t ruled out anything at this point.” 

VanHerck had a few other interesting statements in his briefing, including this: 

So I’m not going to categorize these balloons. We call them objects for a reason. Certainly, the event of South Carolina coast for the Chinese spy balloon, that was clearly a balloon. These are objects. I am not able to categorize how they stay aloft. It could be a gaseous type of balloon inside a structure or it could be some type of a propulsion system. But clearly, they’re — they’re able to stay aloft. I would be hesitant to — and urge you not to attribute into any specific country. We don’t know. That’s why it’s so critical to get our hands on these so that we can further assess and analyze what they are.


Some Pilots Thought One Object Interfered With Their Sensors

NORAD Noble Defender (Credit: NORAD on Twitter)
NORAD Noble Defender (Credit: NORAD on Twitter)

In addition, some pilots who encountered the objects seemed confused, including pilots who said the first object in Alaska interfered with their planes’ sensors and they couldn’t figure out just how it was staying in the air. 

Meanwhile, White House officials are saying that despite no debris being picked up, they believe the objects were connected to either commercial or private research. A hobbyist club in Illinois is missing its balloon, which might be connected to the object shot down in the Yukon region. But that’s the best clue we have so far. 

All of this uncertainty, coupled with calling off the search for debris from all three objects, has left some members of the public skeptical. 

Interestingly, National Geographic is airing a new series called UFOs: Investigating the Unknown. One of this week’s episodes discussed a notorious incident where a UFO hovered over a nuclear weapons site in Montana in 1967 and managed to disarm 10 missiles temporarily. Despite this, the Air Force later released a statement saying that no UFO sightings had been connected to any national defense concerns. One of the people being interviewed in the episode called out the statement as not being true. 

Understandably, with incidents like that in the past, some people today are wondering what to take at face value and what to reconsider. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

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    Stephanie Dwilson started Post Apocalyptic Media with her husband Derek. She's a licensed attorney and has a master's in science and technology journalism. You can reach her at [email protected].

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