Police Ask for Help With Hunt for Mysterious Drones Over Prairie States

(Bloomberg) -- Look but don’t shoot.

That’s the edict from a task force of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies tracking a fleet of mystery drones crisscrossing the vast prairie of northeast Colorado and neighboring Nebraska. They’ve issued a call for the public to be on the lookout for the fleet’s “command vehicle.”

Sightings of the drones, which fly in grid patterns at night, have been reported for weeks. But no one in government or the private sector has stepped forward to claim ownership.

A Facebook post by the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office in Holyoke, Colorado, said “none of the agencies can confirm that the drones are malicious.” The sheriff’s office said it is searching for the drones’ command vehicle. “We are looking for a closed box trailer with antennas or a large van that does not belong in the area.” The sheriff’s office confirmed the authenticity of the Facebook post.

Residents of the region, which is rich in agriculture and oil and gas wells, have been cautioned it’s illegal to shoot at the nocturnal visitors.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent Del Giudice in Denver at vdelgiudice@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kristy Scheuble at kmckeaney@bloomberg.net, Flynn McRoberts

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