Man spots flying object, experts say looks similar to Chinese Spy Balloon
By Leon Purvis
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OBERLIN, Kansas (KAKE) — Questions are circling about a flying object in the skies over northwest Kansas. It appears to be some type of balloon. Some experts say it looks eerily similar to the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US last year.
The National UFO Center says it’s had several reports about this object that a viewer says was floating in the air over Oberlin. But what it is, is still a mystery.
“It looked like a little weather balloon-type thing at first. But the more we watched it, it didn’t move. It maintained in the exact same spot,” said Oberlin Resident Nathan Kelley.
He spotted it at about noon on Wednesday.
“It looks like a floating pearl. It looks like a pearl when you zoom in on it. I don’t know what it is, I gotta be, I don’t want to speculate for a lack of a better term,” said Kelley.
The Decatur County Sheriff’s Office looked at our pictures and sent us a statement saying in part:
“That’s interesting all right. We haven’t received any calls about it, though.”
We also contacted the National Weather Service in Dodge City to see if it had any weather balloons in the air. A spokesperson says its balloon popped by 8 Wednesday morning. The Federal Aviation Administration also had no answers, referring us to the National UFO Reporting Center. It says it’s had similar reports of what Kelley described.
“A fellow reported a spherical object, white in color apparently with a long luminous tail behind it,” said Peter Davenport, Director of the National UFO Reporter Center.
Davenport says the most recent report was from June 18th, and it came from someone close to Kansas City.
“This one has us scratching our heads. We don’t know what this is. It’s reminiscent of the Chinese balloon, a helium full balloon, that apparently flew across our nation,” said Davenport.
Davenport said that if you do see this object contact him at 206-722-3000.
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