Just before the COIVD-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Eastern Colorado was center stage for a kind of whodunnit. Ranchers, farmers — and even a few deputy sheriffs — described mysterious drones flying in the night skies.

There are consistencies among the eyewitness reports that suggest these drones possessed longer flight times than most off-the-shelf UAVs. The witness testimony appeared legitimate enough to local and state law enforcement, and the FAA, to take the sightings seriously.

But as quickly as the drones came, they disappeared. In a statement, Colorado homeland security officials said they’ve received no new complaints. As a result no additional action has been taken.

Even if this Colorado/Nebraska activity turns out to be some actor that's totally innocuous, and harmless, it still is troubling that the government can't find out who it is or says they haven’t been able to find out. Activity of that scale going on for at least three weeks, that is of concern.

What really happened in the sky above the American Midwest in those fateful winter months, and what can the incident tell us about new technology and old fears?

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