MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — James Rau of Stroudsburg was on Facetime with his son Thursday night when he noticed something in the sky. He shared videos with Newswatch 16 of what he saw on West Main Street.
"The drone came from the south to the north. It did a circle around then made its way over towards the ESU Campus," explained Rau.
He's not the only one.
Monroe County Emergency Management got several calls Thursday night. That's when they put a post on social media, asking people to call 911 to report sightings. Communication Director Gary Hoffman says dispatchers received about 20 calls.
"It started pretty much in the east end of the county near the NJ border, which is East Stroudsburg. Then it migrated to the western portion of the county in Saylorsburg," said Hoffman.
Soon after the office of emergency management posted the social media message, a Newswatch 16 photographer was about 8 miles south of Stroudsburg. He saw several aircraft with flashing lights go overhead. But when zoomed in with a camera and increasing the brightness, these appeared to be low-flying airplanes.
Rau says he did not report his sighting to 911 but understands the concerns of people in the county.
"Because of the location of it is below the tree line, which is 40 feet. An airplane is not flying below 40 feet, so not in Stroudsburg with the mountains and the terrain and everything, everybody can say it's an airplane, but it is not," explained Rau.
On Friday afternoon, Governor Josh Shapiro was in Scranton, and Newswatch 16 asked about the drone sightings.
He says Homeland Security reports these drones do not pose a national security threat and added state police are also investigating.
"I know they will be flying helicopters to try to determine where these drones are originating from and what the purpose of the drones are. We will be conducting more exercise, and we'll be doing more this evening as well," said Governor Josh Shapiro.
Officials are asking anyone who would like to report a sighting to call the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or make an online report here.