US calls off search for unidentified aerial objects shot down over Alaska, Lake Huron

The United States has called off the search for two unidentified flying objects that were respectively shot down over Alaska and Lake Huron last week, The New York Times reported Friday. 

A U.S. official told The Times that conditions made locating the two objects too difficult despite trying to find them for days. 

The U.S. military shot down three objects last weekend in the aftermath of a Chinese balloon that drifted across the continental U.S. that officials say was designed to conduct surveillance. The first of the three objects was downed over Alaska, while the second was over a region of Canada and the third was over Lake Huron near Michigan. 

The objects have not been specifically identified, but President Biden said on Thursday that they were likely linked to a private company or researchers and not meant for surveillance as the Chinese balloon was. 

The official said Canada is continuing to search for the object that was taken down over the territory of Yukon. 

The object that was shot down over Alaska is believed to be about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, according to the official. They added that their pilots used aircraft with radar that could see through the ice, but still couldn’t find any remnants. 

An Illinois balloon hobby group said one of their small balloons went missing off the coast of Alaska, but added that they could not be sure if their balloon was what the military shot down. 

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing on Friday that no group has claimed any of the three objects that the military downed.