Parachute Shaped Objects Reported in Pennsylvania and Maryland

In early December of 2012, there were some sightings of parachute shaped object being reported from various locations. The following are two reports which I received.

December 10, 2012-near Eldersburg, Maryland

It was at approximately 4:15 PM that a man and his 16 year old granddaughter were taking a drive when his granddaughter observed what looked like a parachute in the southern sky.  The man also saw it and at first also thought that it was a parachute. As he continued to watch he felt that the object was something else.

They lost sight of it for about 30 seconds as they moved down some streets in the area. Once the object was observed again, it looked similar to a spherical or balloon shaped object that was just under the clouds. A rain storm had been through the area previous to the observation, and there were some wind gusts from the west at about 15 mph. The man stopped his vehicle and took several pictures of the object with his cell phone.

When they returned to his home, they went out on a deck to try to obtain a better look and they noticed that the object appeared to be floating and seemed to be hovering against the wind. They could not see any tether line nor any lights on the object. No sound could be heard but the man mentioned that it was windy. The fellow took an additional picture then went in the house to view them on his computer. When he returned outside about 5 minutes later, the object could no longer me seen.

The witness is an airplane enthusiast, and familiar with the many types of aircraft that fly over the area. He said that he had never saw anything like that before and hopes to find an answer as to what the object was.  He read on the internet, that a similar object was observed in Fredrick County, Md. on December 12, 2012, along I-70. While the photographs do show the object, they are not very detailed. A photo analysis will be conducted to see if any further details can be obtained.

photo used with permission of the witness

December 11, 2012 Scottdale, PA-Westmoreland County  A woman driving during the late afternoon near a busy business area outside of Scottdale, PA, observed what looked like a black parachute in the clear sky. She noticed no aircraft flying around the area from which a parachute could have been released. There was something hanging down from the device but was unsure if it was a person or some type of package. It was just getting dark and her path through the area let her pass under the object which she said looked like an arched parachute.  She could not tell what was below the device since she could not see any arms or legs. The woman thought that it would be odd for someone to be parachuting at that time of the year, specially in that busy location. Her family made contact with the local airports in the area. They had no knowledge of any parachute jumps or releases in the area at that time.