Police Officer Photographs UFO While on Patrol in Florida's Anna Maria Island

The object captured on camera by Bradenton Beach Police Officer Charles Morose. *(Charles Morose)*

Bradenton Beach Police Officer Charles Morose was patrolling Coquina Beach on Florida’s Anna Maria Island last November 5th when he spotted an unidentified flying object in the sky, reported the Anna Maria Island Sun on Monday.

The officer was able to take a photograph of the object while a Coast Guard plane seemingly changed course to follow it.

“I saw a Coast Guard plane flying over the bay, then I watch them turn back toward the Gulf. I thought what the heck is that as I look up and saw a big black thing in the sky,” Morose said. “I’m estimating based on the size of the plane in the sky, it was at least the size of a car, or maybe a small aircraft.”

Morose said that he thought the Coast Guard plane must have also seen the object, since it changed course and appeared to follow it. After the plane began to follow the object, which Morose said had been almost stationary when he first observed it, the object's speed and trajectory changed rapidly.

“That thing had to be moving at least 500 mph,” Morose said. “It just shot off like a rocket toward the horizon and it was just gone. I’m no UFO conspiracy theorist, and I’m not saying it was from space or anything like that, but there was something in the sky and it was hauling butt.”

The police officer said that, while he doesn't know what the object might have been, he is certain that it was not a drone or an animal. He spends a lot of time in the area, he explained, and is familiar enough with the appearance and behavior of both drones and local birds to rule them out.

As far as Morose is concerned, the sighting will likely remain a mystery.

A request to the Cortez Coast Guard detachment for information regarding the sighting failed to shed light on the mystery.

The Sun was first referred to the Coast Guard’s public relations department, and eventually, after calling multiple departments, was told that they would be contacted if any information was found, since the Coast Guard claimed no such incident had been reported in that area on the date and time of Morose’s sighting.

Sightings like those had by Morose are increasingly gaining mainstream acceptance, following a clear interest in the subject shown by Congress after a series of widely publicized military encounters with UFOs began being released in 2017.

This interest has so far resulted in expanded efforts by the Department of Defense and even NASA to investigate the phenomenon.

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