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Residents plagued by mystery drone invasion say they are fearful of what the technology could do in future
MYSTERY drones have been spotted flying in the skies over America's Midwest – leading residents to question whether concerns over privacy are being addressed.
Strange sightings of large swarming in formation over left police and residents baffled - with no sign of the problem slowing down.
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Around 30 of the unmanned aircraft - each with wingspans of 6ft across - have been buzzing in rural Colorado and almost every evening since before Christmas.
They appeared in grid formation with blinking lights around 150ft-200ft up and are usually visible between 7pm and 10pm.
Meanwhile, police warned it may be illegal to shoot them down after dozens of calls from concerned residents.
The multiple sightings of drones over Colorado have sparked renewed debate and interest on where the quadcopters have come from.
Randi Mcknight, based in Aurora, said she saw them above her home one night.
Like many other people in the state, Randi has no idea where they came from, what they were doing or if they were filming anything.
She told : "We don't know who's flying these drones. We don't know what is on some drones. I find it a really scary trend."
"Technology will evolve, and they'll be able to fly higher. Who knows what they'll be able to do then.”
Backing up her fears, Attorney Donald Eby said concerns over privacy with unmanned aerial vehicles are warranted - but there is little anyone can do about it due to ownership of public airspace.
He said: "Does a person actually have a right to prevent that drone from filming them or from entering the airspace over their property?
"The answer to that is almost always no because we don't own that airspace."
DJI, a manufacturer of civilian drones, said it was developing technology that will enable people to use a smartphone to identify a drone flying overhead.
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And right now, the Federal aviation Administration FAA is also working on a drone identification system -which would help law enforcement keep track all of the flying robots.
But there is still work to do.
Eby continued: "It's certainly an area that is evolving. Maybe there will be more restrictions and more things put in place in the future."
Around 1.5 million drones have been registered with the FAA ever since registration became a legal requirement back in 2015.
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