What Did The Anoka Officers See?

Introduction

On the early morning of 19 February 2025, a small group of Anoka Police Department personnel reported an extended sighting of an unusual aerial object. The episode has drawn attention because written witness statements and a short video clip were entered into the U.S. National Archives’ Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Collection after being submitted to the FBI, giving rare public access to official‑format accounts of a modern, unresolved sighting. This page focuses strictly on what the officers themselves described seeing — the concrete observations from their testimony, without leaping to identification or wider interpretation.[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]

Timeline of the 19 February Sighting

Around 1.15–1.17 a.m. local time, at least three Anoka police employees gathered in a parking area for an after‑action briefing following training when they noticed a lighted object on the western horizon. They continued watching the object over a period lasting approximately ninety minutes, during which time it changed position, altitude and appearance as described in their statements. At one point, they relocated to a nearby municipal ramp to get a clearer look.[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]

One witness later recounted having seen a possibly related object on 17 February during routine patrol, and records also referenced a September 2022 sighting near the Anoka Ice Arena, making the 19 February account part of a sequence of unusual reports from the area.[AOL]aol.comanoka police officers reported ufo 194940844AOLAnoka police officers reported UFO sighting in early 2025, FBI filing says - AOL…

Descriptions of Colour, Shape and Movement

The officers’ accounts emphasise several recurring visual features of the object:

• Shape and lighting: Witnesses described the object as broadly spherical, with a pattern of rapidly changing coloured lights — red, blue, green and white — that gave it an appearance likened to “six *hula‑hoops with lights around each loop,” or a “tie‑dye” pattern. One described it as resembling an orb with glowing loops rather than a conventional aircraft lighting scheme.[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]
• Size estimate: One observer guessed the object’s size to be roughly comparable to a large vehicle, with descriptions ranging from the heft of an SUV to about that of a school bus — estimates that, without external reference points, are highly approximate.[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]
• Light behaviour: The multicoloured lights were said to flash and shift over time, and the witnesses explicitly noted that, while perhaps reminiscent of standard navigation lights, the object did not appear to match any known aircraft configuration.[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]

Movement descriptions from the officers underscored perceived anomalies in how the object behaved:

• Hovering and bursts: Accounts said the object appeared to hover, drift and periodically shift location in “three separate bursts,” changing altitude and bearing over the course of the sighting.[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]
• Rapid motion: One witness described a segment of motion as covering an estimated “30–40 miles in a few seconds,” with a movement style that “skipped across the sky like a stone on a pond.”[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]
• Directional reference: Some statements placed the object’s later movement in the general direction of Monticello, and possibly near the Monticello Nuclear Power Generating Plant, although precise distances and bearings were not established by scientific tracking.[Hoodline]hoodline.comAnoka Police Multicolored Object In NARA UAP FilesHoodlineAnoka Police Multicolored Object In NARA UAP Files…

Observational Context and Recording Limitations

One of the officers attempted to document the sighting by using binoculars paired with a smartphone camera, but the resulting footage — a short, blurry clip — was released in the National Archives more as a witness artefact than clear evidence of specific characteristics. The officers noted that cold weather conditions hindered the use of more sophisticated optics like night vision equipment.[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]

In an interview with a nonprofit that evaluates UAP reports, one officer estimated that the object may have been at an altitude of 10,000–30,000 feet and as far as 50 miles away at times. Those kinds of ground‑based visual estimates are inherently uncertain without corroborating instruments, but the statement reflects the officers’ subjective sense of scale and distance.[AOL]aol.comanoka police officers reported ufo 194940844AOLAnoka police officers reported UFO sighting in early 2025, FBI filing says - AOL…

What Witness Estimates Can and Cannot Prove

What the Anoka officers reported is rooted in subjective human observation: descriptions of colour, form and motion as perceived with the naked eye and basic optical aids. Their accounts constitute first‑hand testimony preserved in official U.S. archival records — a noteworthy data point within Minnesota’s broader UFO/UAP history precisely because such detailed law‑enforcement testimony is uncommon in the public record.[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]

However, several important limitations apply:

Accordingly, while the officers’ descriptions are what was reported, they do not by themselves constitute positive identification of the object’s nature or origin — whether conventional, atmospheric, astronomical or something that genuinely fits within the UFO/UAP category in a technical sense. The federal record closed its review without reaching a conclusion, leaving the sighting unresolved in official terms.[FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]

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Endnotes

1. Source: fox9.com
   Title: FOX 9 Minneapolis-St
   Link: https://www.fox9.com/news/fbi-files-ufo-sighting-anoka-police-department
   Source snippet

   PaulFBI documents detail reported UFO sighting involving Anoka police officers2 days ago — ANOKA, Minn. (FOX 9) - FBI documents released...

2. Source: aol.com
   Title: anoka police officers reported ufo 194940844
   Link: https://www.aol.com/news/anoka-police-officers-reported-ufo-194940844.html
   Source snippet

   AOLAnoka police officers reported UFO sighting in early 2025, FBI filing says - AOL...

3. Source: hoodline.com
   Title: Anoka Police Multicolored Object In NARA UAP Files
   Link: https://hoodline.com/2026/05/cops-watch-bizarre-tie-dye-orb-near-monticello-nuke-plant/
   Source snippet

   HoodlineAnoka Police Multicolored Object In NARA UAP Files...

4. Source: archives.gov
   Link: https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps
   Source snippet

   hivesApril 24, 2025 — RECORDS RELATED TO UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS (UFOS) AND UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA (UAPS) AT THE NATIONAL A...

   Published: April 24, 2025

5. Source: bringmethenews.com
   Title: anoka police officers reported ufo sighting in early 2025 fbi filing says
   Link: https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-lifestyle/anoka-police-officers-reported-ufo-sighting-in-early-2025-fbi-filing-says
   Source snippet

   Anoka police officers reported UFO sighting in early 2025, FBI filing says - Bring Me The NewsYesterday — ANOKA POLICE OFFICERS REPORTED...

6. Source: nuforc.org
   Link: https://nuforc.org/sighting/?id=189329
   Source snippet

   NUFORC UFO Sighting 189329May 6, 2025 — NUFORC UFO SIGHTING 189329 Occurred: 2025-05-02 23:13 Local - Approximate Reported: 2025-05-02 22...

   Published: May 2, 2025

Additional References

1. Source: fox9.com
   Link: https://www.fox9.com/news/mn-lawmaker-shootings-vance-boelter-texted-roommates-i-may-be-dead-soon
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2. Source: cbsnews.com
   Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-ufo-sighting-anoka-police-fbi/
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   Newly declassified FBI documents detail UFO sighting by Anoka officers — and one of them filmed itYesterday — Three Anoka police officers...

3. Source: racketmn.com
   Link: https://racketmn.com/report-multiple-ufos-spotted-above-already-spooky-halloween-capital-of-the-world-anoka
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   RacketYesterday — REPORT: MULTIPLE UFOS SPOTTED ABOVE ALREADY-SPOOKY ‘HALLOWEEN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD’—ANOKA! Plus more O'Hara deets, burn...

4. Source: safeaerospace.org
   Link: https://www.safeaerospace.org/reports
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5. Source: instagram.com
   Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL7beYetWkI/

6. Source: pentagonufofiles.io
   Title: Pentagon UFOFiles.io Tracking live — updated as files drop PENTAGON UFOFILES
   Link: https://pentagonufofiles.io/
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7. Source: fox9.com
   Title: Mysterious UFOs: A look at sightings in Minnesota | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St
   Link: https://www.fox9.com/news/mysterious-ufos-minnesota-2022
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   PaulSeptember 14, 2022 — MYSTERIOUS UFOS: A LOOK AT SIGHTINGS IN MINNESOTA By Katie Wermus Published September 14, 2022 4:52 PM CDT Minne...

   Published: September 14, 2022

8. Source: fox9.com
   Link: https://www.fox9.com/news/vance-boelter-search-warrants-guns-body-bags-cash
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   PaulJune 23, 2025 — VANCE BOELTER SEARCH WARRANTS: AUTHORITIES FIND NEARLY 50 GUNS, BODY BAGS AND CASH By Katie Wermus Published June 23...

   Published: June 23, 2025

9. Source: uapradar.com
   Title: ALL BRIEFINGS Sort [Select] Latest 24 of 110 articles Witness
   Link: https://uapradar.com/articles/generated/are-aliens-real-us-government-s-video-of-a-star-shaped-ufo-raises-worries-of-e.html
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   UAP News Archive | UAP RadarLATEST UAP NEWS & ARTICLES A full archive view of the current feed across official releases, reporting, resea...

10. Source: minnesotasnewcountry.com
    Title: anoka ufo sighting february 2025
    Link: https://minnesotasnewcountry.com/anoka-ufo-sighting-february-2025/
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    Anoka Police Report UFO Sighting During Training Session2 days ago — Image: A 2025 Minnesota UFO-Police Encounter Released By The FBI A 2...

    Published: february 2025