US military ends search for balloons shot down over Alaska and Lake Huron

Military says objects are thought to have landed in difficult terrain, after hobbyists suggested one could belong to them

The search for small balloons shot down recently by US and Canadian fighter jets over Alaska and Lake Huron has been called off, military commanders have said, days after balloon hobbyists in northern Illinois indicated that one of the stray unidentified flying objects could belong to their group.

In a joint statement released at 10 pm on Friday, the North American aerospace defense command (Norand) and the US northern command said they had recommended calling off the search because the objects were believed to have landed in difficult terrain. The US secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, had approved the defense agencies' recommendation.