Two men were arrested after allegedly flying a drone “dangerously close to Logan International Airport,” according to the Boston Police Department.
Robert Duffy, 42, and Jeremy Folcik, 32, were arrested by members of the Boston Police Harbor Patrol Unit at approximately 10:22 p.m. Saturday.
A third suspect fled the scene in a boat and has not been caught, police said.
Logan International Airport is bordered by Boston Harbor, as shown on July 29, 2020.
Boston Globe via Getty Images
Police started monitoring an Unmanned Aircraft System at about 4:30 p.m., according to a statement released Sunday.
Leveraging advanced technology, officials were able to identify its exact location, altitude and flight history, among other data.
Based on that information, they recognized that the object posed a potential threat to Logan International’s airspace.
The Boston Police Department then coordinated with Homeland Security, the Massachusetts State Police, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Federal Communications Commission and Logan Airport Air Traffic Control to address the situation.
Officers from the Harbor Patrol Unit were dispatched to Long Island, part of the Boston Harbor Islands, in response to the “hazardous drone operation,” the police statement said.
Inside the decommissioned Long Island Health Campus were three individuals who fled on foot as police approached, officials said.
The two suspects — Duffy and Folcik — were apprehended.
A drone was discovered within the backpack carried by Duffy, the statement said.
Both suspects face charges of trespassing, with additional fines or charges possible, according to Boston police.
They will be arraigned in Dorchester District Court at a date that is yet to be set.
The search is ongoing for the third suspect, who is believed to have fled the island in a small vessel, police said.
