Searching for smart, safe news you can TRUST?
Support safe, smart, REAL journalism. Sign up for our Axios AM & PM newsletters and get smarter, faster.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
National Solar Observatory in New Mexico. Photo: Education Images/UIG via Getty Images
A cloud of suspicion has set in around a New Mexico observatory that was emptied of personnel suddenly last week for unknown reasons, and continues to remain empty, the Washington Post reports.
The details: Per the Post, the entrance to the National Solar Observatory has been "blocked by yellow crime scene tape," and security officers tasked with guarding the entrance said even they didn't know what had happened. A spokeswoman for the nonprofit that runs the observatory has said it "definitely wasn't aliens," per the Post, but speculation still remains.
What happened: On the morning of September 6th, the facility vacated citing a "security" issue, the Post reports.
- The Otero County Sheriff Benny House said the observatory requested assistance in evacuating the building, but the deputies "saw no evidence of a threat...and left after a few hours."
- House told the Post: "We tried to find out the threat and what their concerns were. They wouldn't identify anything. They were pretty hush mouthed about it."
New Mexico Rep. Stevan Pearce's office contacted the FBI and "was told there was an 'ongoing investigation." Spokeswoman Kinsey Featherston told the Post they "have no information."