Agents race to Minnesota crash site as ‘foreign’ object from space is found in crops

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Published: 10:41 EDT, 19 October 2026 | Updated: 11:03 EDT, 19 October 2026

Agents rushed to a Minnesota farm midafternoon last week after receiving a call about a ‘foreign’ object found in a crop field.

Authorities said in a Facebook post: ‘On October 14, 2026, at approximately 3.30pm, the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office received a phone call [about] foreign debris that was found in a cornfield in Scott Township.’

They found a metallic object approximately 11 feet in diameter that authorities believe may be space debris.

Footage shared online by locals in Alberta shows two black vehicles parked just feet from the object as officers examine it.

The object appeared scorched along its underside, and farmers reportedly discovered the object while combining their fields.

The Minnesota Duty Officer was alerted, prompting a response from federal agencies.

Authorities have since moved the object to a secure location.

The sheriff’s office is coordinating with state and federal officials to identify and contact the object’s owner and arrange its removal from the field.

Authorities found a metallic object approximately 11 feet in diameter that they believe may be space debris

Stevens County Sheriff Jason Dingman said that because the incident is an ongoing investigation, he cannot say which federal agencies are involved.

‘There are several various agencies assisting in the determination of origin of this object,’ Dingman said Friday afternoon.

‘We’re not getting fed much information either and what info we do get is pretty cryptic.

‘So I think somebody way up the food chain above my head knows what this thing is but they are not even telling us.’

Chokio resident Tena Wilts told the Star Tribune that she saw the object on Thursday while driving to her parents’ house, about three miles away from the field.

‘It’s very large. Compared to the trucks, it seems very large and bizarre that it just kind of landed there in the middle of a field,’ Wilts said.

‘We had a tornado through the area a few weeks ago, so that came to mind. You hear about space garbage, too, so that comes to mind.’

Officials told KARE 11 that serial numbers were visible on the object, potentially offering investigators a way to trace its manufacturer or owner. Authorities have said the discovery poses no danger to the public.

Space debris includes defunct satellites, spent rocket stages and fragments created when spacecraft break apart or collide, according to NASA.

Some objects eventually fall back toward Earth as their orbits decay.

During reentry, spacecraft generally break apart roughly 45 to 52 miles above the surface.

Their fragments then encounter intense heating as they descend, with some burning up and others surviving the journey to the ground.

NASA explains that components made from materials with higher melting points, including titanium and stainless steel, can survive longer than parts made from aluminum.

Pieces protected inside larger structures may also be shielded from heating until the surrounding material breaks apart. NASA uses computer models to predict which spacecraft components might survive reentry.

Controlled reentries are designed to guide debris toward remote areas, usually over the ocean. With an uncontrolled descent, however, NASA says there is no guarantee that surviving fragments will avoid populated land.

Investigators have not publicly linked the Minnesota object to a particular satellite, rocket or launch.