Circle over Harpers Ferry, WV

The report, as filed

Craft was circular in shape, red to orange glowing in color. Silent. My home is above the US 340 bridge overlooking the Shenandoah River as it confluences with the Potomac in Harper's Ferry, in between 2 mountain ranges. I was sitting on my second floor balcony enjoying a cigar preparing for bed. The object appeared from my right side at tree top level from up river (my property being on the WV side of the Shenandoah) and at first I thought it to be a helicopter with a search light, perhaps searching for a drowning victim in the river as sometimes happens. However, as the object approached it was silent, grew larger in diameter, until at closest approach, appeared grapefruit size at arm's length perspective from me and continued floating along the river valley at relatively high speed--then gained altitude over the mountain range at the Potomac confluence and color began to shift to more of a red yellow. It then continued to float/fly and gain altitude until it appeared to look like a star in the sky and eventually disappear. Could possibly have been some sort of drone, but I don't think so. It was too silent and had no searchlights or navigation lights.

Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #112447). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.