What could the "flying saucer"-shaped object located on a mountaintop in Southern CA be?

[Starflint]

Recently came across an old news story from 2020, Californian TikTok user @dropofgold has filmed (or TikToked?) what appears to be a large, metallic UFO hovering above a mountain behind her house. According to @dropofgold, who does not appear to be shaken very much by the site of a UFO hovering above a mountain directly behind her house where it could easily shoot an alien death beam directly into her back yard, reports that the UFO was first spotted around 2pm and that "right now it's 6:40". So, if our math is correct (and there's a high probably it might not be because we majored in English Lit) the UFO hovered over the mountain for FOUR HOURS!*

Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@dropofgold/video/6872526968907123974

and the follow-up to the video：

Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@dropofgold/video/6872737575493258501

In the comments section, I saw someone speculating that it was in the Indio area, and the blogger's earlier videos also mentioned having been in the Indio area.

https://earth.google.com/web/search...c5a2t1IAE6AwoBMEICCABKCAjJsf2oARAB?authuser=0

Therefore, I tried to find a courtyard and hilltop building in that area that matched the one in the video, but I couldn't find any

Could this be a radar station or a scenic lookout tower?

 

[jdog]

Indio itself is pretty flat, but it's near the foothills, which is where water tanks are generally located to provide water pressure, like these:

These particular foothills are more jagged than what's in the source photo, though some sort of water tank or tower peeking over a ridge is a good candidate for the "UFO."

 

[Trailblazer]

I found what I am pretty sure is the same house. I won't post the address though. Matching fence.

Just scouting round to see if I can match the viewpoint...

Edit - I had forgotten that the video is mirrored, which confused me!

Actually ignore that - it starts off mirrored on the front camera but then flips to the back camera and is not mirrored.

This is the view with the "UFO" location circled.

I thought these hills as viewed from the house were a match but I cannot quite make it fit.

Not posting the exact address but look around the intersection of Lake Forest Drive and Potomac Drive in Menifee.

It seems too far away from the hills, but the fact that it has an identical fence and was the registered address of the woman in the video is a heck of a coincidence!

 

[Ann K]

g

Recently came across an old news story from 2020, Californian TikTok user @dropofgold has filmed (or TikToked?) what appears to be a large, metallic UFO hovering above a mountain behind her house.

The still photo, were it not part of a video, is very strange. The area below the object appears to be significantly lighter than the sky, and also is remarkably uniform in width. I think this resembles a very crude fake, using something like a white sharpie to cut off a pointy section of the mountain or a structure on the top of the mountain so it looks as if it's hovering. But as it's in a video, it would appear that those are actual lights, such as would be used by, for example, workers repairing a road.

 

[Trailblazer]

and the follow-up to the video：

Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@dropofgold/video/6872737575493258501

This second video was
Uploaded on: Tue, 15 Sep 2020 15:31:53 GMT (UTC)
which is 8:31am local time

And the first one was
Uploaded on: Tue, 15 Sep 2020 01:54:37 GMT (UTC)
which is 6.54pm the previous day.

So the timescales fit the video content.

And also provide a clue to the view direction, as the morning video has a pronounced shadow on the fence.

The sun would have been just south of east at that time which suggests the view is roughly north.

I am fairly sure we are looking at the hills around Menifee but I cannot find the right viewpoint.

 

[kotare]

not sure of scale/distance but could this be a blue topped, white marquee set up on the top of the hill there? nice spot, and day, for a wedding?

 

[dlk1728]

It looks like a regular building to me. Possibly a white building with a dark roof.

 

[JMartJr]

It looks like a regular building to me. Possibly a white building with a dark roof.

Yes, but in that case it would have been there the day before, and still been there the day after, and for a number of days in either or both directions. A pop up tent or similar might come and go in a matter of hours, and so not be familiar, and have limited time to figure out what it was through additional observation.

 

[John J.]

These particular foothills are more jagged than what's in the source photo, though some sort of water tank or tower peeking over a ridge is a good candidate for the "UFO."

There is at least one structure that looks like a water tank or maybe a gasometer on higher ground visible from the Potomac Drive and Lake Forest Drive intersection, viewable pretty much due north along Lake Forest Drive

Not posting the exact address but look around the intersection of Lake Forest Drive and Potomac Drive in Menifee

but try as I might I can't persuade myself that the terrain matches, at least as viewed from the Potomac Drive/ Lake Forest Drive intersection.

Maybe this or a similar structure had a temporary dark covering over its roof during maintenance or something, giving us the dark "hovering" UFO.
Watching the video, as the OP says the witness doesn't seem overly concerned, and 4 hours forty minutes is plenty of time to bring it to the attention of others. And for others in the witness' locality to notice. I don't think we should take this "sighting" particularly seriously, though it'd be nice to work out what it was.

I did wonder if maybe the witness was looking at a gasometer. Some have telescoped cylindrical sections and their height increases as they fill, so become visible (or are more noticeable) from further away.
But I guess @jdog's suggestion of a water tank is more likely.
Re. the cylinder to the north of Lake Valley Drive, at the northern end of that road (actually on El Rancho Drive) at the foot of the hill there's a sign for a water company, but I've no idea whether there's any connection with the cylinder

 

[Starflint]

There is at least one structure that looks like a water tank or maybe a gasometer on higher ground visible from the Potomac Drive and Lake Forest Drive intersection, viewable pretty much due north along Lake Forest Drive


View attachment 89954




View attachment 89959

The water storage tank is very large and visible even without using a mobile phone's telephoto lens, and there are prominent trees next to it. The object in the video has a very clean surrounding with nothing near it. Furthermore, it is barely visible at the default focal length (suggesting its actual size is likely not that large). A large, dark-colored canopy tent seems to be a better fit. If the photographer's specific yard could be located, perhaps the exact location of that object could be determined and its approximate size calculated?

 

[Trailblazer]

Re the location, the TikTok user had posted a video that included her full name, and so I Iooked for address records that match that name.

She currently lives in Indio, which was clearly not the right location, but White Pages-style online records suggested that address in Menifee/Sun City during 2020. Looking more closely it doesn't seem to be the right house, but the type of terrain and the matching fence style makes me think that the actual location is close to that address, likely on the same development.

She refers to the road being a dead end, with a dip (ditch maybe?) between the yard and the hills.

 

[Trailblazer]

I think I found the hills.

Pin location is approximate. In 2020 there was vacant land behind, but as of 2026 it is being developed. 33.7065N, 117.2158W.

Properties along this road (Milky Way) have the same style of fence seen in the video - this is the dead end road (Delphinus Drive) just to the west, seen in 2022. It's fenced off (which it wasn't in 2018), as mentioned in the voiceover.

And in fact matching the garden to aerial imagery from 2020, I think my pin was only one house off:

Confirmed: searching that address brings up real estate listings with a garden and canopy that matches the video:

View matches - UFO hill is here:

The UFO hill is at 33.714277,-117.217925.
No permanent structure there but there is a hiking trail along the ridgeline. So likely a gazebo/tent?

So, nothing conclusive but a fun geolocation exercise!

 

[Matt33]

Good find. On a ridge behind the hill is some kind of building, connected by a straight line to the camera view point. According to Google Earth the ridge is as high or a little bit higher than the hill.
In Google Maps 3D View there is an unspecified structure.

 

[Trailblazer]

There are some photos on Google Maps from May 2020 showing the "UFO hill", which from this angle is a fairly inconspicuous rise - the lighter coloured hilltop in the middle foreground on this view. Maybe someone just set up a gazebo to enjoy the view.

 

[Trailblazer]

Good find. On a ridge behind the hill is some kind of building, connected by a straight line to the camera view point. According to Google Earth the ridge is as high or a little bit higher than the hill.
In Google Maps 3D View there is an unspecified structure.

View attachment 89981
View attachment 89983

That looks like a bulldozer (earth mover)?

And looking back the other way I am sure that wouldn't be visible from the camera location. The house is way below the "UFO hill" (yellow pin).

 

[jarlrmai]

Sitrec with a building playing the part of the UFO

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?custom=11433/Mountaintop CA/20260429_101314.js

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

I have very little time...

But could this be a superior mirage effect due to an inversion layer? The "white layer" would then be the sky, with an inverted image of the peak above it. This would explain the transient nature.

 

[Trailblazer]

I have very little time...

But could this be a superior mirage effect due to an inversion layer? The "white layer" would then be the sky, with an inverted image of the peak above it. This would explain the transient nature.

View attachment 89987

If it was a single brief sighting then I would think it was possible, but there are two separate videos, posted in the evening and the following morning, and clearly at very different times of day, both showing the same object.