FEDERALSBURG, Md. -- Two meteorite hunters canvased open land and downtowns on Wednesday, on the hunt for meteorites. With a little bit of patience and luck, Roberto Vargas and Mike Hankey just might find what they're looking for.
On Wednesday, we joined Vargas and Hankey for the first day of their hunt. We looked high and low all morning and all afternoon, but unfortunately, didn't find a meteorite. They remained optimistic though, because early on in the afternoon they gained access to farm land. For meteorite hunters, open fields are a potential gold mine.
Before they made it out to the farm though, the day began at the Federalsburg Marina, with a quick showing of meteorites that had already been found outside of Delmarva. If you don't know what you're looking for, it's that much harder to find.
Their hunt began in a nearby park, but two pairs of eyes just isn't enough to cover big areas like Dorchester and Caroline counties. So the duo headed into downtown Federalsburg.
There, they ran into Franklin Baker.
"I mean I was stunned you know!" said Baker, shocked a meteorite had landed in his hometown.
To make sure Baker knew what he was looking for, Vargas gave him a rundown.
"It's outer shell is called fusion crust, and that's a result of burning through the atmosphere," said Vargas. "The inside is usually this cement like color."
At that point, the search party has successfully grown. But after getting frustrated by a misleading piece of coal, the search moved to Hurlock. Vargas and Hankey believe it's another area where fragments could have landed, and upon arriving to the town, they found what they were looking for: an open farm field.
The tough part was convincing Farmer Jeff to let them take a look around.
"So as a landowner if I was saying to you can we hunt your land the best deal I would do, and he[Vargas] would also probably kill me for saying this, is can we split it, 50/50," said Hankey.
Then, Farmer Jeff said the four magic words every meteorite yearns for: "Yeah, I don't care."
So Vargas and Hankey hit the fields, and that's where Wednesday's hunt ended. These hunters haven't lost hope yet though, and their sights remain focused on our area.
They plan on sticking around Federalsburg and Hurlock until early next week, but they would love help from the community. If you find what you believe is a meteorite, please let us know, or contact Vargas and Hankey.
Roberto Vargas can be contacted at 860-990-3887 or Rvargas85@outlook.com
You can get in touch with Mike Hankey here.
