A silver-coated hobby balloon declared “missing in action” is being considered as one of the mysterious, unidentified objects shot down by the U.S. military last week. The party-style, “pico balloon” that can cost as low as $12 was launched in October last year and was being tracked by the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB) until it abruptly ceased communications, the NIBBB told Aviation Week Thursday. A day before its disappearance, the balloon reported its last position off the west coast of Alaska. By Feb. 11, it was floating in the vicinity of the Yukon Territory, the same area where the U.S. used a $400,000 missile to shoot down an object containing a similar description. “I tried contacting our military and the FBI—and just got the runaround—to try to enlighten them on what a lot of these things probably are. And they’re going to look not too intelligent to be shooting them down,” Ron Meadows, the founder of Scientific Balloon Solutions (SBS), told Aviation Week. A number of government agencies, including the FBI, did not respond to Aviation Week's request for comment. The balloon, dubbed K9YO, was launched Oct. 10, 2022, and spent 123 days and 18 hours in flight, according to NIBBB. The balloons can cost from $12-180 each depending on the style.