A New Jersey sheriff said he tried to track down the mysterious drones that populated the skies over his county – but they “easily” escaped that effort.

The Ocean County Sheriff’s Office sent its own “industrial-grade” drone into the air Thursday to follow one of 50 unmanned aerial vehicles that a local police officer saw “coming out of the ocean,” Sheriff Michael Mastronardy said.

The officer alerted state police, the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard. Coast Guard officials then reported that 13 drones with eight-foot wingspans were following one of their vessels.

The mysterious drones, which don’t emit heat like more typical versions, were able to quickly break free from their clutches, Mastronardy told News Nation reporter Rich McHugh.

Do you have drone footage over the skies of New Jersey or New York? Send it to The Post at [email protected].

McHugh told the story to host Elizabeth Vargas on Friday night, explaining that he originally believed the drone hysteria might be a result of “pranksters” until he saw it himself.

“If this isn’t our military, then it’s even scarier,” McHugh said. “These things look like they’re fixed-wing aircraft and have multiple lights. I’m not really sure how to process what I saw last night. Both the photographer and I were kind of stunned.”

The SUV-sized, unidentified planes have been circling New Jersey since November 18, causing residents to panic.

There are different theories about where the drones come from. Some believe they may have been sent by foreign adversaries.

On Friday, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said there was no reason to be afraid and that people might be imagining things. He said most reports were likely cases of manned aircraft being confused with drones.

Since then, drones have been spotted in at least 12 counties in New Jersey, as well as parts of eastern Pennsylvania and northern New York state.