Several agencies including Bellingham and Whatcom County Fire, Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection scoured the lands and waters around Lummi Peninsula after at least two separate reports were received of a plane going down over the water.
One report placed the plane west of the peninsula and the other near Portage Island.
After searching for about 30 minutes with no evidence of a crash site, news arrived of a meteor having been sighted as far south as Tacoma.
Neighbors reported spotlights could be seen as the water-based search lasted for some time after most of the land-based agencies had called off their search according to emergency radio transmissions.
One neighbor said the meteor looked like fireworks, emitting sparks just before it vanished.