The Foghorn, Heard in Daylight for the First Time — Old Signal Station No. 2, First Report in 24 Days
It was learned on the 30th that a report of a 'low foghorn-like sound' near the old Signal Station No. 2 — closed since the Nine-Day Fog event (H-2003-01) — had come in for the first time in 24 days since the previously reported confirmation on October 6th. Every prior confirmation had occurred at night, between roughly 2 and 4 a.m., with no fog present, but this time two harbor workers doing work nearby directly heard the sound shortly after 2 p.m. on the 29th, in clear daylight — a qualitatively different circumstance. The station's foghorn equipment had its power removed in 2004, and the TDA again says it cannot identify the source or cause.
According to the Port Authority, the report came in around 2:10 p.m. on the 29th. Two harbor workers (both in their 40s, unnamed) handling cargo at a pier roughly 700 meters across the water from the old Signal Station No. 2 both heard a low, sustained sound for about ten seconds at the same time. "I thought of a foghorn because how low and long it was matched exactly what I remembered hearing as a child," one said. "I'd always assumed this was a nighttime thing, so I never expected to hear it in broad daylight on a clear afternoon like this. The coworker next to me said 'did you hear that' at the same moment, so I don't think it was just me."
The previously reported confirmations on August 31 and October 6 both occurred at night, between roughly 2 and 4 a.m., with no fog present; this is the first occurrence in daylight under clear skies. A TDA spokesperson told this paper on the 30th, "Either the sound has only ever been audible in nighttime quiet, or the phenomenon itself has changed — at this point we cannot distinguish between the two."
■ A "Mechanical Sound" Theory and a "Human Voice" Theory
Iori Kiryu, 29, the covert patrol officer previously reported, was not present this time but told this paper, "The sound I heard at night had a consistent, mechanical rise and fall to it. If this is the same sound, the natural assumption is that only the time of day has changed, not the nature of the sound itself." One harbor worker, however, testified, "Toward the end of the sound, I thought I caught a faint something like a human voice mixed in, but I'm not confident about that" — leaving accounts from the scene unaligned.
■ Port Authority: "No Change to Our Position on Removal"
The Port Authority said this latest report has not changed its position in the ongoing, previously reported dispute between bereaved families wanting the site preserved and the authority's consideration of removal. An official said, "The station's deterioration is advancing, and a safety judgment will be needed separately from whatever the sound turns out to be. That said, we will not proceed unilaterally against the families' wishes." A group formed by the families of the twelve people who went missing in the Nine-Day Fog commented, "Every time I hear that the sound has changed, some part of me feels like something is drawing closer. I don't even know if that feeling is the right one to have."
■ "I'd Let My Guard Down Because I Thought It Was a Night Thing"
A man, 63, who runs a fishing-tackle shop near the site, is one of the few residents who knew the station before the Nine-Day Fog event. "I always figured the sound from that building was frightening because you hear it alone in the middle of the night. Hearing that someone heard it in daylight, with coworkers around, honestly felt like it caught me somewhere I'd let my guard down," he said. "If it's only a nighttime thing, you can tell yourself not to worry about it. Once daytime is on the table too, that's a different story."
■ What Comes Next
Following this report, the TDA is said to be considering temporarily raising the sensitivity of observation equipment around the station. The source and cause remain unresolved and preserved as such, and whether another confirmation follows will be watched quietly.
