The founder of a group investigating a boat-shaped geological formation in eastern Turkey says his apartment was ransacked over the weekend, an incident the organization is casting as an attempt to destroy research it believes could prove the biblical Noah’s Ark is real.
Andrew Jones, who leads Noah’s Ark Scans, was not home when the break-in occurred, according to a statement from the group’s president, Lauren Witzke. She said Jones had left his apartment after a series of late-night threats in which someone repeatedly banged on his door, shouted profanities and threatened to kill him.
“We’ve already said this expedition has come under attacks that are borderline demonic. But we still didn’t think they’d go this far,” Witzke wrote on X, according to The Gateway Pundit. “They stole his laptops, his computers, his memory cards, basically anything they thought he might have stored the Noah’s Ark evidence on.”
Witzke described the robbery as targeted, saying nothing else of value was taken. She said a microphone, a printer and other items were left behind, and that the intruders “specifically knew what they were there for.”
She also said police were told the apartment complex’s security cameras were not working at the time of the burglary. Witzke suggested the perpetrators may not have been local, pointing out that villagers near the excavation site have been supportive because of the tourism the project attracts, while the person who shouted threats through Jones’s door spoke English.
Data Said to Be Safe Despite Theft
Despite the loss of equipment, Witzke said the research itself was not compromised. Jones had already made copies of everything and carried them on memory cards, she said, so “none of the data was lost.”
“Andrew is safe, the research is safe, we are not backing down and we won’t be scared into quitting the most important scientific study in world history,” she wrote.
Noah’s Ark Scans has been conducting a permitted survey of the Durupınar formation, a site near Mount Ararat that has long captivated biblical archaeologists and creationist researchers. The group has said it received authorization from the Turkish government to explore the site and conduct a deep-core drilling survey.
A Drilling Discovery and an Ongoing Debate
The burglary follows what the group recently described as a significant find. According to The Gateway Pundit, the team reported that its drill “struck a layer so hard that the drill bit broke,” a result they say challenges the prevailing geological explanation that the formation is simply a natural landslide or a block of limestone.
The group has sent samples for third-party laboratory testing to determine whether they contain mineralized or petrified wood, which would support the theory that a wooden vessel has been buried at the site for thousands of years.
“I believe this is Noah’s Ark, that’s why I’m putting the Durupinar site through the most rigorous testing possible,” Jones said in a statement reported by The Gateway Pundit.
The claim remains unproven. The Durupınar formation has been examined by geologists for decades, and the scientific consensus has generally held that it is a natural geological feature rather than the remains of a ship. Noah’s Ark Scans has presented its work as an effort to test that consensus through drilling and material analysis, and the group says the results so far are encouraging.
Threats Escalated Before the Break-In
Witzke’s account described a pattern of harassment that began after the permitted study was announced. Jones was woken between 1 and 3 a.m. on multiple occasions by someone trying to get into his apartment while yelling threats, she said.
“We all told him to get out and stay with a friend until the 2026 Noah’s Ark study was over and thank God he listened,” she wrote.
The group is asking supporters to donate to continue the expedition and to pray for Jones’s safety. The Gateway Pundit reported that the incident is being investigated by local authorities, though no arrests have been announced.
The break-in adds a tense chapter to a project that has already drawn intense public interest and skepticism in equal measure. For supporters, the stolen electronics represent an attack on research they believe could upend both geology and biblical history. For critics, the episode is likely to remain a side story to the central question: whether the tests on the drill samples will produce peer-reviewable evidence of ancient wood, or confirm that the formation is a natural oddity shaped by time and terrain.
Noah’s Ark Scans has said it will continue drilling and testing at the site. Witzke’s message made clear the group views the burglary as an attempt to stop that work.
“Demons can seethe,” she wrote. “Help us finish our mission.”
Source: www.thegatewaypundit.com — https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/09/new-noahs-ark-scans-founders-apartment-ransacked-as/