Threats Came Before the Break-In
Lauren Witzke, president of Noah’s Ark Scans, said the trouble began after Turkey permitted the study. She said founder Andrew Jones was repeatedly awakened between 1 and 3 a.m. by people banging on his door, yelling profanity, trying to get inside, and threatening to kill him. Jones then left the apartment and stayed with a friend while the 2026 study was pending. Witzke said the break-in happened while he was gone, turning the apartment upside down. Those details come from the group’s public statement, which described the incident as a targeted attack on the team’s work.
The Thieves Appeared to Want the Research
Witzke said the burglars took Jones’s laptops, computers, and memory cards, but left items such as a microphone and printer, along with other valuables. She said that pattern showed the intruders were looking for research rather than random property. When police asked for security footage, she said the apartment complex cameras were down during the robbery. Witzke also said the man making threats spoke English and that villagers near the Turkish site had treated the team well and benefited from Noah’s Ark tourism. She argued that the incident did not look like a local job.
What the Expedition Is Testing
The dispute matters because Noah’s Ark Scans has received permits from the government of Turkey to explore the boat-shaped Durupınar formation near Mount Ararat and conduct a deep-core drilling survey. Jones recently said the team struck a layer so hard that the drill bit broke. The group says that result challenges the long-standing belief among geologists that the formation is a natural landslide or limestone block. Third-party labs are testing for mineralized or petrified wood, which could indicate that a wooden ark has been buried for thousands of years. Jones said, “I believe this is Noah’s Ark, that’s why I’m putting the Durupinar site through the most rigorous testing possible.” The drilling result and lab work remain under examination, not established proof.
Backups Kept the Data Safe
Despite the burglary, Witzke said copies of the research had already been made and taken with Jones on memory cards, so no data was lost. She said Jones is safe, the research is safe, and the team is not backing down. The group’s statement asked supporters to pray for his safety and said it would continue the 2026 Noah’s Ark study. For now, Witzke’s account says the reported break-in took equipment that might have held evidence, but it did not erase the team’s research.
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Noah’s Ark Scans founder’s apartment ransacked and burglarized!!
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.
After the permitted study was announced, Andrew started getting woken up between… pic.twitter.com/SvCAVzqXbk
— Lauren Witzke (@LaurenWitzkeDE) September 26, 2026