José Arias Restrepo
José Arias Restrepo is a peanut vendor and metal-detector hobbyist from Buga, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. He is named in Colombian press as the original finder of the Buga Sphere in March 2025.
Account (per src-buga-sphere-el-pais-cali-maussan-handoff-2025-10)
- Was metal-detecting for old coins in the Alto Bonito sector of Buga when he saw a metallic sphere flying near his head, “like a soccer ball with a motor”; first thought it was a bird.
- A companion filmed the object on an iPhone 11 for 8 minutes.
- Estimated initial weight at ~2 kg; said the sphere “grew” to ~10 kg over subsequent days.
- After placing it on his bare chest while lying in bed, he experienced vomiting, dizziness, and an aluminum taste in his mouth.
- Handed the object to his cousin David Vélez “El Potro”, a shareholder in the Cali metal-detector firm Germany Company.
Treat all claims as unverified, single-source.