Area 51's Neighbors: The story of how one family may lose everything over land argument

Controversial removal of a family who owned the land since 1889

The Sheahans are not going to give up their land to "neighbors from hell." Owners of the land neighboring controversial Area 51 refused to give up their land to the U.S. government.

MUNTINLUPA CITY, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - After being intimidated for 60 years, the Sheahans still refuse to sell their land to neighboring Area 51, secured by the US Air Force. Even with threats of destroying their property, the family remains firm in their decision to keep their land.

The Sheahans own the 400-acre Groom Mine, a piece of land overlooking infamous Area 51. Area 51 is a mecca for UFO spotters and conspiracy theories around the world. It is the controversial area often linked to extraterrestrial beings and activities and is one of America's most closely guarded military secrets. 

The area is located in the Nevada Desert and was formerly known as The Nevada Test and Training Range, located on the borders of the Sheahan's property, which they have owned since 1889.
The Sheahans had many allegations against the government, including illegal searches and checkpoints and military attacks on their mines. A devastating cancer cluster causing premature death in their family members have been blamed on the government.

Their six decades of silence was finally put to an end when the US Air Force gave the family an ultimatum: The Sheahans could either choose to sell their lands for $5.2 million or watch their land be seized and destroyed for nothing.
The family turned down the monetary offer since they believe the land is far more valuable than the amount the government intends to give. The amount is also far from the compensations the government is accountable for due to the legacy of disease and loss-of-livelihood the establishment of Area 51 brought to their family.
The USAF already filed a lawsuit to have the property condemned in an attempt for faster acquisition. If successful, the Sheahans will be left with nothing.
"We really didn't want to come public, but the air force has forced us into it," Dan Sheahan, who co-owns the mine with his cousins Joe Sheahan and Barbara Sheahan-Manning, told Las Vegas Now. "We want them to know what they have done over the last 60 years to our family is not acceptable."
The USAF claims it wants the land because decades of activity cancellations and countless escorts for the Sheahans as they went in and out of restricted space has compromised everyone's safety and was a toll to taxpayers.

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