Erica Heartquist

KGW-TV, Portland

PORTLAND -- Lisa Pleiss was surprised to see a drone hovering outside the window of her 26th-floor apartment this weekend.

"It was freaky," said Pleiss. "You don't expect to be walking around indecent in your apartment and then have this thing potentially recording you." She thought she had privacy Sunday, high above the streets in her apartment in downtown Seattle.

She called down to her concierge who called Seattle Police. Police said owning and flying a drone is legal.

Joe Vaughn, founder of Skyris Imaging which builds commercial drones, including the one Pleiss spotted, heard about the incident Monday following local media coverage.

Vaughn said the drone was flying on a legitimate job and wasn't pointed at her apartment.

The drone was one of six that the company uses to photograph skyline views for architects, real-estate agents and developers.

Vaughn said he only flies in areas where he has permission from the property owner.

On the day Pleiss saw the drone, Vaughn said he was taking pictures for a developer planning a 20-story office building.

Vaughn called Pleiss to chat Tuesday to explain the situation.

"We had a very nice conversation and we'll be sending her a print of the photograph we ended up taking," he said.