'sighted by' is a correct and usable phrase in written English
It is used when someone has seen someone or something, usually in the past. For example: The man was sighted by security cameras entering the building.
The cape was first sighted by Europeans in 1501.
Pukapuka Atoll was sighted by Ferdinand Magellan as he crossed the Pacific in 1521, making it the first South Pacific island to be sighted by Europeans.
A Bachman warbler was sighted by M. Stuart Roesler, a jr.
The islands were sighted by the Spanish explorer Álvaro Saavedra in 1528.
Bora-Bora was sighted by Dutch admiral Jacob Roggeveen in 1722, visited by Capt.
South Island was sighted by the Dutch navigator Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1642.
The falls were sighted by C. Barrington Brown, a British geologist, in 1870.
First sighted by Sir William Parry's expedition in 1820, it was named for Sir Joseph Banks.
Florida probably was first sighted by Portuguese navigators, or perhaps by the Cabots sailing from England.
It was first sighted by Portuguese navigators in the 15th century on St. Paul's feast day.
The island was apparently uninhabited when it was sighted by the Portuguese in 1507.
