By Chad Glapion
 
In January 2015 a retired police officer and U.S. air force veteran witnessed a flying object while traveling down a foggy nighttime road, as reported by UFO writer Roger Marsh. The witness stated he saw “Three white lights in a backward triangle, possibly a boomerang shape.” The object did not appear as any aircraft the witness was familiar with. The witness watched the slowly moving object until it sped up and vanished within the foggy night sky.
 
Later that year Stephanie Wilkerson sat outside of her Pennsylvania home when she caught sight of a large circle of flashing lights in the night sky. “I thought it was a plane until I realized it wasn’t moving. I watched it for about 20 minutes and I started noticing it changing colors,” Wilkerson stated according to ABC news. Wilkerson contacted 911, a police officer was dispatched. This officer witnessed the lights as well.
 
And from 2014 to late March of 2015, Navy pilots and ground and ship radar support documented what the military calls unexplained aerial phenomena. F/A Super Hornet pilot Lt. Ryan Graves and four other Navy pilots part of his squadron performing maneuvers between aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia encountered multiple objects performing extraordinary physics-defying aerobatics at hypersonic speeds.

Encounters with unknown aerial phenomenon are not unique to the 21st century, in fact such accounts date all the way into antiquity. One purported event involved Alexander the Great during a campaign in Tyre, which is in modern-day Lebanon. As reported in the books Stranger Than Science by Frank Edwards, and UFOs in Wartime by Mack Maloney, Alexander’s forces saw and, depending on what account you believe, were either harassed or helped by fiery “flying shields” that came from the sky. Historical accounts of the event are dubious, but when comparing Alexander’s encounter to modern reports there is one obvious difference: technology. Have UFO encounters increased in the 21st Century, or do we simply have better means of recording such encounters? Furthermore, should we take sightings accompanied by footage and photos at face-value, or open the door to deeper scrutiny?
 
Since the term UFO first came into existence, researchers and investigators have been trying to obtain conclusive evidence for this elusive phenomenon. According to the Executive Director of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) Jan Harzan, the objective remains clear, “The goal is to find hard evidence for the existence of UFOs whether that be metal fragments, landing pad marks, conclusive photographic evidence, or some other hard evidence.” With a background in nuclear engineering, Harzan worked for IBM for 37 years and was key in creating MUFON’s Case Management System used for reporting, tracking and investigating UFOs. MUFON is the largest civilian UFO investigation organization in the world. Optical physicist and UFO researcher Dr. Bruce Maccabee also emphasizes the need for hard evidence, “There must be testimony that can be investigated as well as any “hard evidence” that is part of the sighting (photo. video, landing traces, other effects); interviews of witnesses must produce a consistent history of the sighting.” Dr. Maccabee began his research into UFOs in the late 1960s, having conducted countless investigations into some of the most well-known UFO events for nearly fifty years and is without question one of the world’s leading authorities on UFOs.
 
As with any analysis that takes place after an incident in question, UFO investigators must utilize a wide variety of techniques and methods to best formulate a hypothesis. According to private investigator and UFO researcher Chase Kloetzke, it is imperative to remember to remain investigators first and foremost. “With so much more in our skies that is man-made but can appear unusual, it’s more difficult to identify known objects. The known objects make up about 95-98% of all witness reports.” Kloetzke is a MUFON field investigator/Star Team member and the former Director of Investigations for MUFON. Kloetzke describes how the integrity of evidence must be held to the highest standard, similar to robbery or homicide investigations, “The evidence collection is done with forensic rules and controls. We follow all Institute of Justice policies and guidelines.”
 
Kloetzke’s views on investigative high standards mirror that of UFO/close encounter researcher and anomalist Christopher Chacon, “It is essential that all information surrounding the witnesses and the encounter be properly collected under the strictest of controls, with the widest ranging scope as possible, even if some data might not seem relevant. Of the various categories and types of encounters reported, while the majority of general witnessed reports investigated were determined to be explainable (circumstantial, environmental, psychological and even physiological), it is still imperative to maintain an objective impartial approach when collecting and assessing all information, being mindful not to rush to conclusions.” Part of Chacon’s intensive investigative background is the result of his many years with a private scientific think tank. With an incomparable array of technology, resources and logistical support at his disposal, Chacon has been investigating UFO reports and close encounters around the world for nearly forty years and continues to do so, confidentially working with all manner of clients.
 
While views toward the possibility of UFOs and extraterrestrials continues to change, not so much the actual encounters themselves, according to Chacon. “For the most part the preponderance of actual experiences have not changed all that much, with the majority of encounters over the course of the last 70 years possessing many of the same intrinsic qualities, further supporting the validity of the experiences as a whole.” Harzan also confirms that UFO reports over the years “remain the same. We still get lights in the sky and daylight discs being reported.” Among the critical task of researchers, investigators and UFO groups like MUFON is in determining how to best investigate UFO reports, especially when they are of an extreme nature. When evaluating UFO encounters, the degree of strangeness or peculiarity is a key feature and a deep-dive into the literature will reveal many cases that fall into the far end of the spectrum and boggle the mind. To properly deal with these extreme cases, in addition to the traditional methods, Chacon utilizes a variety of innovative methods and approaches, “Of those encounters that involve highly extraordinary characteristics, an appropriate assessment can often require analysis that goes above and beyond what is typically conducted, sometimes analyzing every possibility imaginable, as well as thinking outside the box. The conclusions or lack thereof can still often defy our present understanding of the laws of nature and physics.” According to the late nuclear physicist and UFO researcher Stanton Friedman, these highly extraordinary encounters demand a more in-depth analysis, “While These extreme physical trace cases and abduction cases and radar cases give far more evidence than others, they can also be the most challenging in trying to scientifically analyze.” After working for fourteen years for some of the most prominent companies exploring the applications of next-generation nuclear technology, Friedman left in 1970 to pursue full-time the scientific investigation of UFOs and was one of the key researchers behind the investigation of the Roswell Incident. Since then he had published countless papers and given hundreds of lectures on UFOs across the U.S. and around the world. He recently passed away on May 13th, 2019, on his way home after having just completed giving one of his lectures.
 
As reported by the New York Times in 2017, recent studies in the U.S. suggest that people are becoming more open to the existence of UFOs and other paranormal phenomena as religiosity decreases. According to Pew Research, absolute certainty in God’s existence dropped from 71 to 63 percent amongst Americans. Research shows Americans who are irreligious or lack belief in God are about two times more likely to believe in UFOs. A 2018 poll conducted by Chapman University states 41% of Americans believe extraterrestrials have visited earth in the past, and 35% believed we’ve been visited in modern times. To better gauge the ever-growing sentiment, an in-depth 2018 Marist Poll, revealed that 68% of Americans believe there is intelligent life on other planets, an increase of 52% from 2005. However, the percentages globally are much greater and significantly more complicated, as belief systems in other countries and cultures are often interfused into one another and participation in accurate studies can be challenging. That said, studies do indicate a growing belief in UFO’s and extraterrestrial life globally. “The general public is looking for confirmation that these things are real”, confirms Harzan. The diligence of UFO investigators and the revelations that occur from government disclosures and even depictions in the media reveal that UFOs never quite go away, it is only the perception of them that changes.
 
This changing of the guard can only bode well for the future of Ufology, yet despite advances in technology and openness to the UFO phenomenon, the laborious task of collecting, analyzing, and reporting encounters in an objective manner remains the same as stated by Harzan, “Well certainly equipment has improved. A quantum leap in measuring equipment as well as new tools like Night-Vision goggles and GPS to name a few, but the mission and processes for investigation remain the same.” As UFO researcher Peter Davenport notes “In many respects, the job of a UFO investigator is still the same today as it was 70 years ago. The investigator still has to contact the witness, he or she still has to conduct an on-site interview, and the collected data has to be analyzed, and then presented in a formal report.” Davenport has been the Director of the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) since 1994 and has investigated some of the most compelling cases in North America since 1965. The top luminaries in Ufology agree that even with the incredible advances in technology to aid in investigations, the process and methods involved with collecting eyewitness interviews and testimony remain crucial, as emphasized by Dr. Maccabee, “A good sighting, with or without photo/video must have a convincing testimonial report consistent within itself and consistent with any photos or video.”
 
A mere cursory glance through government documents regarding UFOs reveals there are rational explanations for many encounters, though whether these rational explanations are feasible still remain up to the reader/investigator. This means not even explained encounters should be discounted outright. Especially since despite stating the opposite for years, the government recently admitted they did indeed investigate UFOs. Furthermore, over 700 reports within the government’s Project Bluebook remain officially unexplained. Witnesses of UFOs and “little green men” were once the punchline of jokes, but a simple Google search on “UFO beliefs” shows a stunning amount of recent think pieces arguing it’s time for the public to take the matter seriously.
 
Despite continued encounters and the views of many Ufologists, some researchers feel that there’s been a significant decline in the more extraordinary type of UFO encounters. “It seems that the sightings are not as robust as they used to be,” Ufologist Kevin Randle considers the many reports over decades, back to the 1950’s. “We had sightings with movie footage, EM effects, occupant reports and multiple witnesses.  UFOs were coming close to the ground, landing, and leaving traces behind. There were sightings with the attempted intercepts by jet fighters. Today, with all the technology available, we just don’t have those sorts of sightings in the same numbers we had before.  Too few sightings with anything other than witness testimony today.” Randle has authored more than 80 books, many on UFOs, with his works on the Roswell Incident regarded among the most influential. In addition to being a retired lieutenant colonel, having served in the U.S. Army and Air Force, he is also a professional science fiction novelist/writer.
 
It was during war and post-wartime in the 20th Century that UFOs became a cultural phenomenon. During World War II various pilots reported encounters with “Foo Fighters” — unknown flying aircraft. Allied forces believed the craft were German or Japanese, while the Axis thought they belonged to the Allies. In 1947, two years after the end of WWII, UFO sightings seemed to surge. According to Friedman, 1947 is the year private aviator Kenneth Arnold had a stunning sighting of nine unknown flying objects while in flight near Mount Rainier in Seattle. Following this sighting, Friedman adds, another thousand sightings were reported later that summer that further propelled the UFO phenomenon into the forefront of public awareness, including “multiple witness radar visual cases, physical trace cases, abduction cases and serious investigation with much government data being withheld.”
 
According to optical physicist and UFO researcher Dr. Bruce Maccabee, these reports and cases were initially taken very seriously. But once the government and scientific community dismissed the reports claiming they were not real “the press began to disparage the reports and treat them as entertainment. However, the Air Force did treat seriously the reports by pilots but did not tell the general population of their concern. Nowadays there’s still a ‘giggle factor’ associated with UFO reports, but it is not as ‘giggly.’” Dr. Maccabee began his research into UFOs in the late 1960s, having conducted countless investigations into some of the most well-known UFO events for nearly fifty years and is without question one of the world’s leading authorities on the UFO phenomenon.
 
Dr. Maccabee, Harzan, Davenport, Randle, Friedman, Chacon and Kloetzke all agree that technological advancements since the 1950s to the present, like the Internet and high definition photography and video, directly tie to the better reporting and educating of UFOs. While UFO reports to MUFON and NUFORC (the two leading UFO reporting organizations in the world) have been on the decline for several years, this does not necessarily mean that fewer encounters are taking place. On the contrary, both UFO researchers as well as social psychologists have theorized a myriad of possible explanations for the perceived decline in reports. Two of these are the control and suppression of reports and witnesses/experiencers and various types of psychosociological phenomena that could be responsible in changing cultures. For the first, Davenport has suggested the possibility that UFO reports are being intercepted and suppressed, whether that is by one or more governments or private interests and the agenda behind such control is yet unknown. For the latter, Chacon mirrors the views of social psychologists describing several phenomena, similar to the bystander effect, that would impede an experiencer or witness from acting, “Depending on the types of experiences, who is affected and the country of origin, people can have highly varied emotional responses, taking into consideration belief systems, cultural and socio-economic factors. Some emotions of experiencers, more specifically, emotional distress, shame/guilt, anxiety and fear to name a few, can directly influence whether or not they will report an encounter. Emotions can influence the behavior of witnesses and experiencers — and can also affect the actions of other people around them. I’ve dealt with countless situations where reluctant witnesses/experiencers were only discovered because of the investigation process, many still choosing to be uncooperative”
 
As cultures and technologies change, can we reasonably conclude what the future of UFO reporting, investigation, and research holds? If recent developments are anything to go by, it appears the field will continue to balloon until it either becomes mainstream or reaches a point of disclosure. Davenport describes a global shift in attitude that is now open to the possibility that, ”our planet may be being visited by representatives of other civilizations in our galaxy. A broader acceptance of that issue can only lead to a stronger inducement in witnesses to record incidents they’ve observed, but for which they have no adequate explanation.” Similarly, Chacon observes, “Due to changing sociological and cultural views over the years and the affects that social media and technology has had, it seems that there is now a much greater global population that is quicker than ever to either dismiss or to believe in reports before all relevant evidence has been considered. Taking this observation into account, there are also many UFO researchers that seem to have revised their views as well.” Randle notes, “People are more sophisticated than they were. They are more familiar with the world around them and what they can expect to see in the sky. Many UFO investigators have changed their perspective, their bias, from believing all they are told to checking it out. The Internet has been a significant help in running down data that are relevant to an investigation and I think many investigators realize that sometimes people just want to see their names in the news.”
 
In American Cosmic, a 2019 book by philosophy Professor D.W. Pasulka, the changes in UFO research and one interpretation of beliefs are greatly detailed. In the book, Pasulka details her research alongside noted astronomer and computer scientist Jacques Vallée, as well as biotech mogul “Tyler” who claims ideas for his 40 biotech patents were given by non-human intelligence. Pasulka’s book presents the argument that the growing “religion” of UFO-dom can be thought of as a “religion of technology”.
 
As with many controversial topics and events throughout history, there are those who interpret and react in an extreme and fanatic manner at both ends of the spectrum. Just as with the cult of conspiracy theorists that still believe to this day that the moon landings were a hoax, it should not be a surprise to anyone that the dramatic stories surrounding the many UFO incidents and close encounter events would have produced extreme followings. According to people like Pasulka, one only need to look at UFO cults like Heaven’s Gate, or religions like the Raelians, or even the Space Brother phenomenon of the 60s to see that UFOs and the effects of such a possibility has caused profound deep-rooted cultural aberrations. As Arthur C. Clarke once stated “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Unfortunately, conflating these rare extremes with the UFO/extraterrestrial topic as a whole gives them less credence among those who are still on the fence for believing.
 
Whether skeptic, believer or on the fence, UFO encounters continue to be reported. Within the last couple years several high profile UFO encounters were documented by dozens of witnesses that included state authorities, government and military officials. Among these encounters included an event on October 25th, 2017 in the busy airspace above northern California and Oregon that involved several private and passenger planes, as well as air traffic control centers and two F-15s that were scrambled from Portland; and an encounter on February 24th, 2018 in the skies above Arizona, that involved an American Airlines and Phoenix Air passenger jets at 30,000 feet. In both cases, all manner of rational explanations were ruled-out, including drones, military aircraft, weather balloons and natural phenomena. With these and other recent compelling encounters and with the ongoing efforts of UFO researchers and organizations, people around the world are embracing the possibilities of UFOs and extraterrestrial life more than ever. And with more people than ever looking to the skies documenting UFO events, up-and-coming generations have also begun to ask the same provocative questions that previous generations have asked.
 
Perhaps this is why 50 years after the official closure of Project Bluebook, authorities have finally admitted another secret program existed. In 2017 the existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) became public. The program was started by former U.S. Senator Harry Reid in 2007, allocating up to $22 million until its closure in 2012. The exact reasoning for the program’s discontinuance and its public disclosure has not been confirmed.
 
For Ufologists and UFO researchers, another secret program is not a huge revelation. Dr. Maccabee, Friedman, Davenport, Randle, Harzan, Chacon and Kloetzke all voiced similar acknowledgements and sentiments toward the disclosure. “It is something that didn’t surprise Ufologists, we’ve known this for at least 2 decades. Today, we are not called crazy or conspiracy theorists when these programs are discussed. It also has provided a dose of legitimacy,” Kloetzke stated. According to Kevin Randle, the revelation of the program is just another example of authorities lying to the public. “I have known there was a secret project to collect data for years. When Project Blue Book closed, we learned that Project Moon Dust, which had a UFO component, lasted until 1986 when the code name was compromised. We learned that the code name had been changed and that the investigation continued from that point. To learn the latest project to recover data is not surprising, given the history of distortion that has been fed into the public arena for decades.” Harzan feels that the disclosure of such a program is actually a public disclosure and acknowledgment that UFOs are real, “The fact that after 70 years of denial the Pentagon finally admitted it has been studying the UFO Phenomenon and had a classified program to determine what they are, and how they work, screamed from the rooftop of the Pentagon that “UFOS ARE REAL.” Harzan goes onto say, “Bottom line, I think the floodgates have been opened and it is now safe for scientists and engineers to study this phenomenon and do so without fear of ridicule and losing their job.”
 
Not all researchers see the reveal of AATIPs existence as a net positive or same-old-story within the field, however. As Davenport notes: “I am not yet convinced that all the recent breakthroughs will lead to anything significant in the field of UFO research. The U. S. government still controls the data that it certainly has collected over the past 72 years, and probably longer than that and government officials who are in the know about the UFO phenomenon have had abundant opportunity to share that information with the American People, had they been predisposed to do so. I find that their implacable propensity to “shield” all of us from what the government knows is even more worrisome to me than the apparent presence on our planet of alien spacecraft, and their presumed occupants.”
 
With both privately and publicly funded attempts to investigate UFO phenomenon continue to gain support perhaps the UFO field will reach a “Horse Shoe” compromise. Stanton Friedman is hopeful, stating “I hope much more data will be released by governments around the world. Analysis of alien wreckage and bodies for example. There have been over a dozen Ph.D. theses, room for plenty more.” Dr. Maccabee is cautiously optimistic: “I expect more of the same – slow acceptance that something strange, possibly associated with non-human intelligence is, and has, been happening. Of course, slow could change to fast if the government makes positive statements, but I’m not holding my breath.” Kloetzke feels that more disclosure is coming, “We will see more “ownership” of what some of these programs can offer and why their existence continues with major funding even after decades of perceived failure or their method has provided no there, there.” Harzan goes even further, “I see more scientists, engineers, psychologists and other professional people getting involved in UFO research on the technology side as well as the human side of things.”
 
Perhaps in a few more decades, full disclosure will finally find its way into public space and the world as a whole. Harzan envisions this and a scientific, technological revolution of sorts, “It’s going to be an exciting next 100 years for all of us, and I do mean all of us, because there will be breakthroughs in interstellar travel, including human bases on far off planets; breakthroughs in human physiology and human life extension; as well as communications breakthroughs never imagined. I see a golden age ahead of us and much of it will come from the study of UFOs and the wonder and technology they have been showing us since the beginning of mankind.” Or, at the very least, we will live Peter Davenport’s take: “My dream is that in the future, a person will be able to sit in his living room and watch any UFO flyovers on a computer monitor, in the same manner, that I presume personnel at the U. S. Space Command and the U. S. Naval Space Surveillance system do today.” Until then, we can only follow closely the works of dedicated researchers and investigators and see where perception takes us.

A Malta witness at Cospicua reported watching “a huge, oval-shaped object with central dome hiding above clouds,” according to testimony in Case 96784.

The incident occurred at 9:40 p.m. on August 18, 2018.

“Huge oval-shaped object with central spherical dome hiding above clouds at east-northeast caught my eye from rooftop,” the witness stated. “Observed for around seven minutes at 30-degrees elevation, around three kms away from witness and at around 300 meters above ground. Estimated size of oval is about 250 meters in length and around 150 meters in width. Central spherical dome with a diameter of around 30 meters. Object’s thickness from dome to tip was tapered, starting from around 10 meters to a slim edge. It made a whitish glow on the clouds beneath it, which reflected its shape. Then the glow went off and the object disappeared. Three bright point sources followed later on in the night sky the same night in a south to north direction.”

MUFON International CAG Investigator Steve Hudgeons closed this case as an Unknown-Other.

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A Texas witness at Flint reported a “highly reflective” cylinder-shaped object flying at high speed and followed by two other objects, according to testimony in Case 94292.

The witness and his wife were outside at a swimming pool with a clear sky and no clouds at 6:35 p.m. on August 18, 2018.

“I noticed a bright, cylindrical object directly overhead at a very high altitude,” the witness stated. “Which is normal for commercial flights in our area, which we see occasionally. However, this object had no wings and was travelling at a high rate of speed. My wife and I watched the object as it passed and moved away. The sun was lower on the horizon and was reflecting extremely brightly off the side of the object. As we watched the object move away, we saw it change from a smooth, cylindrical shape to look more like four interconnected spheres appearing like a caterpillar or pearl necklace. The object disappeared from sight moments later. Scanning the sky, we saw one and then another object of similar shape, but smaller, travelling in the same direction, at a similar speed and altitude as the first object. At that point I started thinking something really strange was happening.

“We observed the two smaller objects until they appeared like bright stars seen during daylight, then they faded from view.

“Moments later we saw two aircraft at what appeared to be the same altitude flying in the same direction as the objects. The aircraft were travelling much slower than we would expect from the normal flights we see. The aircraft were unusual. One was a large, four-engine, all white bomber-looking type aircraft. The other was orange or red and looked more like a commercial aircraft-type plane. As they passed overhead they followed the same flight path as the objects, as if they were in pursuit. They had no chance of catching them.

“I stayed watching the sky for a time (15 to 20 minutes) when I suddenly saw the two aircraft return.  They performed a circle and then split up. One on the same flight path as the objects, the other on a more westerly heading. This action in and of itself is very unusual for our skies as we’ve never seen aircraft of that type turn around. I had my phone camera ready, but only managed to get a telephoto shot of the white bomber-looking plane.

“My wife and I are convinced we saw something very unusual. The objects we saw were not normal aircraft and most certainly did not have any wings. I actually felt a sense of fear when I saw the objects. I checked the local news for any reports but found nothing. The entire incident happened fairly quickly.

“The incident was such that I feel compelled to share my experience here in the hope that perhaps someone else might do the same to corroborate our sighting.”

Texas MUFON State Director Gary A. Neitzel closed this case as an Unknown Aerial Vehicle.

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A New Jersey witness at Jersey City reported a black, saucer-shaped object flying around a large skyscraper, according to testimony in Case 94231.

The witness was standing near a busy train station in Jersey City at 5:15 p.m. on August 18, 2018.

“I noticed what appeared to be a black, saucer-shaped disc flying slowly around the Goldman Sachs building on the Hudson River,” the witness stated. “At first, the two people I was with saw the object also. They believed it was just a drone. I decided to walk a little closer to observe the object more, and left my friends behind. The plaza I was standing in was packed with people. It’s a Saturday afternoon and we are standing across the river from the World Trade Center. Lots of helicopters and commercial aircraft flying into nearby Newark Airport. A storm was also blowing in at the time with dark clouds and gusty winds. Anyway, after some time, I watched the object slowly ascend up into the clouds and disappear. Please note that this object was flying around a large area. I observed it fly over the Hudson and back over Jersey City. It just appeared to be too high in the sky to be a drone, but also, it wasn’t affected by the wind either.”

New Jersey MUFON Assistant State Director Ken Pfeifer closed this case as an Unknown Aerial Vehicle.

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An Indiana witness at Portage reported watching “two bright lights that were connected to a triangle shape,” according to testimony in Case 94217.

The witness was driving eastbound along Route 20 towards Chesterton at 10:30 p.m. on August 17, 2018.

“I noticed the object was far too low to be a plane and too big to be a drone,” the witness stated. “I thought it was a plane first until I got closer. The object was a bright, white light with a triangle body. It hovered for about two minutes above a local park, then effortlessly glided west to the next town of Lake Station. I was feeling very nervous and curious along with my girlfriend and mother. I started to drive slowly to keep an eye on it and see what it did. Then it started moving slowly and then vanished. Never saw anything like that.”

Indiana MUFON State Director Jeremy Efroymson closed this case as an Unknown Aerial Vehicle.

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A Florida witness at Key West reported two white orbs flying in formation that descended into and ascended out of water, according to testimony in Case 97233. A second report is in Case 97678.

The witness and a friend were on a cruise heading back to Florida from the Bahamas on August 17, 2018.

“Late on the last night of the trip we stood on our balcony for a long time looking out at the sea and talking,” the witness stated. “The balcony faced north as the ship was traveling west. We passed by an island, we saw other cruise ships, a plane, a helicopter, birds, and stars. We were the only people on a balcony at that hour. Our whole side of the ship was dark except for our room. We suddenly noticed two white balls of light (orbs) flying toward the ship from the distance. At first, they were flying in perfect formation in a straight line. We thought the appearance of the two objects – spheres of white light with no wings and no sound – was unusual. How could they be flying? We commented on how perfect the formation was, and we wondered what could fly like that. The two orbs were coming closer to the ship, and they started flying separately in random directions and at impossible angles. We kept asking ourselves, ‘What were they?’ Because we had already seen other objects, we knew they were not planes, not birds, not helicopters, and not anything else we could imagine. We both do not drink or anything so that was not an issue. Then we saw the orbs enter the water easily. They went from flying in the air to directly entering the sea with no slowing down. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. After a few minutes submerged, the two orbs came up almost vertically out of the sea. They flew closer to the ship and up to about 45 degrees high and about 200 feet away. I’m estimating they were each about five feet in diameter. They both came to a complete stop and hovered there. Our eyes were locked on them. We were captivated and had a long look at them. Then they suddenly moved directly toward us, fast, as if they had seen us. We each recognized this as an act of intelligence, that we had been seen and that the orbs now knew they were being watched, so we ran screaming and terrified into the room and hid behind the couch. We both had this fight or flight response at the same time. We spent the rest of the night processing this event. I haven’t been able to forget this experience so I thought documenting it with MUFON would help. FYI, I am an engineer with a PhD. I have wondered if these orbs were balls of plasma under remote control by the military, but then I cannot imagine how they would be able to see us and scare us like they did (no apparent camera). I have also not been able to reconcile the objects entering and leaving the water at full speed and at sharp angles and traveling in random directions without wings and without noise. There are just too many unbelievable facts for me to understand. I wish I’d had the initiative to take a photo.”

Florida MUFON Field Investigator David Toon closed this case as an Unknown-Other.

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A Florida witness at Key West reported “two balls of light darting in and out of the water,” according to testimony in Case 97678.

The witness was on the balcony of a cruise ship cabin at 1:30 a.m. on August 17, 2018.

“Noticed a helicopter, then birds,” the witness stated. “We then saw these white balls of light zigzagging in sky, sometimes together in unison, other times separately in different directions. They went straight from sky into water and would just reappear back in sky even though we watched for them to come out. At one point they came together less than 100 feet in front of us, together side-by-side, still not moving, facing us. We felt they were looking at us. Then together they started slowly moving in straight line toward us. They came so close, we ran into the cabin, pulled the curtain and turned the lights out. We later found the courage to peep out of the sliding glass door but saw nothing. It was so scary. We were the only people we could see who were on the balcony because it was so late. We thought they would take us, and no one would know what had happened to us, or would have thought we fell overboard as we were on floor seven, I think. I later looked into how many people went missing on cruise ships and found it has happened many times.”

Florida MUFON Field Investigator David Toon closed this case as an Unknown-Other.

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A Washington witness at Gig Harbor reported watching “three red lights configured in a triangle hovering above the neighborhood,” according to testimony in Case 95179.

The witness was driving from his home to a neighborhood convenience store on August 16, 2018.

“The store is located on top of a hill, my house on the bottom of the hill,” the witness stated. “Going down the hill headed north I noticed three red lights forming an isosceles triangle (no light being reflected in between the lights, it was nighttime, clear weather but a dark night). The lights were hovering above my neighborhood, seemingly stationed in between my house and the neighbor’s. As I approached down the hill, I thought the lights were drones so I turned off my car’s radio and stuck my head out the window, but no unusual sounds were noticed. I parked my car and stood at the driveway observing the lights, trying to rationalize or legitimize what I was seeing. Upon closer examination on the light’s characteristics while I was in the driveway, I noticed that they did not resemble any electronic light I am familiar with. They seemed to move like a stationary flame, but while maintaining a color of red darker than fire, and it moved more slowly while in place than fire as well. I walked into the backyard of my home, and the lights were in the same place they were in the driveway. (The lights seemed unaffected by the low wind.) Upon further examination of the lights from my backyard, they seemed to move slowly to the southwest, but I noticed that while the spaces in between the lights were the same black as that night (nothing in between them), I noticed that the flame-like light of the light closest to me (being closer to it in the backyard) reflected a slight silvery surface directly behind it from my perspective. The lights then moved in the same direction past some trees and out of my view. I ran inside to a fellow occupant of the house, saying something starting with, ‘I know how this is going to sound.’ The occupant declined coming to the front yard to look at the lights. I was in the house for about 30 seconds when I came out of the house in the front yard and the lights were gone. The thoughts that went through my head were, ‘holy **** don’t take a picture.’ That was a weird recurring thought that I had the whole time. In hindsight, I really should have taken one. The lights stayed in the same triangular shape the whole time. I first noticed the lights a half-mile away. I watched the lights from my house as they appeared very close, 30-40 feet away. The triangle was large. I’m not sure of distance between lights. It emitted no sound. I felt no change in anything standing under them. After, I thought they were flying lanterns like you see people make in places like Japan, but the whole experience has stayed with me, enough that I wanted to see if I could research the strange lights. The only information I can come up with research is UFO phenomena.”

“Washington MUFON Zach Royer closed this case as an Unknown Aerial Vehicle.

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A New York witness at Staten Island reported the house lights dimmed, an electrical explosion or buzzing sound was heard, and two, black, disc-shaped objects were seen hovering nearby, according to testimony in Case 94184.

The witness was sitting in his living room at 10:30 p.m. on August 15, 2018.

“My daughter was in her room right next to me,” the witness stated. “My brother lives in the apartment upstairs from me. We own the house and property. My daughter’s boyfriend was sitting outside in the car with one of his friends. I was watching TV with the lights on, when out of nowhere the lights dimmed to almost turning off. They stayed that way for about two seconds and then came back up. The TV picture only flickered. Right after the lights came up, this loud sound was heard outside. It sounded like an electrical transformer started buzzing, but extremely loud. My daughter came into my room and asked if I heard that. I told her, yeah, I think it was outside. With that my brother and his daughter and son came out into the hall and confirmed that his lights did the same thing and heard the same noise. My daughter’s boyfriend came in the house and asked if we all heard it. He said he was sitting in the car and was looking behind my house and looked up in the sky and saw a black object just sitting there. He said out loud, what the hell is that?, and his friend said, you see it, too? He said, yeah, only his friend was looking in the other direction. So, there were two. He said it was huge, bigger than a plane and round. He said as he was looking at it he heard the loud buzzing. He said it sounded like a power surge. When he heard it, the object lit up around it in a bright light and they both took off and nothing after that. Neighbors came out of their houses also.”

New York MUFON Field Investigator Jonathan Schwartz closed this case as an Unknown-Other.

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