UFO ROUNDUP Volume 3 Number 12
Volume 3
Number 12
March 22, 1998
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
UFOs PROWL NIGHT SKIES OVER DEVON
Two UFO incidents were reported recently in Devon, in the southwestern corner of the United Kingdom.
On Monday, March 9, 1998, three people--M. Perst, D. Matthews and Mrs. J. York--were driving on motorway (highway) M5, heading for Exeter, a city 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Plymouth.
As they reached a point 39 miles from Exeter, Matthews "spotted what appeared to be a star in the south at a height (altitude) of almost 30,000 feet (9,090 meters)."
Matthews alerted his companions, and they watched as the object "began to maneuver and descended about 3,000 feet and then disappeared in an array of bright white lights and a red light in the center, the total seven."
As the trio watched, the UFO "descended from a height estimated at 25,000 feet (7,575 meters) to a height of 5,000 feet (1,515 meters) within a couple of seconds and executed a vertical left maneuver."
At the lower altitude, the trio were able to get a better look at the object. They described "the shape of the object as triangular...The craft deployed three very bright white lights and in the centre there appeared to be a large" circle of pulsating red light.
The UFO then released "a small yellow or orange glowing ball that dropped from the reddish area of the craft. The gleaming ball of light shot off at high speed towards the south and was instantly followed by the triangular-shaped craft."
On Sunday, March 15, 1998. at around 6 p.m., UFOs were reported from Yealmpton, Devon to the city of Plymouth, 160 miles (256 kilometers) southwest of London.
At Brixham, a town on the English Channel 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Plymouth, two coastguards, Andi Lloyd and Reginald K. Hill, spotted a UFO.
Lloyd and Hill had just left the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre at Kings Quay in Brixham when they "observed a bright white light travelling across the sky...The light was heading in a southeast to northwest direction at about 1,000 to 1,200 feet. It was large and very bright and lasted about one to two seconds."
"There was a flash of bright light and simultaneously (a) crackling/exploding sound was heard," Lloyd reported. "The light then disappeared."
"Looking at the sky afterward," he added, "I saw a mass of white, very dense vapour in the area that the object had been in. The vapour looked like a comma in the sky at 1,000 feet. The semi-circular vapour plume was 30 feet high and 10 feet across." (Many thanks to Dave Dunworth of Skywatch International for these reports.)
BLACK CUBE-SHAPED UFO SPOTTED IN QUEENSLAND
Kingaroy, a town in central Queensland about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Brisbane, is the site of Australia's newest UFO flap.
On Saturday, March 14, 1998, at 6:40 p.m., residents of Kingaroy reported seeing "bright white lights" overhead and near the horizon.
Like clockwork, the mysterious lights returned again each succeeding night--at 6:33 p.m. on Sunday, March 15--at 6:26 p.m. on Monday, March 16--and at 6:33 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17.
During the Tuesday, March 17, sighting, Kingaroy people "reported sighting a rounded-edged, black, cube-shaped object carrying a bright white light...The black cube dropped the white light," which fell to the ground. The UFO then "changed direction" to the northwest, heading straight for Kingaroy.
The witnesses had the black cube in sight for two minutes. "The object appeared to be moving faster than a commercial jet. As the object travelled away, and about the same time of the white light impacting the ground, a loud rumbling sound was heard." (Many thanks to Ross Dowe of the Australia/New Zealand National UFO Hotline for this report.)
LARGE V-SHAPED UFO FLIES OVER NARCOOSSEE, FLORIDA
On Tuesday, March 17, 1998, Channel 9, an ABC affiliated TV station in Orlando reported that a large UFO "shaped like an L," i.e. a broad V or boomerang shape, "with bright white lights" had flown over the small town of Narcoossee, Florida.
Located on the shores of East Lake Tohopekaliga, on Florida Highway 15, Narcoossee is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Orlando.
According to McEllis Winterfield, "many people" witnessed "the UFO seen in the shape of an L," and "one lady lost 11 chickens to unknown causes-- they just died on the spot--as the UFO flew over her house." (Many thanks to Steve Wilson Sr. for forwarding this report.)
DIAMOND-SHAPED UFO SEEN IN SOUTH CAROLINA
On Tuesday evening, March 10, 1998, Patricia B. and her two daughters, aged 17 and 11, were driving south on Interstate Highway 26 in South Carolina, heading to Florida for a vacation.
As they approached Columbia (population 98,052), the state capital, the family spotted a UFO. They were travelling at about 65 miles per hour on I-26, just past the Broad River Road exit, north of Dutch Square Mall.
"It seemed to be hovering over the highway," Patricia reported, "I got a very good look at it from underneath. It was rectangular, almost a diamond shape, with unusually bright lights on the bottom and more lights on the top...The lights shining up seemed equal to those shining below, and there were at least 12 or 13" lights.
"When we first saw the object, it appeared to be a stationary light about 20 degrees above the horizon, about the size of a light on a radio tower. As we drove closer, we went directly under it...Directly overhead it was as big as a basketball held at arm's length."
Patricia offered this sketch of the UFO:
She estimated that she and her daughters had the UFO in view for "five minutes." (Email Interview)
CIGAR-SHAPED UFO SEEN NEAR PLACERVILLE
On February 28, 1998, at 10:55 p.m., Karl S., a former air crewman with the U.S. Navy Reserve, was on a Boeing 747 jumbo jetliner, returning home to Los Angeles from Asia.
As the jetliner passed over San Francisco, turning to 170 degrees for its final approach into Los Angeles, Karl glanced out the window and spotted the impossible.
"We had just dropped to 30,000 feet and were turning south to fly over the central California valley," Karl reported. "As I looked toward the northeast direction (the area around Sacramento--J.T.), scanning the full breadth of the mountains, I noticed what I quickly categorized as a slender, dark-colored cloud. If you would hold up a ballpoint pen, you would see the approximate shape."
Taking a second look, Karl saw "that the end of the 'cloud' had 'gone up' about 30 degrees from its original horizontal position. I immediately exclaimed that clouds do not tilt up."
The UFO "became level again and then rotated in the horizontal and was pointing toward the aircraft (Boeing 747). At this point, I described it as a black pencil with the top layer shaved off...At no time did I see any control surfaces."
As the UFO moved out of the window's field of view, Karl left his seat and rushed to the rear of the aircraft. He peered through the window of the rear emergency door "but could not see it any longer." (Many thanks to Tim Hagemeister of NACOMM for this report.)
(Editor's Comment: From Karl's description, the object appears to have been closer to the mountains than to Sacramento. Most likely it was hovering high above Placerville (population 8,355) about 135 miles (216 kilometers) east of San Francisco.)
V-SHAPED UFO SIGHTED OVER NORFOLK, VIRGINIA
On Thursday evening, March 12, 1997, William W. "observed a huge boomerang-shaped UFO...blocking out the stars in Orion's Belt. The object then dropped in altitude to about 200 feet and moved north along and above Hampton Boulevard" in Norfolk, Virginia (population 261,229).
The object flew slowly at a speed of between 40 and 50 miles per hour, he rreported. It was so low that light from Hampton Boulevard's bright amber streetlights illuminated a portion of the craft.
"It was boomerang in shape...and consisted of two right angles coming into the apex. The UFO was between 800 to 1,000 feet high with a groove along its length on the back side. The object had no lights and was dark in color."
At first the witness thought he was seeing U.S. Navy SEALs on a nighttime training exercise with hang gliders. But the sheer size of the object convinced him otherwise. "The UFO did not appear to be aerodynamically shaped because its right wingtip did not have a tapered appearance. The UFO disappeared moving north behind some trees in the direction of Hampton Roads Bay."
The seaport city of Norfolk is located 93 miles (154 kilometers) southeast of Virginia's capital, Richmond. The case is being investigated by Michael Shields, Dennis Hawley and Richard Daley of Virginia MUFON. (See Filer's Files #11 for 1998. Many thanks to George A. Filer and Ricardo Atristain, director of Virginia MUFON, for this story.)
UFO TRAILS A PASSENGER BUS IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL
On Friday, March 13, 1998, at about 4 a.m., Mauro Batista, 42, was driving a passenger bus on Brazil's Highway BR622 from Araxa to Uberaba in western Minas Gerais state when he spied a strange light in the sky.
"The strange object was flying at a distance of two kilometers (1.2 miles) from my vehicle," Batista told the newspaper O Estado de Minas. "And it had a very strong light at its back. It was as big as one half of a soccer ball."
When he first spied the UFO, Batista said, "I was crossing the (railroad) bridge over the Rede Ferroviaria, which is 15 kilometers (9 miles) away from Araxa. It appeared after Araxa and followed us for one hour and 45 minutes."
While Batista drove the bus, his five passengers crowded the windows and kept the UFO in view. They said it had "an oblique shape" and "a strong light on its back."
Araxa is located on highway BR622 approximately 264 kilometers (165 miles) west of Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais state. (See the newspaper O Estado de Minas of Belo Horizonte, M.G. for March 14, 1998. Muito obrigado a Eduardo Castor Borgonovi por eso caso.)
(Editor's Note: Eduardo informs me that this end of Minas Gerais is known as Triangulo Mineiro or "the Triangle." The city of Uberaba, 416 kilometers (260 miles) west of Belo Horizonte, is the main center for raising cattle in Minas Gerais.)
BLACK HELICOPTER SEEN BY UFOLOGIST AND WITNESS IN OCEAN GROVE, NEW JERSEY
Last week Dr. Bruce Cornet, a New York ufologist, and architect Allen Wahl visited the beach in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. At this site on February 27, 1998, while walking his dog, Wahl spotted a UFO he described as "a diving bell with fins, a bathysphere... a Jules Verne antique with rust stains running down the side" as it flew over the beach heading inland.
According to Dr. Cornet, "As Allen was describing where he saw it, a black helicopter gun-ship flew near us, going north just over the beachfront. I got a picture of the helicopter, if it means anything."
Wahl drew a very detailed sketch of the UFO he saw, which Dr. Cornet claimed is quite similar to a photograph of a UFO taken in Mexico back in 1973.
"The resemblance is uncanny," Dr. Cornet reported. "Allen Wahl is an architect who is able to use his mechanical drawing skills to make a detailed drawing of the object." (See Filer's Files #11 for 1998. Many thanks to George A. Filer for this news story.)
CATTLE MUTILATION REPORTED IN NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
A cow was found dead and mutilated in February 1998 at the farm of George Giersch near Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada. Giersch found the cow "lying in a pool of blood with its tongue missing, half its face stripped to the bone and a deep slash to its chest."
Dawson Creek (population 10,981) is located in northern British Columbia approximately 733 miles (1,173 kilometers) northeast of Vancouver.
Giersch said, "I've never seen anything quite like this."
Giersch added that an incision to the cow's jaw "was too precise to be caused by a predator."
No tracks were found in the surrounding snow.
At the suggestion of a local investigator, Giersch left the cow's carcass in place for a few days. "No animal came near until the fifth day, when birds began to land on it."
"That's odd. It's a large coyote community here," he said, of the area around Dawson Creek.
According to the Ottawa Sun, "RCMP and Alberta officials have concluded that cattle are dying natural deaths and becoming food for predators."
"But Fern Belzil, a farmer in the St. Paul area of northern Alberta and a part-time mutilation investigator, wrote that most of the 50 cattle killings reported by Alberta and Saskatchewan farmers in the past three years weren't done by animals."
Last June (1997) Laura Afdahi found a dead Charolais cow on her farm in the Pincher Creek area of southern Alberta. "The cow's teeth were missing, as were its sex organs and teats."
"'I can't tell you how sick I felt when I looked at it,' Afdahi said, adding that the coyotes and magpies had no interest in feeding on the carcass."
Pincher Creek (population 3,660) is just east of the Alberta/British Columbia provincial border, and located 655 miles (1,048 kilometers) east of Vancouver. (See the Ottawa Sun for March 15, 1998. Many thanks to Dr. Diane Landry for forwarding the newspaper article.)
JARVIS TEAM TRACKS ORBS OVER LAKE ONTARIO
On Thursday, March 12, 1998, at around 7 p.m., Canadian ufologist Jennifer Jarvis and a fellow skywatcher set up shop on the south shore of Lake Ontario, near St. Catharines, Ontario, 30 miles (48 kilometers) due south of Toronto.
At 7:30 p.m., a UFO "appeared at approximately 10 degrees elevation and flew in an easterly direction for about three minutes" before descending to four degrees above the horizon. The "orb" changed color from whitish-gold to red as it descended.
At 7:37 p.m., the team saw another orb east of St. Catharines (population 129,200).
At 8:10 p.m., a UFO appeared "and seems to be a whitish colour. This is a more solid-looking object. Lowers to about 5 degrees elevation heading east."
Three minutes later, this UFO plunged into Lake Ontario at a point just north of St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. "Submersion very clear," Jarvis reported, "There appear to be three lights (on the object) and there was definite rotation, even as the object submerges." (See the webpage Orbwatch for March 12, 1998. Many thanks to Jennifer Jarvis for this report.)
from the UFO Files:
1965: UFO INJURES A GUIDE IN THE EVERGLADES
On March 15, 1965, "James W. Flynn, 45, was training hunting dogs in the Everglades when at about 1 a.m. he saw a cone-shaped UFO hovering about 200 feet over some cypress trees. The UFO moved rapidly and changed positions several times, and Flynn thought it was a helicopter until he looked at it through binoculars."
"Then, thinking it was 'some new device from Cape Kennedy' (now back to its original name of Cape Canaveral--J.T.), perhaps in trouble, he tried to approach and offer help."
"The cone-shaped object appeared to be almost 25 feet high and had four tiers of windows emitting a yellowish glow. Flynn could hear a noise like 'a diesel generator,' which disturbed one of his dogs 'who was howling in his cage and trying to get out.'"
"Within 200 yards of the UFO, Flynn jumped out of his swamp buggy (shallow draft boat propelled by an airplane engine--J.T.) waving his arms. At that point, the UFO emitted a jet-like noise and a blast of wind that knocked him off-balance."
"As he continued to approach within a few yards, the UFO emitted a light beam like a welder's torch and Flynn blacked out."
"'I felt a blow like a sledgehammer between the eyes--and that's all I know,' he told the local newspaper.
"When he awoke, the UFO was gone and his vision was severely impaired. Flynn sought aid from an Indian acquaintance who helped him back to Fort Myers. Flynn required medical treatment and had a small dark spot on his forehead. He suffered impaired vision in one eye, numbness and loss of hearing."
"Extensive physical trace evidence was found at the site, including an area of burnt sawgrass 72 feet in diameter." (See the Fort Myers, Fla. News-Press for March 18, 1965. Also UNINVITED GUESTS by Richard Hall, Aurora Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1988, pages 250-251.)
FUN UFO WEBSITES:
Follow the quests of Jennifer Jarvis and her Orbwatch team at their website, which can be found at http://www.per.to/orbwatch
For the latest on UFO sightings in Colorado's San Luis Valley, check out author/researcher Christopher O'Brien's Mysterious Valley page at http://home.amigo.net/tmv
There's a new UFO newspaper on the Web. Stefan Duncan's American UFO News website went online last week. Check out the latest issue of AUFON at http://www.aufon.com
For readers who can't get enough of mysteries on the planet Mars, you might want to visit the Mars Anomalies Page, with mysteries galore at http://rush.digitalchainsaw.com/marspage.html
Be sure to drop in at our parent site, UFOINFO. You'll find it at the new location--http://ufoinfo.com
Interested in back issues of UFO ROUNDUP? Then feel free to drop in at our webpage at this URL... http://ufoinfo.com/roundup/
Space history was made on March 22, 1946, when the U.S. Army launched its first multi-stage rocket from the missile range in White Sands, New Mexico. The rocket rose to an altitude of 55 miles, becoming the first American-built missile to leave Earth's atmosphere.
We'll be back next weekend with more saucer news from "the paper that goes home--UFO ROUNDUP." Have a nice week.
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 1998 by Masinaigan Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news items from UFO ROUNDUP on their websites or in news groups provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue in which the item first appeared.
