Reports of the cylinder or cigar-shaped objects continued in 2011 during the third quarter as we review seven selected CMS cases for Part Three in the series. Selected witness testimony and, when available, edited field investigator notes are used.

Today’s story begins in Pennsylvania’s northwestern Erie County on July 16 where an on-duty police officer is on patrol and has an encounter with a UFO.

July 16, 2011 – Erie County, PA, MA1, Category 1. Case 30329.

“I have been a police officer for 10 years, and I served active duty in the United States Army in a reconnaissance unit.  One of my duties in the military was to observe and be able to identify aircraft from many countries, primarily those from the United States and the former Soviet Union.  I am also a huge fan of helicopter aviation. I was working patrol on the night of July 16, 2011, on the 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. shift.  I was in uniform and in a marked patrol car.  While patrolling on a main street in town, I was driving southeast away from the lake and toward the downtown area.  At approximately 10:52 p.m., I noticed a single, white light in the sky moving northwest.  The light appeared to be at an altitude of approximately 1,000-2,000 feet over the downtown area.  I first thought the object was a helicopter.  Just up the street from me was a large hospital which averages probably 4-5 medical helicopter transports a week.  I am very familiar with the medical helicopters which frequent my area, and after a few seconds I realized that what I was seeing was not a helicopter.  As the light came toward me, I realized that it had no navigational or hazard lights (the green and red lights which flash on an aircraft).  It had a single, white light.  It was very bright at first.  As it got closer to being directly overhead, I noticed that the light appeared to be cigar-shaped.  But as it got even closer to being overhead, the light seemed to dim.  By the time it was overhead (approximately one minute since I first saw it), it was as dim as most of the stars in the sky.  In fact, if it hadn’t been moving, I probably would have thought that it was a star. I actually stopped my patrol car in the middle of the street and had to stick my head out of my driver’s side window to look up at the object because it was directly overhead.  The object continued to move northwest, but it was dim and appeared to be much higher than when I first saw it.  In fact, it appeared then that it was 10,000 feet or higher.  Then I was amazed when the object stopped dead in its tracks and began to zig and zag, back and forth!  It went in all directions.  I would estimate that if it was 10,000 feet high, it was probably moving maybe 200 feet in each direction around the point where it had stopped. It became difficult for me to watch the object with my head sticking out the car window and looking over the roof of the car to my west, so I made a u-turn and parked along the curb.  I could now see the object by looking out of my window toward the west.  Shortly after I parked, I phoned my wife to tell her what I was seeing.  My cell phone indicated that I called my wife at 10:53 p.m. on July 16, 2011. Just after I started talking to my wife, the object stopped zigging and zagging and it began to move toward the east.  Just then, another police unit with two officers pulled up and asked what I was doing.  I ended the phone call with my wife and I informed the officers about the object that I was watching.  We then exited our respective vehicles while we watched the object.  Both officers saw what I was seeing.  One of them believed it to be an aircraft.  The other officer said she wasn’t sure what it was. As we watched the object continue east, we noticed an aircraft far out in front of it, also flying east.  The object and the aircraft appeared to be around the same altitude, but the object had become so dim that it was hard to determine how high it was.  In fact, several times the object’s light appeared to fade out completely and then quickly fade back in.  However, at no time did the light of the object appear to flash or blink. All three of us watched the object move east and, once again, it stopped in mid flight and began to zig and zag around the point it stopped.  The one officer continued to believe that the object was an aircraft, and the other officer said she didn’t know what it was.  Then the other officers had to move their vehicle because they had stopped in the travel lane and they were blocking traffic.  I got back into my vehicle and drove east and parked in a parking lot one block east of my original location where I continued to watch the object.  It continued east and its light faded in and out a few more times.  I lost track of where the aircraft, which I had seen in front of it, had flown.  Then I received a call for service from my dispatcher and I had to leave the area. The total time I watched the object was approximately 15 minutes. Later that night I looked to the sky in the direction I last saw the object but I didn’t see it again.  Through the course of the night I did see two meteorites, one to the north of town over the lake and one to the south.  However, I am familiar with what meteorites look like and the object I watched was NOT a meteorite. Later in my shift I tried to call the local international airport to see if they had any aircraft or any other contacts on radar at that time.  But I only got an automated system and was never able to get through to anyone there.

July 27, 2011 – Madison County, KY, CE1, Category 2, Case 30381.

“I was outside on my front porch with my camcorder, because my dogs where taking  a fit, so I went out there to see what they were barking at. About that time the phone rang and it was my niece, and it just so happened we were talking about UFOs, when right out of the blue, this low fiery looking, egg-shaped object came over the field west of me, heading northeast. It was moving real slow and lights were flashing from it. I grabbed my camcorder and filmed it while I was telling my niece what I was seeing on speakerphone. It did not make any noise at all. And it was close enough to hear, but I couldn’t hear nothing. Then it looked like it was changing shape or something. Then it went behind the trees and I couldn’t see it no more. The pictures I am sending you are actual photos of what I filmed.”

Field Investigator: “The witnesses’ home is in a low area, the lowest in the trailer park, with I-75 directly east of her running in a north-south direction with a slight turn towards the east going south.  Her viewing of these different events included on this tape are from her front porch (I-75) side from about 310 (WNW) degrees to about 180 (south) degrees.  As you can see in the videos, they are moving different directions.  Her angle of viewing is typically 30 degrees to about 80 degrees from horizontal.  One view was of a light going south to north off to the ESE of her.  Another was lights going north to south off towards the ESE of her.  Another was a group of lights that came out of the ESE and passed just south of her.  On this video is also a daylight scan of where these objects (lights) have been seen from the witnesses’ front porch. She states that she only sees these on clear nights. Hopefully, someone with the capability to analyze these tapes can determine what she’s seeing.  It would put her mind to ease if they were objects known to humans.”

August 5, 2011 – Montgomery County, PA, CE1, Category 2. Case 30686.

“1) Driving on 422 East between Trooper and the Oaks Exits directly across from the Christian Academy but on the Valley Forge side of the road. 2) Unusual.  3) From far away it looked like a radio tower, but there were three white lights and no red flashing light. 4) Twenty feet  off ground, object did not move while I was watching. There was three white lights (not blinding, however, I could not see above the side of the UFO).  5) Called my friend who was following me to make sure she saw it too. She did and we both were in complete shock. She first thought it was a fighter jet, however, when we got closer there were no markings, no color, no ammo and it did not move. 6) Continued to drive on 422.”

Field Investigator: “Assigned field investigator was not able to get in touch with witness.  Through several other independent sources we were able to collaborate the witnesses’ sighting.  We were able to triangulate the object and it was Unknown.”

August 6, 2011 – El Dorado County, CA, CE1, Category 2, Case 31250.

“I was driving north on Eldorado Boulevard at exactly 2:25 p.m., Saturday, August 6, 2011, just passing Bowmens Club on the right when I noticed two bright lights in front of me in the sky above the hill and houses about 400 feet up and descending slowly down and to the left. They looked like two boxes a few feet apart. My first thought was maybe a kid’s kite in the park that I knew was just over the hill. I was driving up a hill at the time so it was really easy to notice and there was other traffic right next to me and behind me. My thought was they have to being seeing this too! As I was driving over the hill watching these two boxes descending down toward the ground, they were just a few feet apart. I thought maybe it could be two white birds descending in perfect formation until they started turning downward and the two boxes stretched out longer into two perfect shapes, like rectangles. At this point I got excited and looked for a place to pullover. Then these two objects kind of leveled out and moved north towards Folsom Lake away from me. They moved about a thousand yards away in just a second, then quickly faded away from view. So I kept driving just maybe one block and they reappeared again getting brighter in seconds. My thought at this time was maybe it was an airplane reflecting in the sun. A real white airplane. But it was two objects just a few feet apart. At this time I reanalyzed the size of the objects were about the size of two cars. I glued my eyes on these and slowed way down and almost completely stopped at the green light in front of the park. Then the two objects slowly faded away again, so I pulled over and got out my binoculars. The objects were gone, but there was a vulture flying around up there where I last saw it so I focused on it and hoping the object would return. After a few minutes it did not, so I took off driving north again on Eldorado boulevard towards Green Valley Road. I crossed Green Valley Road as this turns into Salmon Falls Road about two miles still looking towards the west when the object appeared again. This time it was one object, but looked like a square box. I immediately pulled over. It was moving north rapidly about 600 or 800 feet high and got behind some trees blocking my view. So I took off after it and could see it in the next few minutes through the trees as I was hurrying to get about a mile up the road to a place I knew was clearer of trees. I noticed the object kept pulsating in and out of brightness and vision, and turning while I was chasing it. Right when I was getting to the clearing it got real bright and stopped for a second. It looked like a perfect big ,white box in the sky slightly rotating about 800 feet above the Folsom Lake with a hill in the background behind it. Then it started moving slowly to the west and faded away. I stayed there for about five more minutes hoping to see it again but I did not. I realized this whole encounter lasted about 12 minutes and over five miles.

Field Investigator: “The UFO looked like a box kite with one box above the other. It was bright white and the exterior looked like a Lowes’ sign. The object then changed shape; the box on top moved down to the side and both boxes stretched out about four feet into a hexagon shape.  It sped up and looked like it would hit a hill when it pulled away and dimmed. The witness estimates that the object moved about one mile in a second. It disappeared briefly then reappeared as a single box.  The witness followed the object in his car and watched as it brightened and dimmed repeatedly. Witness estimates speed of the object while he was following it to be around 50 mph. In its final form, the object is square, spinning, pulsating, and about the size of a large storage container. Witness last saw it when it stopped moving, then shot off the left and disappeared. All of this happened in broad daylight around 2:30 in the afternoon.  The witness seems sincere and concerned about what he saw.”

August 13, 2011 – Dane County, WI, CE1, Category 2, Case 30912.

“My wife, daughter and I were returning home shortly after sunset last Friday night, driving east on Highway 12 just west of Cambridge, WI. I saw a floating orange light at about 1 o’clock, floating perhaps 200 feet in the air. I pointed it out to my wife and daughter and they saw it too. It looked to me like a glowing orange light bulb, and I could not distinguish any shape of the object. It appeared to hover or float in one spot the whole time we observed it. After a few moments of observation, my daughter said, ‘I keep trying to imagine a tower holding it up, but there’s no tower.’ We observed it for perhaps a minute or two, then lost sight of it. It never moved the entire time we saw it. I wish we had pulled over to observe it more closely!”

Field Investigator: “The witness seemed very comfortable discussing the event. I asked him if he or his family members have had any headaches or missing time. He stated no. I also asked the witness if this was his first sighting and he stated ‘yes’.  During the event, he remembered some other observations. The object looked like it was glass or translucent and kind of frosty. I checked for airports in the area and checked the weather from that evening, and it matched what the witness stated. He did seem very genuine and eager to talk about his experience. With more than one witness to this object to back up the witnesses’ observation, I would have to conclude that this object is unidentified.”

September 5, 2011 – St. Louis County, MO, FB1, Category 1. Case 31649.

“(Ellisville southwest of St. Louis, MO). While relaxing in the backyard on the deck laying in lawn chair with my granddaughter sitting next to me enjoying the nice afternoon and watching humming birds at the feeder and looking into the sky with a few clouds I noticed a flying craft with brilliant, silver cylinder-shaped with small hump, no wings, moving very, very slow from the southeast to northwest direction just barely above thin clouds. My granddaughter saw it too. As it went over a small cloud and the cloud drifted it never appeared again. As we watched, it was as if it disappeared into the blue sky. She yelled for her Dad to come out, but he was too late and just dismissed the incident but did believe we saw something. From watching airplanes at that height in the past it was the size of a Southwest Airline plane. About 5 minutes later, the same place in the sky a huge craft just appeared. It was 10 times larger than the smaller craft we observed earlier as it moved slowly from the northwest to the southeast for two minutes. Wonder how something that big with no wings or tail can stay in the sky moving that slow. I must assume they don’t need aerodynamics but use another source of power to move. Then all of a sudden it just disappeared as if you would turn off a light. It was a brilliant, sliver color. Having served in the military, I’ve seen flying craft from the B-1, B-2 and B-52 bomber. Been in fighter planes and touched, walked around and looked into the cockpit of the infamous supersonic  Blackbird and have seen aircraft carriers. That was not swamp gas, optical illusion or a weather balloon, or any known craft I’ve ever observed. It was as large as an aircraft carrier. Cylinder-shaped, but had a slight hump on top. My granddaughter and I thought we were lucky to have witnessed the UFO event. She believes in them now. I always have since I saw one in 1957 as a teenager along with thousands of people across the city and as it went north of St. Louis in the early morning on a Saturday or Sunday when we were out on the school yard playing ball and it was silver and huge , but never had MUFON then. The government stated then that it was mass hallucination or possibly swamp gas (ha… no swamps north of St Louis). Well, that’s the end of my sighting. Keep your eyes open and please report what you see as that’s the only way to understand what’s happening out there. Good luck.”

September 19, 2011 – Platte County, MO, CE1, Category 1, Case 39329.

“My mother and I were watching it out the windows facing east and it was coming just over the tree tops from the west heading southwest.  After it passed over the apartments, I ran out to the front and continued to see it ascend over I-35 and into the low lying rain clouds. It was all black in the back part and looked flat there, unlike the sides and cone front, which were white with 7-8 glossy lights, navy blue window trim with the window part white too. A design in the same blue color was observed on the larger, front window but I couldn’t make it out. The best I remember it was a zigzag type like a lightning bolt of some sort.  Two blinking lights; one on the front and one on the back part. I remember red and green and blue lights blinking. Two long antenna; one top and one bottom with blinking, colored lights on the top and bottom. There were many lights around the complex and other complexes and it helped reflect off of the craft and was very visible to see because of this fact. I have seen blimps up close and they are real loud with their propellers and this craft made no noise at all. It did not wobble or appear to be swayed by the breeze, but made an intended straight line over the complex and I-35. Also, no undercarriage for a crew and passengers was ever noticed like a regular blimp and no rudders at the back also. We viewed it in the back of the building about 60-70 yards away and it was only about 40 yards off the ground and looked about 30-40yards long. We saw it at an angle going southwest. I have wondered why the craft had the antennas on the top and bottom and after thinking about it thought the most practical reason is that it uses them for sensors and markers since the large, silver, metal power lines were just a feet below these antenna. My guess is they are retractable and that explains why I never saw them on any cigar-shaped UFO on Google image search. I will download the picture to you tomorrow from the sketch I took just an hour after we saw this object. Yes, I have often wondered how drivers on I-35 didn’t get a million dollar shot at this object, but by then it was just starting to descend into the dark rain clouds.”

Field Investigator: “I have communicated with this witness by phone and email.  He called me and I suggested that he file an official report at mufon.com first, and then we would follow up. He stated that there was no sound whatsoever. He sent me a drawing of the object he and his mother saw (see attached). The only discrepancy I can find is the weather history from weatherunderground.com says it was clear at that time, but the witness says there were dark rain clouds.  I have seen this on other occasions where the weather website was wrong. He seems very credible, and has been doing research since seeing the object in an effort to explain it. Note: This was just before the huge UFO flap in Kansas City in October.  This is one of the most unusual reports I’ve worked on.”