Soaring UFO sightings near record high
Mysterious lights, dazzling mid-air manoeuvres reported
More than 400 encounters of the curious kind filed so far this year
JIM BRONSKILL
CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA—From a translucent, saucer-shaped object in British Columbia to mysterious
lights buzzing motorists in New Brunswick, Canadians are on their way to reporting
a record number of UFO sightings this year.
More than 400 stories of curious encounters were filed through the end of July,
compared with just over 300 by this time last year, says Ufology Research of
Manitoba, a group that tracks reports of unidentified flying objects.
At this rate, the total for 2004 will surpass the current record of 673
sightings reported last year, said Chris Rutkowski, research co-ordinator
for the Winnipeg-based organization.
The group receives reports directly by telephone and e-mail from sister
agencies that follow the phenomenon, and via federal departments such
as transport and national defence.
Rutkowski isn't sure why the numbers are rising, but suspects it might
be linked to public awareness of recent exploratory missions to planets
such as Mars and Saturn.
"I think there is a resurgence of interest in space," he said yesterday.
Dazzling mid-air manoeuvres were a feature of some of the more
dramatic otherworldly episodes.
At a military base in Beaverbank, N.S., on April 23, three people spotted
several lights in the east, including a slow-moving red one bobbing up
and down. Suddenly, a second red light swooped in, prompting the first
one to climb upwards and fly over it.
In a July 5 incident, a Rosemont, Que., couple saw a very bright red
light moving slowly westward. Travelling much too low to be an airplane
or helicopter, the object plunged to the ground and disappeared after about a minute.
Two people sitting on a hill in an Edmonton park on June 23 watched four
distinct lights hover above them.
"At first they thought it was some sort of satellite," Rutkowski said.
"But then the lights gathered together, close in the sky, and spread
out again. They would travel in one direction for a while and then
curve back in a very sharp turn in another direction. And they
watched it for 90 minutes."
The Prairies seem to be a hotbed of unexplained activity.
In Alberta, 61 sightings occurred up to the end of July, compared
with 76 in all of last year. There were 50 in Manitoba, already
double the total for 2003, while 19 reports emerged from
Saskatchewan, topping last year's 13.
In a widely reported incident, the pilot of Prime Minister Paul Martin's
plane reported seeing a "very bright light" falling through the air,
with smoke trailing, while the aircraft passed over Suffield, Alta., on March 21.
Rutkowski believes that while most UFO reports have simple explanations
— many being meteors — a small percentage are puzzling and deserve
the attention of scientists.
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