AUFORA Update - NWT Sightings
AUFORA News Update
NWT UFO Sightings - Special Report
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[A copy of this report can be found at: http://ume.med.ucalgary.ca/aufora/nwt/]
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THE SLAVE LAKE SIGHTINGS
A report by the Alberta Unidentified Flying Object Research Association (AUFORA)
Cory Sine, Director
Through the conclusion of 1995 and on into 1996, unidentified flying
object sightings flooded in from the south Great Slave Lake area in the
Northwest Territories. The reports display similar characteristics, and
have puzzled the witnesses, local press, police, and the Department of
National Defence.
The majority of the reports have been received from in and around
three communities: Fort Simpson, located at the fork of the Liard and
Mackenzie rivers east of the Great Slave Lake; Hay River, positioned on
the southern end of the Great Slave Lake; and Fort Resolution, situated on
the edge of the lake northeast of Hay River. Residents reported the
mysterious lights to local newspapers, police, and the Department of
National Defence (DND) in Yellowknife. Most report an aerial bright light
usually visible just above the treeline. The magnitude of these lights
has been described as staring into the high-beams of a car. The light
shifts color between blue, red, green, and white before leaving by
accelerating straight up at an incredible speed. The sightings usually
last for 1 to 6 minutes.
After pressure from local residents and press the DND flew a
contingent down to Fort Resolution to look into the sightings.
Yellowknife Base Commander Colonel Pierre LeBlanc and another official
flew down to Fort Resolution on January 10, 1996, in search of some
answers. For the four previous nights, somewhere between 15 and 501
residents of Ft. Resolution had seen a bright, pulsating object shifting
colours between white, blue, and red that shot vertically out of sight at
a great speed after a few minutes of viewing. A Northern Forest Ranger
had filmed one of the mysterious lights. The lights were being spotted
usually between 5:00 and 6:30 each evening. Unfortunately, on the day
that the military was present the sky was clouded over. The military
stayed, and flew in the area where the UFOs were observed but saw
nothing. They interviewed three witnesses and made a copy of the UFO
video. Col. LeBlanc was not impressed by the video. There are no points
of reference in the film with the exception of the light. Thus it is
impossible to tell whether the light or the camera-man is moving. The
video shows little more than a bright light hovering in the sky. The
military has ruled out the possibility of a planet, such as Venus, as
being the cause of the lights because of the swift departure of the UFOs.
After a day of investigation, the Yellowknife DND did not have any more of
an idea of what the UFOs might be than what they had when they began their
investigation. They are just as puzzled as everyone else. A copy of the
UFO video has been sent along with an intelligence report to North Bay,
Ontario where the data will be cross-referenced with radar data and
military flights for further information. According the Col. LeBlanc, the
DND in Yellowknife receives an average of five UFO reports a year, thus
this rash of multiple-witness sightings is quite out of the ordinary.
Col. LeBlanc has stated many times that there were no military aircraft in
the area at the time of the sightings and there were no military
activities being conducted by the local military that could have resulted
in such sightings.
Soon after the Fort Resolution sightings received local media
attention, a Liidli Ke elder in Fort Simpson came forward with his story
of a similar UFO he witnessed on November 13, 1995. That evening Leo
Norwegian and an eight-year-old boy were driving out of Fort Simpson when
they saw what they thought was a light atop a nearby radio tower. The
light was hovering above the Mackenzie River and they could soon see that
it was not part of the radio tower. The light changed colours between
red, blue, white, and green. After being observed for about one to one
and a half minutes, the light departed at an incredible speed leaving a
trail of white light behind it. Norwegian could compare the light to only
what he had seen of UFOs on television and an unexplained light he had
seen on New Year's Eve in 1968 at a cabin on Willow Lake (northeast of
Fort Simpson).
On January 17, 1996, at around 8:10 in the morning a resident of Hay
River saw a bright white light descending at a steep angle leaving a red
trail of light above the Great Slave Lake in very low visibility. The
light descended slowly and appeared to be "falling apart" in the sky
giving the impression of an emergency flare. The witness estimated the
light to be about one mile out over the lake. The Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (RCMP) were called and officer Bryan Wentzell drove out to the
location of the sighting with the witness. Wentzell feared that the
"flare" may have been fired by an ice-fisherman who was in distress out on
the lake so later in the morning, when the visibility improved, he had an
officer from the Canadian Department of Fisheries drive off-shore onto the
lake on a Bombardier Snowmobile. The fisheries officer drove about two
to three miles off-shore but found no trace of a flare or anyone in
distress. No missing persons reports were filed that might be linked to
anyone disappearing into the lake. However, at the same time of the
sighting that morning, the Hay River airport reported a "meteor". Since
that sighting, the Hay River RCMP detachment has received reports of UFOs
in the West Channel area (near Hay River).
Most recently, reports have come in from trappers and motorists in
Fort Resolutions who have claimed to have been followed by UFOs. Many
have reported that their engines fail while the UFO is present. Despite
repeated attempts, they are unable to start their engines until the UFO
has departed. Engine failure in the presence of such lights is a common
theme throughout worldwide UFO reports.
These events have created much media attention and inspired a number
of agencies to investigate. We, the Alberta UFO Research Association
(AUFORA) have conducted an extensive investigation on which this report is
based. As aforementioned, the Canadian Department of National Defence and
the RCMP have investigated some of these sightings. Most recently, the
Canadian branch of the Mutual Unidentified Flying Object Network (MUFON),
under Director Michael Strainic, has begun an investigation. A home page
dealing with the sightings has been set up by a Northwest Territories
researcher on the internet (http://www.ssimicro.com/~ufoinfo). Theories
abound on what these lights might be. Some are decidedly scientific, some
are paranoid, and some obviously point in the extraterrestrial direction.
Some believe that the UFO reports may simply be mis-identifications
of the planet Venus or the star Sirius. In some cases, this maybe
correct. In the northern sky, Venus is the second brightest object in the
night sky, second only to the moon. Sirius is the brightest star in the
northern hemisphere's night sky. Atmospheric interference with the stars'
light can cause certain colours of the stars' light spectrums to reach the
human eye at different times. Thus a star can appear to be twinkling, or
"pulsating" while shifting colours between red, blue, white, and others.
A slight wobble in the light's position can also be explained as an optic
phenomenon caused by a lack of reference points for the human eye. When
observing a singular light in the night sky, with nothing to compare it
with in the visual area, a star may appear to be shifting positions when
it is actually involuntary movements of the human eye that the witness is
experiencing. However, the magnitude of Venus or Sirius does not ever
equal the intensity of a car's headlights. This possibility is also ruled
out by the fact that the UFOs often shoot straight up into the sky after a
few minutes of viewing.
The blame for these UFOs has also fallen on United States military
testing. It has been rumored that the United States Air Force is
developing a new breed of supersonic spy-planes. Many UFO sightings
similar to the ones in the N.W.T. have occurred in the vicinity of U.S.
military installations. Thus it is easy to place the blame for these
lights on the USAF. However, many aspects of this explanation simply do
not make sense. The northern tundra area in the Canadian Arctic
accurately simulates Russian Arctic terrain. Therefore American and NATO
forces have conducted military training in the past, in the height of the
Cold War. However, training advanced aircraft over a relatively populated
area in the N.W.T. when there are many other virtually-unpopulated yet
geographically-similar places to train in nearby makes no sense. This can
only serve to raise public suspicion, a situation in which no military
force aspires to be placed in. Also, it is highly-unlikely that the U.S.
military would conduct testing without at least informing the local
Canadian military officials who are convinced that there is no military
activity in the Slave Lake area that could have resulted in these
sightings. Nevertheless, covert military activity remains a remote and
unlikely possibility for these UFO sightings.
As always, the extraterrestrial hypothesis has presented itself as
an explanation in these cases. The UFOs have demonstrated skills superior
to any known aircraft on this planet (i.e. moving at incredible vertical
speeds). The movement patterns in these cases strongly suggest that the
lights are crafts under intelligent control. However, so far, no
witnesses have reported seeing any "aliens" in proximity to the lights.
No physical proof exists linking these mysterious lights to anything
extraterrestrial. Nonetheless, no incontrovertible proof has been
presented that denies the possibility that these lights may be of
extraterrestrial origin. Given the scientific improbability of
extraterrestrial life visiting Earth, this explanation must remain a
remote possibility, but still a possibility.
The Northwest Territories lights have utterly confounded all those
involved with the sightings. Theories currently consist of mere
speculation that relies on vague scientific data for support. A viable
theory is presented, but it only explains certain characteristics of the
sightings and thus is not entirely credible. No one theory has yet to
explain all the characteristics of these sightings. However, many of
these characteristics (hovering lights with shifting colours taking off at
incredible speeds after a few minutes) are very common to the field of
UFOlogy. The police are at a loss to explain these lights, the witnesses
have no idea what they saw, and, most interestingly, the military has
publicly admitted to having no idea what the UFOs could be. Col. LeBlanc
jokingly stated that from a military standpoint, that he wouldn't mind
"getting his hands" on this UFO. As of yet these lights can only be
passed off as UFOs. 'UFO' is not a synonym for "alien spacecraft",
although it seems to have become one in recent years. This simply means
that no theories have yet to explain these lights in any thorough way.
Most unfortunately, many of the facts regarding these sightings have been
marred. As earlier mentioned, confusion exists as to how many witnesses
in Fort Resolution saw the UFO(s). The military says 15 while the press
says 50. Many of the local residents have not been informed of all the
facts and thus speculation runs rampant. A UFO sighting report sent to
AUFORA from an individual in Edzo, N.W.T., stated that "everyone knows
that the military has confiscated the UFO video". The video being
referred to is the UFO video taken by Northern Forest Rangers in Fort
Resolution. The original video is still in the hands of the Rangers, the
military only made a copy for themselves. However, the Rangers are
regretting ever mentioning the video since they have been continually
harassed for additional copies. Mis-quoting, mis-communication, and
speculation have led to some interesting, albeit fictional, stories. As
it stands now, a solution to this mystery does not appear to be anywhere
in the near future, and until a sufficient explanation is found, the
citizens of the Canadian arctic will still keep their eyes to the sky and
wonder what is really going on.
Sources:
Newspaper Articles:
(1) "Elder Sees Mystery Lights", P.J. Harston, Deh Cho Drum, January 11, 1996.
(2) "UFOs are no strangers to the North: National Defence investigates
Fort Resolution sightings", P.J. Harston, Deh Cho Drum, January 15,
1996.
(3) "More lights in the sky: Alberta group looking into South Slave
sighting", P.J. Harston, News/North (January 22, 1996).
(4) "Still more UFO Sightings ET experts launch second investigation",
P.J. Harston, News/North (January 29, 1996).
(5) "Mysterious Lights Continue to Baffle the Nation; Are the
astronomical objects of alien spaceships?", P.J. Harston, Deh Cho Drum,
February 1, 1996.
Interviews:
Note: All interviews were conducted by AUFORA Director, Cory Sine.
1/16/96 - Patricia Russell - CBC News North (Yellowknife, N.W.T.).
1/17/96 - Fort Simpson RCMP detachment.
1/17/96 - P.J. Harston - Deh Cho Drum - Hay River, N.W.T.
1/17/96 - Hay River RCMP detachment - Bryan Wentzell.
1/17/96 - Fort Resolution RCMP detachment.
1/17/96 - Yellowknife Police Department.
1/17/96 - Yellowknife Department of National Defence - Captain Susan Gray.
1/29/96 - Yellowknife Department of National Defence - Colonel Pierre LeBlanc.
Note: AUFORA expresses its deepest gratitude to all the witnesses in the
Northwest Territories who provided us with information regarding their
sightings. Due to AUFORA's policy of privacy, no names will be released
in this report. Mr. Norwegian's name was used because it had previously
been used in local press releases and no violation of privacy is being
committed in its use in this report. AUFORA offers its deepest thanks to
Blaine Wasylkiw for all the helpful information he provided.
To report a UFO sighting, send e-mail to: si...@cadvision.com
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AUFORA News Update Issue 02.06.96
News, Information, Facts from the world of UFOlogy
To subscribe send e-mail to: wata...@acs.ucalgary.ca
AUFORA Web: http://ume.med.ucalgary.ca/aufora/
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Contents Copyright (c) 1996 The Alberta UFO Research Association.
Ericrow
based on the slim evidence available. It includes the ET possibility but
doesn't jump to it, and that seems apt given the available info.
Bill Peterson
AUFORA News Update <wata...@acs.ucalgary.ca> wrote:
>AUFORA Update 02.06.96
>No physical proof exists linking these mysterious lights to anything
>extraterrestrial. Nonetheless, no incontrovertible proof has been
>presented that denies the possibility that these lights may be of
>extraterrestrial origin. Given the scientific improbability of
>extraterrestrial life visiting Earth, this explanation must remain a
>remote possibility, but still a possibility.
>
I am not sure that any probability of ET visitation could be
scientifically supported. On what basis do you make that claim?
Basically, we don't know, and can't quantify it.
BP
--
Disclaimer: I'm gettin' old. I used to have thoughts, but now ...