Location: Near Prince George, British
Columbia, Canada
Date: June 24, 1997
Time: Close to 1:30 P.M.
Witness: The witness and his mother wish to remain anonymous so I will use the
following pseudonyms: Young boy: Robert Mother: Carol
Carol and her eleven year old son
Robert were outside in their back yard. Robert was about to release his garter snake that
he had been keeping as a pet. His mother took a picture of the snake and, after giving the
camera to her son, went into their house. Robert was in the process of taking a picture of
the snake when he thought he heard a noise above him. He looked up to see a disc shaped
object maneuvering through the air. He raised the camera and pressed the release button as
the object began to move away. He took a second photo after the film had advanced to the
next frame. At this point the object was moving away rapidly. The film advances in
approximately four seconds so we can assume that time between photos was very close to
four seconds. Approximately four seconds later the object was out of sight. The boy ran
into the house and with great excitement attempted to tell his mother what had just
happened. His mother told me that she had always been very sceptical regarding the
existence of UFOs. Because of this she did not give much credence to her son’s story.
She assumed that he had seen an airplane, weather balloon or a kite. Carol was not
prepared for what was to be seen when she developed the film. When she picked up the prints
she found herself holding two very clear photographs of a disc shaped object, a classic
flying saucer.
They did not know who to report the
incident to and were also nervous about harassment and disbelief on the part of their
friends and neighbours. Early in the following year a close friend told them about our
organisation, UFO*BC, and suggested she phone us. I received a message on my pager on
March 23 of 1998 and promptly called her number.
Although she had phoned us she admitted that she had been reluctant due to nervousness She was profoundly shaken by the experience and became nervous about the possible consequences of reporting it. When I talked to Carol I soon learned that she was so overwhelmed by the experience that her belief systems were completely overturned. She began to read everything she could find on UFOs. At this point she did not know what to believe and as a result was apprehensive about men in black, alien abductions and government conspiracies. I managed to convince her that she could trust us to respect her anonymity and convinced her to describe the object as reported by her son. He estimated it to be between 3 and 5 km away (1.75 to 3 miles). The object was metallic, disc shaped and had a dome centred on the top of the object. It was reported to be shiny except for dark orange colouring on one edge and the dome.
Carol informed me that the local
newspaper reported that a young boy had seen a fast moving orange streak in the sky on the
same day and at approximately the same time.
We arranged to meet in mid May when she would be in Vancouver with her family. She promised to bring the photographs but was reluctant to release the negative. Unfortunately, due to communication problems we did not connect during their trip to Vancouver.
I phoned again and talked to Robert. His description matched the one previously relayed through his mother.
I did receive two photographs by registered mail in early June. I was anxious to open up the letter and check out the photographs and was extremely pleased by their clarity.
The first impression that came to mind was that I was looking at a copy of the famous Hannah McRoberts photo taken North of Kelsey Bay, Vancouver Island on October 8, 1981. I immediately got out a copy of the McRoberts photo for comparison. The objects were almost identical. The first Prince George photo showed a similar disc to the Kelsey Bay photo except that it was tilted at a different angle and the dark orange colouring was missing from the Kelsey Bay photo. The second Prince George photograph was that of a metallic disc seen edge on and further from the camera.
The McRobert's photo was analysed by Richard F. Haines who concluded that the image had not been faked and the film was undamaged. I realised that the negative would be more appropriate for analysis and was able to contact Carol and persuade her to send a copy of the negative to us. I am hoping to be able to have the negatives analysed but as yet have not decided on what course of action to take. I do not want to surrender the negatives to someone I can not trust. I must admit to having some paranoia about the process. I guess the feeling is infectious.
Carol also sent copies of sighting reports she has been collecting from family and friends in the area.
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