- It's back, it's bigger and those who've
seen it say the King Island UFO is the real thing.
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- With no sightings for two nights, local
UFO watchers were about to give up on their nocturnal visitor but last
night the bright orange-red ball reappeared bigger and better than ever
over the town of Currie.
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- The sightings have sparked memories of
the mysterious disappearance 20 years ago of pilot Frederick Valentich,
on a flight between Victoria and King Island.
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- Locals have shunned scientific and prankster
explanations of the bright light they have being watching since last Thursday
night.
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- Currie residents Jill Munro and Christine
Parker watched the phenomenon for 10 minutes last night, having already
seen a less spectacular display on Saturday night.
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- "It freaked me out," Ms Munro,
a former radio journalist, said. "I have been through the Bankstown
massacre and other events but never in my life have I seen anything like
this.
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- "It takes a lot to throw me but
someone must come and see this thing and tell us what it is."
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- Ms Munro said the object was definitely
not a burning can suspended from a garbage bag parachute as suggested by
the National Space and Meteor Hotline, nor was it reflected light.
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- Ms Parker, who is a local councillor
and librarian, said the light formed a steady line rather than a ball.
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- It was below the cloud line and clearly
visible.
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- She said the sightings were a hot topic
of conversation on the island, particularly among older people who remembered
Valentich's disappearance on October 21, 1978 as if it were yesterday.
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- A recorded a message from the pilot reported
he was being "buzzed" by an object that was not an aircraft.
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- Hobart historian Reg Watson, who has
been researching the incident, said as well as unusual sightings on King
Island on that fateful night, another report of a "graphic" UFO
sighting had been reported at Queenstown.
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