- 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 manoeuvring 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 sons 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 didn't
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 McRoberts 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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