January 16, 2008 \u00b7 <\/span> Faster than a speeding bullet \u2014 and bigger than a Wal-Mart.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
That’s how residents near the west Texas town of Stephenville described an object they spotted in the sky one night last week.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dozens
\nof the town’s residents \u2014 including a pilot and a police officer \u2014 said
\na UFO hovered over the farming community for about five minutes last
\nTuesday before streaking away into the night sky.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pilot
\nSteve Allen saw the object when he was out clearing brush off a hilltop
\nnear the town of Silden. Allen described the unidentified object as
\nbeing an enormous aircraft with flashing strobe lights \u2014 and it was
\ntotally silent. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said the UFO sped
\naway at more than 3,000 mph, followed by two fighter jets that were
\nhopelessly outmaneuvered. Allen said it took the aircraft just a few
\nseconds to cross a section of sky that it takes him 20 minutes to fly
\nin his Cessna.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The veteran pilot said the UFO, an estimated half-mile wide and a mile long, was "bigger than a Wal-Mart."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Military Dismisses Sighting<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Stephenville Empire-Tribune<\/em>,
\nwhich has written about the mysterious object, said about 40 people saw
\nthe thing \u2014 though some were too sheepish to admit the sighting until
\nothers came forward.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Police officer
\nLeroy Gatin said he was walking to his car when he saw a red glow that
\nreminded him of pictures he’d seen of an erupting volcano. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He
\nsaid the object was suspended 3,000 feet in the air. Gatin said he was
\nso awestruck that he called his son to come and see \u2014 but he didn’t
\ntalk much about it until he saw a story about a UFO in the local paper.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Military
\nofficials, however, were skeptical. They said the residents are letting
\ntheir imaginations run wild and passed it off as an optical illusion.
\nThey said it was likely nothing more than a reflection of sunlight on
\ntwo airliners. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Officials at a nearby air force base also said their fighter pilots didn’t chase down anything that night.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The incident was eerily similar to a UFO sighting a little more than a year ago at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As many as 12 United Airlines employees spotted the object and filed reports with United. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reported by Wade Goodwyn; written and edited by Deborah Tedford<\/em><\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.npr.org\/templates\/story\/story.php?storyId=18195328<\/a> <\/div>\n <\/p>\n
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