NUFORC Sighting 22863

Occurred: 1988-09-01 17:30 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2002-05-14 16:00 Pacific
Duration: matter of seconds
No of observers: 0

Location: Roswell (West side), NM, USA

Shape: Disk

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After years of silence believe I must report this. On a Sunday in mid-September, I was driving to a Golden Corral located on the West side of Roswell, New Mexico then located on West Second Street just East of the State Police Station also located further out on West Second. It was a beautiful cloudless evening and I was only thinking about what I might order for dinner at a restaurant that I had only visited a few times as I normally fixed meals at my apartment located on the corner of Sunset and, whatever the cross street was, that I was driving North on, when I saw the aerial object I am reporting. I gradually became aware that something was in my peripheral vision to my far left and up in the air possibly 15 degrees above the horizon. As I turned my head, while driving my little pick-up truck, I saw a huge gray metal saucer or disk shaped craft, full face top-view with it's top side facing me hanging in mid-air. I saw what looked like an aerial and portholes on what I would call a conning tower. There was no sound whatsoever and the thing was bigger than a house. In a matter of the blink of an eye it was gone. My immediate impression was it was either going straight down or straight up, to or out of the ground. There was a YMCA building to the left of the object which gave me some sense of the size of the object. However, I realized I could not figure out where it went into or out of the Earth which makes no possible logical sense. I became so excited by what I saw I abandoned all idea of going to the Golden Corral to eat and drove my vehicle all around the adjacent neighborhood going all the way North driving around the deserted runways of the old Roswell Municipal Airport which had been converted to a Municipal Bldg including housing the Police Department. I drove all over the whole area including all of the streets that abutted to the Airport which included a golf course and a City Park. By this time, the thought of eating had completely left me even though I had been extremely hungr! y when I left my apartment. I drove around there up until almost dark and finally decided to return home. I called the N.M. State Police Headquarters and the officer wanted my name and address after I gave him the basic details as written in this account. He said something, at this juncture, which I have never forgotten, "Well, maybe you were the only one who saw it this time"! I became very fearful at this point and refused to give him my name etc, because I held a government job and knew stories about what happened to other people's careers and lives once they reported something like this, and knew I didn't want to go thru that myself. I quickly hung up. Then I called the relatively new Roswell Airport which is located out where the old Walker Air Force Base was and spoke with an air traffic controller, I assume, in the Control Tower. I asked him if anyone had reported seeing anything unusual in the skys or if anyone there had seen anything? He calmly answered no and he wanted my name etc., also. I hung up again. Then I called the Roswell Daily Record and surpringly enough got hold of an editor who just happened to be there. I told him the story, but said I would not give my name or any personal information. He suggested we go to a local restaurant at some future time since nothing much is open in Roswell on a Sunday evening. He wanted to meet with me and discuss the event later! I never called him and tried to forget what happened. But, unfortunately, about two weeks later I had what I would call a serious depressive episode which almost got out of hand. That was just the beginning of my personal and professional problems. I had other experiences later which were terrifying and which I have rarely discussed with anyone out of fear of ridicule and social and professional ostracism which to some extent has happened anyway, and that is why I decided to contact u and file this report! This is not a joke and I am not psychotic!

NUFORC Note:

We are grateful to the witness for submitting such a nice report! Date of sighting in September 1988 is approximate. PD

Posted 2002-06-12