NUFORC Sighting 153079

Occurred: 1973-10-04 20:50 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2020-02-04 14:14 Pacific
Duration: 45 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Waco, TX, USA

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Emitted beams, Landed

Close Encounter of the Second Kind

It was in late September or early October, 1973. I was taking a doctoral course two nights a week at Baylor University from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. As I was coming home from the class earlier in the week, I noticed a low bright light over Lake Waco. At first I thought it was the planet Venus. but as I approached the lake, the source of the light was more and more to my right, yet stationary. So, I knew it wasn't star or a planet. I figured it was a helicopter. But two nights later as I was returning home, I saw the same thing; so I decided to investigate.

As I crossed the bridge spanning Lake Waco, I could see the bright light just above Speegleville Park which lies on the west side of the lake. I took the first exit and went down what was then a dirt road that led to the park. As I got closer, the object started moving west about 100-150 feet in the air with its light off. It was a clear night and light enough for me to be see the shadow of its outline.

Then the craft which made no sound turned south and went over the highway and remained stationary in the air on the south side of the highway. I got back on the highway and proceeded west until I could take the next exit and turned left on the overpass where I saw the craft cross the highway. As I did, the craft started moving south, again, and settled behind a clump of trees. I crept past the trees but could not see it. The narrow road curved slightly back to the southeast; so I went about 100 yards. pulled over and turned off my lights but left the engine running.

Looking in my rear view mirror, I watched for a few minutes and then saw the craft slowly rise from beyond the trees and come towards me just on the other side of the fence to my right. When it was parallel to my vehicle, it turned facing me motionless about 35 feet in the air, making no sound. There was a small telephone or electric line pole to the left of the craft by the fence which gave me a indication of its altitude.

I observed the craft to be triangular, black in color, about 30 feet long and about 20 feet wide at the rear. It had a small cockpit toward the front and there was a green hue inside. I then noticed three, small round heads peering down at me. I hadn't been there five minutes when the craft shined a green light toward me. It was then my engine died and I couldn't restart it. I tried to turn on the lights and the radio; but they didn't work neither. This bothered me, and I started to get nervous; so I locked my doors.

We sat motionless, the craft and for about another 15 minutes (but seemed much longer) with me trying every few minutes to restart my engine to no avail. In all, I guessed I had been there about 20-25 minutes. Finally, my engine started and I took off with no lights on. After traveling southeast for about 75 yards, I turned my lights on and did a U-turn. As I passed the craft on my left, it made no attempt to follow me. When I got back on the highway and headed east, I looked to the right and could see it was still there.

As the AF Colonel in an England forest in 1980 once said, "Weird." (By the way, fifteen years earlier, I had two years of training with the Air Force in the identification of aircraft. Plus, I had two years of Top Secret Clearance with the U.S. Army afterwards. The craft that I encountered in 1973 was nothing that I could compare it with. So, I concluded it was a UFO, possibly, of alien origin.)

Posted 2020-02-07