NUFORC Sighting 42268

Occurred: 1974-08-08 10:00 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2005-02-24 20:47 Pacific
Duration: 10 minutes
No of observers: 3

Location: Mentor, OH, USA

Shape: Disk
Characteristics: Lights on object, Emitted other objects

It wasn't just a light, a shape or a "ball". This thing had the mechanics, details and lights. And of course it was dead silent!

The date and time is not exact. It was summer and late, as we were tossing a beach ball around. A neighbor boy who was 7 and lived across the street of me to the left and my close girl friend who was 11 at the time (and lived 1 house north of the boy);and I was 8 years old at the time.

At some point the ball got away from me and landed just into the boy's front yard. As I picked up the ball, I looked up to see a glowing round (dare I say) saucer shaped "thing".

The disk was silent, floating above the full grown maple tree line; and from where I was standing, just above the boy's house. It seemed as if it was glowing, yet it did not give off light as a lit football field would on the horizion.

The detail on this thing made us stand there in awe, watching it. There were mechanical "things" all around it, such as pipes, cylinders, and other devices. Much like a person looking at the workings of a cars engine. It was bright white in the sky, with the exception of a red flashing light. The flashing light was a slow strobe, and very rythmic. The thing we saw was not moving and never did actually move, yet no sound what so ever was heard. If you have ever seen a picture of Disney's Space Mountain, this thing would somewhat resemble it. The slightly domed top (lit white) {liken it to the lid of a pan or pot} and the details were round the item like a deep pan, and a flat-ish bottom.

The duration of time we stared at this object seemed like an eternity, as we screamed for our parents. Unfortunatly our parents thought we were just playing and ignored us. As I ran into my house to retrieve my parents so that they could verify this thing we were seeing, and they finally made their way outside. The thing had disappeared. I asked my two friends, and they said this thing that was glowing disappeared, only leaving the red flashing light for a few moments. Then the flashing light also disappeared.

We live very close to a small air field called Lost Nation Airport and I have lived with small planes, helicopters and even personal jets flying in and out of there as long as I can remember. I know what these things sound like, what they do and what they can never do. I also know that the only way in 1974 that the detail we saw on this thing could ever be duplicated is if you had a painted, detailed picture and projected it onto a large screen (such as a drive in movie screen)and somehow hung it high above the tree line. I am to this day bothered by this image and truely wish to know if the three of us were the only ones to witness this. Something like this could not have only been seen by elementary school aged kids in the middle of the suburbs!

Mentor, even then, was a dense area of houses and it was a beautiful, warm night. There is no way that anyone else could have missed it (at all). I often wish I could have some way to draw it or recreate it, much like the movie Close Encounters. I also wish I was not treated like a looney for what I saw. This is why we never said anything to anyone (other than parents).



NUFORC Note:

Witness indicates that date of sighting is approximate. PD


Posted 2005-04-16

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