The Chronicles Of Grant County
UFOs Seen In Grant County
Part Six
Pinos Altos
A sunset in New Mexico. (The photograph was provided courtesy of Mary Alice Murphy.)
In the first five parts of this series of reports of UFOs Seen In Grant County, The Chronicles Of Grant County detailed information about UFOs that were seen in the skies above Buckhorn, Cliff, Fort Bayard, Gila, Hurley, Mimbres, and San Lorenzo. This news column details information about UFOs that were reported in the airspace above Pinos Altos.
On January 12, 2023, as detailed in previous editions, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the United States Secretary of Defense, reported that it had submitted a classified report to the U S Congress detailing Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) in 2022. The Office also released an unclassified report to the general public.
"Unidentified aerial phenomena" is the term used by the U S Department of Defense for what Americans usually call "Unidentified Flying Objects" or "UFOs."
Also, as noted in the previous editions of this news series, according to an unclassified report from the Federal government, no alien life from locales beyond the Earth was found in the U S in 2022. The unclassified report does not detail any specific incidents of a UAP being seen in New Mexico in 2022.
The National UFO Reporting Center, a private entity unrelated to the Federal government, publishes a database of reports from people who have reported seeing unidentified flying objects.
This database of self-reported sightings includes a number of reports of UFOs seen in the skies above Grant County in recent years. In some cases, the National UFO Reporting Center indicated in notes that the sightings were actually of or possibly of specific military activities or scientific events.
Please note that the reports listed here were lightly edited for spelling and punctuation for publication.
Late on September 15, 2000, an individual in Pinos Altos reported that "an orange ball of light moved out from behind a far-off cliff, stopped and stayed in one place for about a minute (my feeling was that it was observing); then, it moved back behind the cliff rocks."
"That was it – nothing else to tell – we were amazed at the [sight] of it and [kept] our eye on it all the time," the individual continued. "Not too exciting, but it happened, and I'm glad [to] be able to come here to get it off my mind."
There was a note on this report: "Date is approximate. PD."
About three years later, on October 18, 2003, a report was filed of a "very unusual atmospheric entry of unknown craft" in the skies above Pinos Altos late on both October 16 and October 17, 2003.
The incident on October 16 lasted, according to the individual who saw it, between a-second-and-a-half and two seconds.
The individual reported that "the object left a trail, there was an aura or haze around the object, [and] the object changed color."
Details were reported as follows:
"Object spotted directly overhead. Went from northwest to southeast: approximately heading 115 degrees. (Straight to Restricted Area R-107A, White Sands, New Mexico.) Length of travel: With a 12-inch ruler held at arm's length – approximately 6 inches. The first 4 inches or so was a blue color with white borders, with the remaining 2 inches or so a dark orange/red with the orange/red streak breaking up the farther east [as] it went. The width of the streak was about as wide as a pencil eraser held at arm's length. Speed: VERY FAST. At the end of the visible streak, the object went invisible. The same exact sighting was seen on the next night [October 17, 2003], except the time was 20:26 MDT. What do you think the odds are for this to happen exactly the same, two nights in a row? If it happens again this evening, I will let you know. I have seen many entries into the atmosphere by various different craft, but this is completely unlike anything I have seen before."
Additional reports of UFO sightings in the skies over Silver City will be detailed in the next edition of The Chronicles Of Grant County.
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© 2023 Richard McDonough