NORTH CAROLINA UFO SIGHTINGS ON THE INCREASE IN 1990

.....SITUATION THE SAME WORLDWIDE TOO!

UFO sightings in North Carolina showed an increase in 1990, as did worldwide encounters during the same period of time, a veteran civilian UFO investigator and researcher said today.

George D. Fawcett III, 61, who serves the North Carolina unit of the Mutual UFO Network Inc. (MUFON), issued his twenty third annual report for the Tar Heel state this morning.

Fawcett, who has investigated UFO sightings for the past 46 years noted that such observations had been reported from Oxford, Mount Airy, Morganton, Asheboro, Lincolnton, Vale, Charlotte, Durham, Boone, Dudley and Garland.

Collectively speaking, the crop of current UFO reports in North Carolina had many common characteristics, such as large objects seen at low altitude mostly at night and the early morning hours and had multiple lights (sometimes portholes) and were making whining or humming sounds. Eyewitnesses in different parts of the state were unaware of similar sightings elsewhere, so collusion on the part of witnesses had to bee ruled out. Many were long duration observations.

Elsewhere in the United States, Russia, China, Japan, England, Belgium, Australia, and South America sightings were also on the increase with pilot reports, landings, radar trackings & video filming the order of the day.

On November 20-21 multiple eyewitnesses, along with Ronald T. Currin reported seeing a circular UFO (approx. 50 ft. in diameter) above an open field off highway 96 near Oxford. On one occasion the UFO passed over a car and lit up the whole area. The white and orange-lighted object took off vertically at night and left the area.

On October 30 at 9:30 pm Mrs. Irena E. Stafford in Mount Airy reported a dome-topped UFO hovering outside her home and making a high pitched whining sound. Mrs. Stafford had just left home to take her dogs out to walk, but her dogs refused to leave the house, instead they whined, shook and rubbed their ears. The UFO, which was bigger than a plane, had "red and green", lights that, rotated on the bottom edge of the object. It was seen for approx. 28 minutes. While the UFO hovered, it gave off "beams of light."

On October 20 Robin Church contacted a UFO hotline service in Washington State to report two oval-shaped UFOs "joined together with a bar-like device," that she saw in Morganton at 10:19 pm. The UFO was as long as a small car and manoeuvred in the sky at a 200-300 foot altitude for 3 to 4 minutes.

On October 11 in Asheboro Hilda Lilly reported finding a 30 foot wide circle on the ground in the afternoon. It looked like a UFO had set down Lilly said, but no UFO was seen. The "circle" had a one-foot wide band on its outer edge. The Agriculture Department could not explain the "circle."

On October 9 in Asheboro S.C. and Pat Richardson along with two other eyewitnesses saw a big object "like a fireball in the sky" that split into three pieces. The UFO made a thumping sound while it hovered and then it went straight up. Possible meteor, but some of the witnesses discounted this explanation. Radio Dispatcher Debbie McKenzie reported receiving over 100 phone calls concerning this sighting, which occurred during the early morning hours.

On October 1 in Lincolnton a woman textile employee saw an "amber color football-shaped UFO that dropped down from the sky and disappeared between a group of trees at night. (Witness name on file).

 During late September three 3-foot circles were found on the ground at Vale, while an "18 foot circle" was reported from Charlotte.

During May (date unknown) Andrew Sullivan and his 14 year old son were cutting the backyard grass when they observed a silver football-shaped UFO moving about 100 feet above the ground at 4 pm in Charlotte. The UFO, the size of a standard car was moving silently North to South in the direction of the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

In mid-March a large disc-shaped UFO (estimated to be 45 to 60 feet wide) the size of a small house at treetop level by a businessman (name confidential) at 2:30 am. The witness said the UFO was about 150 to 300 feet away and had a series of "lighter areas" (windows?) across its lower edge. Durham was the sighting location.

On February 20 at 9:13 am in Boone several witnesses reported a UFO to Watauga County Sheriff’s Department. No details have been released.

On February 16 at Dudley Jay Stallings encountered a UFO (larger than a standard car) while driving on the highway 117 By-Pass at 6:10 pm. The UFO looked like an Eastern Airline plane without its wings and had "a series of blinking lights" across the middle of its cigar-shape. For some time the UFO hovered above the Georgia Pacific Smokeworks.

On February 15 at 5:40 am a former U.S. Air Force pilot Art Canady reported seeing a "bright light, like that of a fluorescent bulb" hovering above Garland. Canady estimated that the UFO was hovering at a 1,500-foot altitude. Next the UFO moved upward 4,000 to 5,000 feet in a matter of seconds and on another occasion it flew parallel to NC highway 411. Canady last saw it at 6:43 am so the sighting duration was for an hour and three minutes. A large number of other eyewitnesses saw the object over the same time period. (Other eyewitness names on file).

Six of the twelve encounters occurred during the fourth quarter of the year. Eyewitnesses of UFOs, either old or new sightings are encouraged to report them to MUFON-NC, Inc. in care of George D. Fawcett III, 602 Battleground Road, Lincolnton, N.C. 28092. Reports will be kept confidential if so requested. Phone calls can be made to (704) 735-5725, but collect calls cannot be accepted.

*UFO Reports still average 150 per day world wide and North Carolina still ranks fourth in the United States.