NUFORC Sighting 116411

Occurred: 2014-06-04 23:55 Local
Reported: 2015-01-01 16:08 Pacific
Duration: 10 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Millboro, VA, USA

Shape: Fireball
Characteristics: Emitted other objects, Aircraft nearby, Animals reacted

On June 4th, 2014, we saw a fireball at close range and were able to observe it for some minutes.

At approximately 11:55 pm on June 4th, 2014, I went outside for some air and was almost immediately stunned to see, at extremely close range (between 50 to not more than 65 yards away, and close to the ground approximately 12-15 ft.), a strange object. This object had a "roiling" surface, with the appearance of an orange fireball.

It was circular in shape, and looked as if molten metal was dripping off of its sides. This was quite dramatic, shocking to be candid. It was stationary, there was no noise whatsoever, the weather was calm, clear and warm, with no observable winds - and this object seemed to have a very deliberate purpose. Now, this is just a strong mental impression I had, that was formed immediately, on the spot, in my head; as it was such a strong impression, it struck me as odd, alarming, and frighteningly real. Frankly, I was too stunned to run inside to look for a camera, and stood outside staring at it for approximately 5 minutes, as I just could not believe my eyes yet at the same time I knew it was true - a very odd sensation. I had the strong impression that its purpose was quite deliberate, yet I have absolutely no idea what gave me that impression - the best I can describe is to say that it seemed to be very deliberate and bold in both its presence and appearance, above and beyon! d the shock value. Strange.

Once I was satisfied that I was NOT sleepwalking (something I have never done), not out of my mind or perhaps seeing things (so to speak), I ran inside to wake my wife to get her to see it as well. By this time it was right at midnight, almost exactly. Normally she awakes quickly, but this night it was very hard to rouse her, taking a good 2 minutes to get her to awake and finally stumble out of bed. I rushed her outside to show her what I was seeing, and we arrived in time to see it for perhaps 5 more seconds, and then it suddenly shrank in size very quickly & dramatically while at the same time appearing to travel directly away from us at an extremely rapid pace - literally disappearing from our sight almost instantly. It looked as if it disappeared into a slight cloud of smoke, though there was no real smoke present afterwards. Odd, I know, I just cannot explain it any better, and am trying to give all details, as each of these impressions were so strong.

Within roughly 15-20 minutes, 3 helicopters appeared along the mountain ridges where we live, and they maintained their presence non-stop over the next 3 days straight (though obviously in rotation for refueling, etc.) - since then, we see these choppers only from time to time, but in the same areas. That night of our sighting, all we could see were the nav lights of the choppers, but during the days these helicopters looked like black unmarked units. After the first night, there were never more than 2 helicopters in sight at any one time, and usually only one, though we could always hear at least one additional helicopter(s) over on the other side of the mountain ridge, which runs anywhere from less than one-half mile to perhaps 3/4 of a mile away from our house, and is easily visible in any weather.

Our background is I am in my 60's, my wife in her 50's, we are professional and educated people. I suppose for the sake of fairness I must also say that I have personally had a strong interest in UFO's for decades, and have spoken with many of the "names" in the "industry" - many of whom I consider to be either quacks or having a personal agenda, unfortunately.

For many years we (my wife and I, and on occasion also a long-term friend we have known for the better part of 30 years) have studied the skies at night, and particularly in our area, we see strange things in the skies almost nightly - but they are usually at significant distances and high elevations. However, I have studied this for enough years to have some ability to identify things like space debris, stars, rockets, "shooting stars", planets, and their various behaviors, etc. Some satellites and especially space debris (that loves to tumble and give the uninitiated incorrect impressions) can make you think you are seeing something else, so it takes a brutally honest mind, keen eyes, and long periods of time getting familiar with how to study and evaluate various objects in the night sky, especially before attempting to label something as potentially being "not from this Earth".

What we saw on the night of June 4th 2014 was not from this Earth, IMO. I am familiar with most types of aircraft, both military and civilian, here in the USA and across most of Europe, and this round fireball has no peer in my personal experience.

I have waited these past months looking for other similar reports from my area, and across the state, before finally deciding to report this experience tonight. I tried calling but because my home phone blocks outgoing Caller ID, your phone number will not take any such calls, completely negating the possibility of spoken communications. Rather disappointing after seeing you on TV a couple of years ago, the episode about you being a one-man operation, showing inside your office, showing you personally taking calls, etc. This I find to be a real issue, as I had wanted to speak in further detail about this, due to aspects I will not put in writing. Despite that, I sincerely thank you for your efforts, and want to wish you all the best with hopes that you will continue.

We seem to be in a decent sized "flap" over much of 2014 here in Virginia, judging by talking to others and the reports here.

Perhaps I will attempt to call you via y cell phone after the holidays so that we may have a conversation, if that is possible.

Meanwhile, my wife & I wish you a great New Year.

Posted 2015-01-07