NUFORC Sighting 90735

Occurred: 2002-07-15 10:00 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2012-07-10 02:15 Pacific
Duration: seconds
No of observers: 2

Location: Franklin County, MO, USA

Shape: Disk
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object

disc sighting, my odd reaction, visiting my father's grave

Primary Testimony I am a St. Louis-born professor who has lived in Japan since 1989. During my summer vacation in 2002, I was driving from my mother’s home in Washington, MO, along Interstate 44, towards St. Louis at around noon. My mother was in the front, passenger seat and my wife was in the back seat.

As I drove along Interstate 44 just past where it connects with Highway 100 from Washington, I spotted a hazy silver disk above a hill to the left before me. I was viewing it from quite a distance – perhaps a kilometer. But it had the classic form of a shiny, silver disc, although its appearance was somewhat HAZY, perhaps due to the humidity of that summer day.

My mind quickly went through the obvious list of possible explanations – aircraft, balloon, water tower … However it was apparent that what I was seeing was none of these. It was hovering just above the crest of a hill in an area that is (or at least was) undeveloped and possibly part of the Missouri State Park system.

My mother, sitting to the opposite side, was intently talking about something unrelated and did not see what I saw. I considered directing her attention to the UFO, but there didn’t seem to be a chance as our car had entered a part of the Interstate surrounded by rock on both sides where highway construction had blasted through a hill. The UFO had been visible to me for around 5 or 10 seconds.

From here begins the most surprising aspects of this story. In retrospect, I should have stopped the car, backing up along the shoulder if necessary, to continue to view the UFO. Even if that didn’t seem prudent, I should have exited the Interstate ahead and circled back to see this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

But my overwhelming feeling was not shock or curiosity but satisfaction – “Yep, it’s true. They exist. Now I know.” Also on my mind was a lunch date with my cousins, and the prospect of being late for that. But neither of these should have deterred me from returning to that site for further observation, or the chance to produce another witness. Especially because of the presence of my mother, we must have had a camera in the car, and possibly even a video camera.

Nowadays, I seriously wonder if somehow I had been made to feel ‘satisfied’ and disinclined to further observation. My actions were out of character, rather illogical, and highly regrettable.

Here is the second bizarre element. Years on, after listening to a particular Coast to Coast AM show that suggested a connection between UFOs and ghosts, it occurred to me that on the day of my UFO sighting, I was going to visit my father’s grave for the first time. I had been in Japan when he died and had not attended his funeral. It’s an odd juxtaposition of events. I tend to think this was not a coincidence.

On a final, puzzling note, my wife claims that she was in the back seat on that day and saw the UFO as well. And she certainly was there, considering when it happened. But for whatever reason, I don’t remember her being in the car and I especially don’t remember her having shared my sighting. Quite the opposite, my memory is that only I saw the UFO.

We experienced no loss of time. There have been no subsequent sightings.

Collaborating Testimony It was a nice summer day when I saw a UFO in Missouri. I was in the back of the car my husband was driving and my mother-in-law was sitting next to him.

I don't remember clearly but my husband and my mother in law started talking about a UFO floating in the sky. I had no interest in UFOs so I didn't give the conversation much attention but I saw a UFO floating in the blue sky. It was a tiny, shining thing and the movement was it went up and down a little. I also remember lots of green around us, so I think we were driving between woods.

Since UFOs are such a superstitious thing, my seeing it is hard for myself to believe. My husband strongly doubts that I saw it, too. Therefore, I started doubting my memory.

NUFORC Note:

Witness indicates that the date of the sighting is approximate. PD

Posted 2012-08-05