UFO Newsclipping Service - 1973 12 - no 56

Magazine Overview

This document appears to be a collection of newspaper clippings and articles from various local publications in late 1973, primarily focusing on UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) sightings across different regions of the United States and some international locations.

DeKalb and Ogle Counties, Illinois UFO Incident

The lead article, "Police play UFO tag through two counties" by Craig Wyatt, details a series of UFO sightings over DeKalb and Ogle Counties, Illinois, on a Saturday morning in November 1973. Personnel from six Northern Illinois law enforcement agencies reported seeing a round, amber-colored light in the sky between 4:20 and 5:10 a.m. NIU security police officers John O'Donnel and John Hunter were the first to spot the object, described as oval-shaped and amber or orange. They initially thought it might be Venus but were convinced it was not a planet. Other police units contacted were skeptical at first but later confirmed seeing the object move up and down and back and forth.

The same object, or a similar one, was spotted again by DeKalb County sheriff units near the Ogle-DeKalb County line at 4:55 a.m. Ogle County Deputy Sheriff Jess Suter followed the object along Illinois 64. Suter reported that the object appeared to be moving away at his speed, then stopped, hovered, and suddenly shrank from the size of a softball to a golfball. He also recalled a similar sighting with his son in 1968.

At 5:14 a.m., the UFO reappeared over Mount Morris, described by Forreston Policeman Robert Bunnell as a basketball, flat on the bottom, and red or amber-like. Bunnell observed it hovering, then dropping rapidly from high in the sky to about three feet off the ground before rising again. Ogle County Sheriff's Sgt. Richard Wilkinson followed the object and described it as an amber-colored ball moving away at his own speed, calling it "the weirdest thing I ever saw."

Polo police officer Robert Hoak saw the object project an orange flow in a beam toward the ground and move west with occasional stops, seemingly following railroad tracks. Mount Morris police and Carroll County Sheriff's deputies also reported seeing the object.

Police in Grinnell, Iowa, reported a similar object on Friday evening, which changed color and moved erratically.

Officials at the Greater Rockford Airport control tower, Chicago Air Traffic Control Center, and Yerkes Observatory reported seeing nothing unusual. However, the police officers in Ogle, DeKalb, and Carroll Counties, and Polo, Mount Morris, and Forreston, were certain of what they had seen. Ogle County Sheriff Jerry Brooks described the object as "an amber glowing object in the sky, with a tendency to move rapidly, then hover."

Other Sightings and Reports

Rockford, IL Register-Star (Nov 4, 1973): Wayne McIntyre and his wife reported seeing a strange object near Grecian's Store. They described it as a bright light that grew dimmer and brighter, moving in an up-and-down and side-to-side fashion, changing colors from amber to purple. They heard no sound.

Oxford, MI Leader (Nov 1, 1973): Jan Fleischmann and her 7-year-old daughter, Kelly, claimed to have seen two flying saucers over their home on a Wednesday evening. They described a large, saucer-shaped object hovering over a neighbor's apple tree, about 70 feet off the ground. A smaller, similar object joined it, and both moved northwest. They noted the objects were noiseless.

Norristown, PA Times Herald (Nov 7, 1973): Lawrence and Sheila Mazzoli of Bryn Athyn reported seeing an unidentified flying object crossing a cow pasture. They described a cone-shaped object with a revolving red light on top, a stationary red light on the bottom, and triangular-shaped, lighted windows on the side.

Indio, CA Daily News (Nov 8, 1973): A 19-year-old man drove 100 miles to report that a UFO had chased him down the freeway. Sheriff's deputies suggested it might have been Pacific Southwest Airways night pilot training. Patrick Archer also reported seeing a circular object with red and green flashing lights and a bubble top hovering near Blythe Airport before chasing him down the freeway.

Manchester, NH Union-Leader (Nov 5, 1973): A young woman reported seeing a UFO in a paddock near Ashcott Rd in Central Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. She described a circular object with windows and blue lights, parked near a hay barn, with a pulsating dome on top. Her friend later found four pad marks where the ground was scorched.

Whitehorse Star, Yukon (Oct 24, 1973): A young man reported discovering a large burnt-out circle in a meadow near Long Lake, which he assumed was a "space ship landing centre." He described the smell of gas and sizzled grass.

Melbourne, Vic. "AGE" (Nov 1, 1973): About six unidentified flying objects with long, comet-like colored tails were reported from Mildura to Mooroolbark. Two domestic airline pilots and police witnessed the objects, which were visible for about 60 seconds.

Hastings, New Zealand Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune (Oct 30, 1973): Dozens of people in Victoria, Australia, reported seeing UFOs flying in formation. Pilots described the objects as travelling "very high and very fast" in a north-west to south-east direction.

Adelaide Morning Daily, The Advertiser (Nov 3, 1973): Mr. and Mrs. G. R. Godden and others reported seeing a bright cigar-shaped object over the Murray Mallee region. Other families reported seeing about a dozen bright saucer-shaped lights flying in formation.

St. Thomas Times-Journal, Ontario (Nov 3, 1973): A Port Stanley man reported being followed by an oval-shaped object with blue, red, and orange lights. He described a humming noise and the craft hovering about 60 feet off the ground before shooting straight up.

Morgantown, WV Dominion Post (Nov 1, 1973): Two unidentified flying object stories were reported. Tower controllers saw a bright white light bobbing beneath the overcast. A second report involved a controller communicating with the Cleveland FAA center about an object tracked on radar moving at 85 mph at 5,000-8,000 feet.

Allentown, PA Call-Chronicle (Nov 4, 1973): Officer Larry Minutolo and three Call-Chronicle reporters spotted a "bright, shiny object" in the Upper Saucon Township area that seemed to disintegrate. It was described as larger than any star.

Ashland, OH Star Beacon (Nov 5, 1973): Mrs. Linda Estok watched a UFO over her house for over 45 minutes. She described orange discs with red, amber, and green blinking lights that hovered and then shot off rapidly.

Kentwood, LA (Nov 1, 1973): Katie Blades reported a "huge plastic balloon" filled with gas, painted orange, and carrying a suspended flashlight, landed in her yard. She speculated it was a prank.

Sampson County, NC Daily Record (Nov 9, 1973): Mrs. Ila Britt Hobbs reported seeing a large, bright object hovering over treetops. She described red beams of light at one end and noted it moved away quickly.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes throughout these reports are the visual descriptions of the objects (shape, color, lights), their unusual movements (hovering, rapid acceleration, erratic patterns), and the lack of sound. Many reports involve multiple witnesses, including law enforcement officers, adding a degree of credibility. There is a clear indication of increased UFO activity and reporting in late 1973, with some publications dedicating significant space to these events. The overall stance of the articles is to report the accounts as given by witnesses, often including skeptical viewpoints or alternative explanations (like military aircraft or weather balloons), but generally presenting the sightings as noteworthy phenomena.