Background

The following report was submitted on August 10, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Glenn for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The witness submitted the following description:

“Bright light high in the dark sky turned in 6 lights and made a shape like a boomerang formation the slowly vanished.”

The Analysis

by Michael Glenn, TBV Investigations

After an initial contact, I was given a phone number to call the witness. After making contact, the witness hung up and would not answer. Details remain thin to try and solve this case.

There is an airfield, Lackland AFB, 8.5 miles to the southwest of the address from which the sighting was made. There is also a medical complex to the west, and a second airport, San Antonio International, 4.23 miles to the northeast. The lighting scheme described can very easily be attributed to the running lights of a mundane aircraft, in absence of any other information from the witness.

Conclusion

This case is near impossible to solve, since there is no evidence and no witness contact to ask follow up questions. It is archived here for reference, in hopes other witnesses’ may come forward.

The post UFO over San Antonio, Texas – August 8, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over San Antonio, Texas – August 8, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations. It was assigned to Monica Salazar for analysis and investigation.

Witness Testimony

The witness submitted the following testimony: 

“My friends and I were walking across campus to get food when one of my friends spotted a triangular object in the sky. I only saw the triangular object for about 15 seconds so I was not able to snap a picture, but I attached a sketch of what the object looked like. The triangle was black, with a white light on each end of the point. I was able to notice some faint lines on the object due to the brightness of the lights on it.” 

The Evidence

The witness submitted a drawing of his sighting:

The Analysis

by Monica Salazar, TBV Investigations

During this investigation is was a bit difficult to conclude, I was unable to communicate with the witness at all. After multiple attempts at email and phone I was advised to complete this case as is.

The witness was very good about describing what he saw that night, to the extent of even being able to drawing a picture of it.

The witness was also able to submit a report to NUFORC (National UFO Reporting Center) where he posted this:

“Triangle UFO seen above Rochester, NY.

On February 21st, 2018, at around 8:30pm-ish, my two friends and I witnessed a triangular shaped UFO near St. John Fisher College. The object was a large black triangle, with a bright light on each end of the object. The object also had grey lines on the bottom, which were visible as a result to the light. 

My friend pointed it out to us and thought it was a drone. The more we looked at the object, we realized that it was not a drone, it had to be something else. We were only able to look at the object for about 15 secs because it vanished out of no where”

As I was searching for further reports of this incident I was not able to find any, however since the duration of the object being seen was so short it could be it was just traveling too fast or it very well could have been a drone.

Conclusion

With limited communication with witness and only a drawing to go by this case is complicated to place. What does help is that the witness was able to place a report with NUFORC which shows in my opinion commitment to the sighting and genuine concern about what he witnessed that night.

For me the sighting of a triangular UFO is very common, it’s something that has always been seen since the Phoenix Lights (https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/the-phoenix-lights-incident-march-13th-1997/) or possibly even before that!

The truth is that reports of unexplained triangles in the sky are still happening all over the world and maybe you are reading this and thinking that what you saw maybe was real and unexplained, maybe there was something in the sky that night in Rochester, New York. I sure hope that this case helps others come forward with their sightings.

Ultimately I was not able to communicate with the witness to the extent I should in order to fully classify this as Unknown or a true UFO sighting. Thus this case will remain Unresolved for lack of evidence and lack of communication.

The post UFO over Rochester, New York – February 21, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Rochester, New York – February 21, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

This case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on August 3, 2018. It was assigned to investigator Paul Wright for analysis and investigation.

Witness Testimony

The witness submitted the following report:

“Went outside to leave for work and looked up and their it was.”

The Evidence

The witness submitted the following video with their short testimony above. It is offered here, unedited:

The Analysis

By Paul Wright, TBV Investigations

Using just the video evidence and no further contact with the witness since initial report submission, I will attempt to identify what the witnesses observed based on the following facts along with the witness statement.

The footage provided makes it difficult to ascertain direction, height, speed or reference for scale. 

My first approach was to scan the metadata contained within the video, all seems ok and intact.

The video shows a cluster of white and red lights with a flashing sequence. In my opinion they closely resemble aircraft lights and if you listen carefully you can hear some aircraft engine noise. The light formation and flashing sequence indicate landing / takeoff lights. 

See images below sourced from http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/electronics/q0263.shtml for the layout of lights on a commercial aircraft.

Example photograph of Boeing 737 showing common types of lights placed on aircraft sourced from http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/electronics/q0263.shtml

Google Maps was used to locate the witness sighting position, and to search the local area for airports.

Stellarium was used for the night sky date of 08/02/2018 5:00 AM to check for celestial objects. Direction of sighting unknown, therefore N,E,S,W images are included. See images below.

Weather for Springfield as 08/02/2018 5:00 AM – link here to Wunderground Belfontaine Weather Station
https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/oh/bellefontaine/KEDJ/date/2018-8-2

Flight Radar historical data could be used in this case, however the direction of the sighting is unknown.

Conclusion

Based on the witness description and video evidence, I am inclined to say this is likely an aircraft either in approach to land or climbing after takeoff from one of the airports around Springfield, Ohio. 

Additional Information

Meta Data

The post UFO over Springfield, Ohio – August 2, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Springfield, Ohio – August 2, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case file report was written by TBV Investigations’ researcher Jim Kerr.

On October 28^th, 2018, at approx 4:23 am, Esteban Zavala posted a live video to Instagram showing what he stated to be 5 UFO’s hovering over the city of Rosarito, Baja California. It was a foggy early morning in Rosarita with multiple illuminated objects that appeared to be hovering approx 100 ft above the ground. Later that day Zavala posted the same Instagram video titled, “UFO’s Hovering in Rosarito 2018”, to his YouTube channel named Esteban Zavala, (refer to the link below under credits). Within hours, Zavala’s video footage went viral worldwide across the internet, re-posted on UFO YouTube channels, UFO Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and more.

On November 6, 2018, John Greenewald, creator of “The Black Vault,” shared with his team of UFO Investigators an article titled, “One of the best UFO sightings filmed lately” which included Zavala’s video footage. We all viewed the video and came to the unanimous conclusion that what Zavala videoed were in fact street lights.

Even though the objects in Zavala’s video had already been solved and determined as street lights, we at TBV Investigations are publishing this information not only to educate the public but for necessary archival reference material.  Our report is important documentation regarding how easy one can mistake street lights in foggy weather conditions for Flying Saucers, especially newly designed and installed circular LED street lights.

The Evidence

Witness Zavala’s written statement from his YouTube Channel.

“Today October 28, 2018, I witness 5 UFOs hovering over Rosarito, Baja California MX. At around 4:23 am I was driving back to San Diego, California with my grandmother. We were having a normal conversation when she suddenly went mute and all she could do was point at the sky. I look up and see 5 of these things hovering over homes and the beach. I pulled over and immediately went live on Instagram to avoid speculations of video editing and such. Share your thoughts.”

Investigative journalist, Ales Backman, is credited for determining these alleged Flying Saucers were new circular LED street lights recently installed for illuminating a recently constructed highway interchange along highway 1D.

Backman drove to Rosarito and videoed the location of the lights.

Backman’s video posted to YouTube Channel  concienciaradio.

Below you will find screenshots from Backman’s video showing the circular LED street lights. Note the lens flare of the light fixture in the first photo.

Conclusion

After watching Zavala’s complete unedited video on his YouTube Channel, I truly believe he and his mother believed they witnessed multiple UFO’s over the town of Rosarito, Baja California. It is important to note that they were not traveling on the main highway 1D but a side road in foggy weather conditions. Had they been driving along highway 1D, I believe they would have seen that the lights were in fact highway lights.

I find it very sad that so many so-called UFO researchers and individuals on social media capitalized and exploited this video footage claiming the objects were real Flying Saucers. The aforementioned is a real problem in Ufology today and casts s a bad light on legitimate researchers. It is our goal at TBV Investigations to inform and educate the public and to reduce the exploitation of misidentified UFO sightings.

Credits / Special Thanks

Investigative journalist, Ales Backman. Thank you for taking the time to drive to Rosarito, video the sighting location and reveal the truth.

https://concienciaradio.com/

The post “Flying Saucers” Sighted and Videoed Over Rosarito, Baja California – October 28, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post “Flying Saucers” Sighted and Videoed Over Rosarito, Baja California – October 28, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

On October 26, 2018, this case was submitted to The Black Vault. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ research Jeremy Enfinger for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The witness/photographer submitted the following information:

I was picking my grandchildren up from elementary school when I noticed everybody looking up in the sky I too looked up there and saw what I saw on the photos. The sighting date listed above (in the initial report) is wrong it was in 2014 I believe it was April. I couldn’t change sighting date on your program.

The sighting was reported to have occurred near the intersection of Thornton Rd. and Estate Dr. in Stockton, California around (or near) April of 2014. Four photos were submitted of an anomaly in the sky witnessed by multiple people (appearing in some of the photos).

The Evidence

The Analysis

Metadata analysis indicates the images are the original files, and EXIF metadata was able to be extracted. The image was taken from a Samsung SGH-T599N (5 MP) at a resolution of 1920 x 2560 pixels, using automatic exposure control with ISO 50, an exposure time of 1/2915 sec and an F-stop of 2.7. With the jpeg quality being 97%, there is no indication that the image file has been compressed. The flash was not utilized.

The time stamp on the metadata indicates it was taken May 9, 2014 at 14:14 hours. Due to initial research, no photo manipulation techniques were employed.

Initial impressions indicated the photo was not manipulated, and no evidence of motion was present when comparing images. There were, however, subtle changes in appearance around the periphery of the anomaly which caused me to consider some sort of meteorological or atmospheric disturbance.

After retrieving the metadata, multiple Google searches for “UFO Stockton, California, 2014” and “Clouds in Stockton, California, 2014” for the months of April and May of that year yielded several results. Image results were found that matched the appearance in these images and multiple news article links varied in headlines from May 9 to include “UFO sightings” to descriptions of cloud formations that can cause this kind of appearance.

Conclusion

After consulting the numerous articles citing this phenomenon, it can be summarized as a “Hole Punch Cloud”, which appears as a large, circular gap that usually appears in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds. Also called a “fallstreak hole”, it can happen when moisture in a cloud is at a temperature that’s below freezing, but the moisture itself is isn’t actually frozen. According to the Huffington Post, these formations can also be caused by aircraft passing through certain types of clouds.

References

Here was a FOX 40 submitted photograph from the same timeframe:

The Huffington Post also ran a story about it:

Also CBS Sacramento was another resource that covered it:

YouTube user MrPhath posted a video of it as well:

Original Metadata Information

Each photo was submitted to Fotoforensics, but for the purpose of this report, I will only include the link to one as the JPEG quality and metadata are corroborated in comparison.

Photo #1 Metadata (from FotoForensics): http://fotoforensics.com/analysis.php?id=d6040af2eb054b5764d749de34163b5000b459b0.1704869

JPEG last saved at 97% quality (estimated).

Quality determined from the quantization tables that encoded the JPEG:

JPEG Q0: Luminance

JPEG Q1: Chrominance

The post UFO Photographed in the Clouds over Stockton, California first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Photographed in the Clouds over Stockton, California appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations. It originally came into the hotline, and was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Richard Kidd for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The following was submitted by the witness:

“My neighbor Joe and I were enjoying several beers on my porch located in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. Shortly after midnight, we observed approx 6-7 LARGE Bright Orange Lights hovering in various formations over the homes across the street. These extremely bright objects seemed to appear and then slowly dim and disappear at will, and at certain times I personally could still see the objects themselves moving across the sky despite the lights being shut off.”

The Evidence

The Analysis

After contacting the witness regarding his sighting, the witness was reluctant to provide additional information other than that he had the video and the still photographs. I requested a detailed accounting of what he witnessed but, his account hasn’t as of yet arrived. I have contacted the witness 3 times since our first discussion and, the witness has not been forthcoming with any other information nor did he submit the video. 

An attempt was made to enhance the photograph above, but no additional details that were helpful could be determined.

Conclusion

I am recommending that this case be closed due to lack of evidence other that the photos that the witness has provided. 

The post UFOs over Carbondale, Pennsylvania – July 7, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFOs over Carbondale, Pennsylvania – July 7, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on May 19, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Glenn for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The witness submitted the following report:

“At approximately 19:30 on May 17, 2018 I saw something extremely bright horizontal to the setting sun. I’ve seen sundogs before and have many photographs of them. This was no sundog. It hung in the air. It was huge. It had a shape. I ran inside and grabbed my phone and snapped a few shots. I also manipulated a couple of them and brought out what looks like a glowing cigar shape object of some kind. I took a few close ups and a couple of wide angles. I have to say I was amazed. I also caught a secondary object that looks geometrical with antennae protruding from the corners when you zoom in on one of the frames. Look at the photographs and you tell me what that is in the sky. Feel free to download and examine them for yourselves.”

The Evidence

The witness also submitted many photographs of the event in question. This took place over Jacksonville, NC. 

The Analysis

The image was examined using several filters, settings, and adjustments in Photoshop. The object appears to be part of the sky, and has its own brightness, equal to the sunlight. To the left of the large shape is a small, geometric object hanging in the sky. The pixelated nature of the image makes it impossible to tell for sure what we are looking at. The witness stated that the object was not noticed until examining the images later. The witness further states that the cloud shape hung there as the ones around it moved, dissipated. Some swirling can be seen in the image, but again, not definitive shapes. The event lasted ten minutes.

Image Analysis

Conclusion

It is impossible to draw a conclusion for the geometric shape hanging in the air to the left of the elliptical shape as the image is not clear enough. The elliptical shape could be described on first look as a Fallstreak hole (hole punch cloud), but the cloud type is not right for this phenomenon since Fallstreak holes occur in cirro and alto cumulus clouds. A search of images on Google turned up this example of a similar sky effect. This cloud feature is the only conclusion that can be drawn at this time as there is no discernible anomaly in the image.

The post UFO over Jacksonville, North Carolina – May 17, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Jacksonville, North Carolina – May 17, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

This case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on 06/11/2018 4:26 am. It was assigned to investigator Paul Wright for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The following was submitted by the witness:

“On the night of May 30th, 2018, I was driving home from the gym with my wife and we saw a bright light in the sky that initially we thought was the moon. It was really far away and very high in the sky. We then saw the object coming closer at a fast rate of speed and was rapidly descending. It was big and definitely was not a plane. The size, speed, and flight path of the object also made it highly unlikely to be a drone. It was big and was really fast. We then realized it was not the moon. It had three very bright flashing lights. my wife got out her phone and tried to record it. As she started to record, it disappeared and went dark. A few seconds later it reappeared and that is where our video picks up. It changed flight patterns a few times and then sped off behind us and out of sight. There was a car behind us, so I was unable to turn around and follow it. The lights were very bright and it seemed to hover a few times before it sped off. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.”

The Evidence

The following video was submitted by the witness for analysis:

The Analysis

By Paul Wright, TBV Investigations

I will attempt to identify what the witnesses observed based on the following facts along with witness statements. (including video) I created a visual representation based on the witness’ testimony.

Note: *Witness has not responded to emails to clarify any details or errors etc with the image*

Based on the video evidence it is difficult to make a clear assesment on what the lights are. 

My first approach was to scan the metadata contained within the video which contradicts the date and time of the sighting.  Perhaps the cell phone was incorrectly setup or time zone related, but it is something that needs to be pointed out.

1) The footage provided makes it difficult to ascertain direction, height, speed or reference for scale.

2) I researched the local area around route 355 and discovered a number of gyms as the witness mentioned they were returning from one (but which one?) I have indicated on the map route 355 which the witnessed traveled along but its unknown at which position along route 355 the witness was.

3) I researched the local area around route 355 and discovered a number of airports and have indicated on the map route 355 in relation to surrounding airports.

4) The 3 lights visible in the video appear to resemble taxi or landing lights possibly from Boeing 7777 or aircraft that have that particular configuration. Original image sourced from metabunk.org on this similar topic of light clusters.

Researching Stellarium for known celestial objects on 30-05-2018 @ 22:00 revealed multiple celestial objects in the sky, however it would be difficult to speculate what was visible by eye at that time due to the weather and other atmospheric conditions during the sighting.

Weather for sighting 30/05/2018 at 22:00

Source: https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/md/gaithersburg/KGAI/date/2018-5-30

Conclusion

Based on the witness description (as of this report 28/08/2018) and video, without further sufficient evidence or details prior to the video I am unable to make a solid conclusion, but believe this is most likely a commercial aircraft on approach or take off from nearby airports.  

Flight Radar historical data could be used to research flights along route 355, but without the location of the witness during the sighting no further progress can be made.

The post UFO over Clarksburg, Maryland – May 30, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Clarksburg, Maryland – May 30, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on 06/11/2018 at 9:32 pm. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Jim Kerr for investigation and analysis.

Witness Testimony

The witness submitted the following testimony, which is unedited and appears how it was submitted:

“I became interested in orbs after one showed up in a picture I took of my daughter on her 5th birthday. I began taking video at night (after kids in bed ) in our woods & saw a lot of activity. One night I was drawn to the river, so I sat down, began a video & saw this small light about 20 ft in front of me above the water.. as I went to stand up and began walking, it was suddenly right in front of me! It was tiny & the only way I can describe it, is ‘other dimensional’ it was almost like you couldn’t quite focus in on it & it was amazing. It was very playful, almost felt familiar? I was able to record it so I know i’m not crazy! I saw the same thing on several occasions. Probably 3-4xs each year for 2 years. Always in the late summer & fall I believe. I’ll attach a few videos. You can see it change colors & I put my hand around it to make sure it isn’t a cobweb reflecting the light from the camera. Whatever it was, it was definitelt INTELLIGENT as it was trying to communicate / interact with me in a playful manner. I came across Damien’s story on Australian Lights & thought ‘finally – this is pretty similar to what I’ve seen’… only his ars in the clouds and not so close like mine. I’ve never met or discovered anyone that had had this same experience & have been seeking information for a very long time now. Damien suggested I connect you all for an opinion, so here I am. i’m hopeful for some answers or at least some input from a professional. I greatly appreciate it. Thank you & many blessings, Jen”

The Evidence

The video below is also posted on the witnesses YouTube channel titled, “Friendly orb/ energy encounter.”

Note. The video below that was submitted to TBV is a edited version of the original video posted to the witnesses YouTube channel. The footage is cropped and enlarged and missing key information that led to my conclusions. The correct title to this video according to the witnesses YouTube channel is, “Friendly orb visiting I can actually SEE with my eyes.” 

The Analysis by Jim Kerr, TBV Investigations

I have a background in amateur astronomy, using a number of different types of telescopes and astronomical cameras. Since 1965 I have have had a passion for film photography, 8mm and 16mm motion picture film continuing to present day with professional DSLR cameras, lenses, and camcorders both consumer and pro engineering. I am experienced with lighting and the causes of lens flares that occur with different focal length and types of lenses. 

Since 2011 I have had an interest in the paranormal relating to orb sightings. In 2015, I assisted a MUFON investigator in New Jersey on several orb related cases he was working on. I provided him photos relating to strange blue orbs that had dots inside the orb. In reality the blue orbs were lens flares common to certain brands of cell phone cameras. 

While I have not spoken directly to the witness due to missed telephone calls and no response to questions from my last email, there is enough data in the witness videos and photos to resolve this case. 

The witness lives in the town of Alto, Michigan. Alto is an unincorporated community in Bowne Township, Kent County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The terrain has forest areas, (wooded areas), sparsely located within the borders of Alto. The elevation is approx 1,072 feet above sea level. From any location within Alto it would be a short walk to any wooded area.

Source: https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/mi/grand-rapids/KGRR/date/2017-11-15

Celestial Objects Rendering a Significant Light Source

Searching Stallerium, (a planetarium software that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars), I was able to go back in the archives to view the night sky over Alto, MI on 11/15/2017 @ 1:00 am. There were no extremely bright celestial objects in the sky. The moon was a waning crescent that rose in the sky at 5:29 am and set at 5:18 pm.

Analysis of Video Footage

I downloaded both videos to my Sony Vegas video editing software for a detailed analysis of the footage. I was able to view sections of the video frame by frame, adjust lighting and contrast to bring out details in an effort to reveal the possible origin of the orbs.

In the video titled “Friendly Orb”, it is obvious in my analyzed video that the orb in reality is a reflective object attached to a spider web, a balled up clump of spider web or light reflection off the web itself. Other webs are also observed in the footage. The video was filmed in or near a wooded area with vegetation and home to spiders. The object was being illuminated by the video recording device light or flashlight. Reflective areas on a web is a common mistake made by individuals hunting for orbs. As the camera moves it will cause the reflective area to move as well making it appear as though there is a object / orb moving or floating in thin air. With the naked eye one may or may not see anything attached to the web.

The second video sent to TBV Investigations designated, (received_10155980884127518), is a edited shortened version of a video posted on the witnesses YouTube channel titled, (Friendly orb visiting I can actually SEE with my eyes). In my investigation I visited the witnesses YouTube channel to make sure TBV Investigations was receiving the complete unedited video of these events. With the video we received, important footage was missing that led me to identifying the source of this alleged orb. With out any doubt, in reality, the orb is a lens flare caused by a outdoor floodlight mounted on the eve of the building or house to the left of the video recording device. This can clearly be seen at time stamp 1:32 in the video posted to the witnesses YouTube channel. I downloaded the full video but there is no reason to analyze the footage in Sony Vegas. Also the YouTube download has tracking information on the screen for copyright purposes. Additionally, there is no way the witness could have seen this lens flare with the naked eye.

Video still removed from witnesses YouTube unedited video titled, “Friendly orb visiting I can actually SEE with my eyes.”

Conclusion

My intention in this investigation is not to upset the witness or anyone who hunts for orbs. I believe the witness is sincere and not attempting any deception. My conclusions are based on the video evidence along with years of experience operating cameras in various lighting conditions. Also observing lens flares and anomalies in my own videos, photographs and other peoples work. My hope is for those who view this investigation take the time to educate themselves on camera operation, what causes lens flares and other anomalies and the effects of lighting in a given situation. There is much information on this topic available on the internet.

In the first video the alleged orb is either a reflective object stuck on a spider web, a balled up clump of spider web or a reflection off the web itself caused by the light from the witnesses video recording device. The spider web can clearly be seen in my video analysis and the witnesses original footage. The second video the witness provided TBV Investigations is a edited version of her video, cropped and shortened in length. Upon further investigation I found the complete unedited version of the video on her YouTube channel. This unedited video showed the light source that caused the lens flare in both versions of the videos. It was the light source, (floodlight) that caused the lens flare.

Additionally, the witness reported the date of these sightings as 11/15/2017 1:00 am however, both her videos on her YouTube channel are dated 12/09/2016 and 10/19/2017 respectively. This fact would make the weather conditions in this investigation void. This fact does not affect the analysis or conclusions of this investigation as the video evidence speaks for itself. 

Based on the video evidence this investigation is solved.

The post Witness Describes “Friendly Orb” in Alto, Michigan first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post Witness Describes “Friendly Orb” in Alto, Michigan appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on May 8, 2018, the day of the sighting. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Jim Kerr for investigation and analysis.

Witness Testimony

“3 flying objects flying closely in a row from the southeast to the northwest at approximately 10:20pm. They all were a dull orange colored light making no noise at all and flying slowly. There were no flashing lights such as on a jet. They went directly over our home. About 30 to 40 seconds after passing overhead the first one started to flicker then disappeared. The same for the second one then the third one. The sky was clear as we can see all the stars in all directions. I did call my wife outside after the first one passed overhead so she wouldn’t think I was crazy. Hoping somebody else saw the same thing. Then the light flickered on the first and disappeared. The same for the second and then the same for the third. I called my wife outside so she could see them and wouldn’t think I’m crazy.”

The Analysis

by Jim Kerr, TBV Investigations

I have made numerous attempts to contact witness Rich and received no response. With that said, along with the lack of video or photo evidence, I will attempt to provide my opinion of what the witnesses observed.

The witness lives in Palos Heights, IL which is a suburb of Chicago in Cook County. According to data compiled in Cheryl Costa’s book, (UFO Sightings Desk Reference, USA 2001-2015), Cook County reported 1,431 UFO sightings, (2001-2015), which are the highest in the state.

The witness stated he observed three dull orange colored lights flying in a row from S/E to N/W. He heard no sound from the slow-moving objects as they traveled directly overhead. Approx 30 to 40 seconds after passing overhead, the first one started to flicker then disappeared. Then the second one, then the third one flicker then disappeared.

I researched the date and time for meteor or fireball activity and found none. Based on the witness statement of the objects speed, meteors or fireballs can be ruled out. There are numerous airports in the surrounding area, however, the witness description is inconsistent with aircraft lighting. The witness stated the object was traveling S/E to N/W and according to wunderground the wind was traveling in the same direction. I can only speculate, but Chinese Lanterns could account for the lights the witness observed along with the lights flickering then extinguishing. The orange glow, flickering and lights or flame burning out at different intervals are consistent with Chinese Lanterns.

Weather Report for 05/08/2018 10:30 PM

The weather on the date and time of the sighting; 69 degrees, wind 7 mph SE, humidity 40%, zero precipitation, visibility 10 miles, and the skies were cloudy.

Local Airports

Palos Heights is surrounded by at least 21 airports.

Possible Explanations

Conclusion

Based on the fact I was unable to interview the witness along with no video or photograph evidence case number 148816 is determined inconclusive due to lack of evidence. 

The post UFO over Palos Heights, Illinois – May 8, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Palos Heights, Illinois – May 8, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on July 31, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Glenn for analysis.

Witness Testimony

“This was caught traveling on Highway 349 in Midland going 60mph on the way to our friends house. I held my phone out the passenger side window and recorded the dark sky out to the right of me. The end of this video I have no explanation for. I was of course attempting to catch one, whether they allowed me to in this video seems quite likely to me. The triangle has an arm attached that does a wave and then a circular craft follows it. I almost deleted this video- good thing I did not. This is not photoshopped at all. I have several other videos and photos as well that I would like to report and discuss. They have been sent into MUFON but something strange occurred and I was switched to a new investigator who does not believe me and does not want to help me. Please let me know if you can discuss this with me and my other photos or where I could contact someone that can. Taken on an iPhone X.”

The Evidence

The following video was submitted to TBV Investigations for analysis.  This version has been unedited.

The Analysis

by Michael Glenn, TBV Investigations

The initial step was to add a brightness/contrast F/X to the video. The image was brightened, with the contrast staying about equal in value. Then, to confirm the findings a shadows/highlights, F/X was applied. These settings were adjusted in various ways, and the image became discernible. 

The filtered video is below. 

This is one of the easier videos to unravel because it IS so dark. There is data in every image, even if you can’t see it on the monitor or the screen. The method employed here was to simply import the video into Adobe Premiere and run some filters and adjustments.

Still image of the “UFO” is below showing that the object is inside the car, not outside the window:

Conclusion

The anomaly turns out to be the motion of the videographer moving their iPhone X from the window to their lap. The “triangle” turns out to be the negative space between the two fronts seats of a moving vehicle, with the front wind shield creating a triangular lighting effect. Objects can be seen out the wind shield as well, confirming the angle of view.

The post UFO over Midland, Texas, Caught on Camera While Driving – July 15, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Midland, Texas, Caught on Camera While Driving – July 15, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault’s UFO reporting hotline. It was assigned to TBV Investigator Monica Salazar for investigation and analysis.

The Analysis

by Monica Salazar, TBV Investigations

When I spoke to the witness on the phone she seemed completely baffled by what she had witnessed that night. To this day she still cannot believe it. The witness states that she saw a formation of lights in the sky that seemed to connect one giant object. In her own words, she described it as, “bigger than a few football fields.”

All in a straight formation headed out into the beach. She states that the lights lit up one by one in a very symmetrical way with the perfect distance between each other traveling at a low speed. Once the 5^th light lit up in view they all zoomed out at a drastic speed.

The witness was unable to capture any video or photographic evidence however she does state that her sister in law was there with her and she saw the incident as well, however was not able to capture any sort of photo or video evidence either.

During this UFO sighting, the Myrtle Beach Event Roundup, held from, July 7-18, 2018, took place. However, looking at the calendar of events, there does not appear to be any connection, at least none listed on the events page.

A month prior to this case, the U.S Army Golden Knights Parachute team parachuted down Myrtle Beach with Flares. If someone didn’t know about this event they could have easily been mistaken as UFOs since the parachute team was performing with flares that looked like orbs floating in the sky zooming in and out of each other. A video is below, though there does not appear to be any connection to this by the date. 

Source: https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article212426054.html

The witness describes the orbs in a completely different way, though. Still as an investigator I wanted to add the Army light performance, to show how it could easily be mistaken.

Conclusion

I was able to communicate with the witness via phone and I can definitely tell she was so astonished by what she saw that she still can’t believe it. She did state that she is the “biggest skeptic in the world” and this incident has shed new light in her views on the subject of supernatural anomalies.

Of course it is difficult to have a good analysis without the proper evidence, and in this case without any sort of solid evidence it is challenging to decide whether or not this was an actual unidentified object or a case of mistaken identity with a plane or a natural “trick of the light.”

The one thing that for sure cannot be misread is the fact that the witness seemed completely thrown aback by the incident. In her own words she “had never seen something so massive.”

A witness testimony and, more often than not, emotion always play a part when trying to decide the fate of a case.

Since this case was lacking photographic and/or video evidence, and since the U.S. Army Knights Parachute Team was in the area just a month prior, I would classify as Unresolved/ Inconclusive due to lack of evidence.

The post UFOs over North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – July 9th, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFOs over North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – July 9th, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on March 17, 2018, the day of the sighting.  It was assigned to Michael Kelly for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The following testimony was submitted by the witness:

“At 0559 3/17/18 I witnessed a large object shaped similar to the space shuttle but much larger enter the atmosphere. At first I thought I was looking at a falling star. I watched and waited for it to disappear but instead it turned bright orange and grew larger and brighter. I started to see a trail of orange sparks behind it. I lost it when it went behind a house. it was still night it was going towards the coast. it lasted 20/30 seconds i was alone, on my morning walk no photos, i didn’t have time to get my phone out I don’t know what this was. I just don’t think it was a plane because I couldn’t find anything about a plane crash on the news.”

The Analysis

by Michael Kelly, TBV Investigations

The description of the object getting larger and brighter as well as shooting off sparks is consistent with an object entering the atmosphere from space. The most likely scenario of an object entering the atmosphere would be a meteor, but other possibilities are satellites or similar artificial objects.

One likely possibility is a piece of the Chinese Tiangong-1 Space Station which crashed to Earth a few weeks after the witness made the sighting. This object broke into pieces and orbited the Earth a few times before crashing down on March 28th in the Pacific Ocean.

It is possible a piece of the space station entered the atmosphere before that date.

Below is a video of the space station as it enters the atmosphere, for reference:

Additional Information:  https://www.space.com/40101-china-space-station-tiangong-1-crashes.html 

As early as January of 2018 USA Today reported that the space station and its debris would likely fall to earth beginning in March, most likely between 43 degrees North and 43 degrees South latitudes. Bakersfield, CA lies at 35.3733° N latitude, so it is not inconceivable that some of the debris from this space station could have been visible from Bakersfield.

Conclusion

Without more information, this object is difficult to identify exactly, but it is almost certainly a meteor or man-made satellite of some kind. It was undoubtedly an object entering Earth’s atmosphere from space, so the possibilities for what the object could be have to exclude anything incapable of being in space like an airplane or hot air balloon.

My best guess is that the object witnessed by the observer was a piece of the Tiangong-1 Space Station.

The post UFO seen over Bakersfield, California – March 17, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO seen over Bakersfield, California – March 17, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on May 3, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Monica Salazar for Analysis.

Witness Testimony

The following was submitted by the witness:

“I woke at 1:25 am, this was several months ago, maybe now a year or more. When I woke I first looked at the clock because I hate waking up in the middle of the night on a weeknight when I work. Then I caught through a crack in my blinds a very bright light of which I thought was the moon. So I peeked through the blinds and the moon was super bright! Though I was mostly asleep I was compelled to get up and get my phone out of my purse and open my blinds in the middle of the night, which I would usually never do because of the fear of someone there looking in. Where I live it is pitch black on my street with no street lights. But I still got the phone and opened the blinds to take a picture of the moon.

From the time I spotted the “moon” and then turned and walked about three steps and then back, I was surprised to see how much it had moved in the sky, and though I was still half asleep my mind did pick up on that it was moving out of the sky extremely quick. I was able to shoot two pictures before it disappeared behind trees and the horizon. I then went back to bed, though my dog was sitting at my side looking towards my bedroom door shaking. It was odd and noticed. The next day I went to check out the pictures I had taken. In the first, it was an expected picture of what I thought was the moon, blurry from taking it with my phone. The second picture, however, was something else, something I can’t explain. It is the same thing, what I thought was the moon, but clearly, it is not. Has anyone seen anything like this before? The shapes are very interesting. This is posted on my Onstellar page as a post with both pictures.”

The Evidence

Additional Photographs of the Scene

The Analysis

By Monica Salazar, TBV Investigations

I emailed the witness a few times, she was very responsive, and she was able to provide additional pictures as requested. However, after several unanswered subsequent emails, I did attempt to phone the witness with no further contact.

My analysis is as follows to the best of my ability with the information given.

As the witness stated, she was woken up in the middle of the night to glowing lights outside her window. The witness also stated that it was odd for her to wake up at such a strange hour of the night. When analyzing the images provided by the witness you can clearly see a glowing white object. The images are a big grainy so it is hard to tell. The witness did state that she was zoomed in all the way 10x as her phone allowed her to.

One observation, is a similarity between the “striations” on the second photograph submitted, which coincide with the slats of the drop down blinds, and the vertical ‘string’ in the design of the blinds.   Here is a comparison image illustrating what may account for the pattern:

Also when speaking to the witness she stated the object was traveling at a slow speed headed west from what she believes is the south side.

In the images, you can see the object almost split, perhaps not all the way but you can clearly see a divisional pattern. At first glance, I believed this to be the mosquito net that most homes come with in every window. However, I did ask the witness to provide me with some daytime photos of the same window from the outside and the inside. From the images on the outside, you can see that there is nothing that would obstruct the camera in such a way that would create what was in the original images. In addition, the image from the inside it seems that the window this witness took the image from does not have mosquito net. At least not that I can tell from the images.

Meta Data

The data for the images are as follows:

• Resolution Unit: Inches
• File Size: 326409 bytes
• File DateTime: 08-Jul-2018 10:45:54
• Flash Used: No Flash
• Make: Apple
• Model: iPhone 5s
• xResolution: 72.00 (72/1) Inches
• yResolution: 72.00 (72/1) Inches
• Software: 8.4.1
• File Modified Date: 2015:08:25 01:34:29
• YCbCr Positioning: 1
• Exposure Time: 0.067 s (1/15) (1/15)
• F Number: f/2.2
• Exposure: program (auto)
• Iso Equiv: 2000
• Exif Version: 0221
• DateTime: 2015:08:25 01:34:29
• DateTime Digitized: 2015:08:25 01:34:29
• Component Config: Does Not Exists
• Aperture: 2.2000000587378
• brightness: 12030714.58 (4294965104/357)
• Exposure Bias: 0.00 (0/1)
• Metering Mode: Spot
• Focal Length: 4.15 (83/20)
• Maker Note: NOT IMPLEMENTED
• subSectionTimeOriginal: 278
• subSectionTimeDigtized: 278
• Flashpix Version: 0100
• Color Space: sRGB
• Width: 3264
• Height: 2448
• sensing: One-chip color area sensor
• Scene Type:
• Exposure Mode: Auto Exposure
• White Balance: 0
• Zoom Ratio: 5.00 (1224/245)
• Flength 35mm: 145
• Screen Capture Type: Standard
• Compress Scheme: JPEG compression (thumbnails only)
• Thumbnail: Yes
• Thumbnail Size: 6180 bytes
• IsColor: 1
• Process: 192
• Resolution: 3264×2448
• orientation: rotate 90
• Color: Color
• Jpeg Process: Baseline

Conclusion

The witness, to the extent of my communication with her, was very credible and cooperative; she seemed to be genuinely interested in what she had captured. She even submitted the images to Onstellar in hopes of getting a clear answer as to what she had captures.

I will not deny the images are great and intriguing yet, they are very grainy and blurry it is truly hard to tell. I will not dismiss the idea of the object she captured to be from out of this world but without further tangible evidence, I would have to classify it as: Undetermined due to insufficient evidence. 

The post UFO over Lithia Springs, Georgia – August 25, 2015 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Lithia Springs, Georgia – August 25, 2015 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted by Geoffrey Heyman on January 26, 2018, the day of his sighting. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Monica Salazar for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The following was submitted by Mr. Heyman about his sighting:

“3 orb like lights seem like they were in a bubble Separating and seemed like they were going in an out of each other. No sound just brilliant light illumination. This was at 5:38 am on January 26th 2018 in the skies over Manchester, Maryland.”

The Analysis

by Monica Salazar, TBV Investigations

I emailed the witness a few times, however I seldom received a response. I was finally able to speak to the witness via phone call. He was able to describe to me a little better what he saw that night and of course his idea of what it could have been. 

Geoffrey Heyman recalls seeing lights in the sky traveling about southeast to southwest at a relatively slow speed, and about 300ft to 400ft low to the ground, he describes it as “a plane about to land” kind of height and speed. Mr. Heyman also mentioned that an ex colleague of his saw a similar object from his home hovering just above a valley. 

Mr. Heyman describes the object as three orbs moving in and out of each other, he states he has never seen anything like this before. He remembers the objects having an orange and yellow sort of glow, however he remembers it was day break so the way he describes the objects as “almost transparent but you could see the outline, as if they were taking the color of the sky as the sun was coming up like camouflage”

There is no actual physical evidence for this sighting however Mr. Heyman did state he rushed inside his home to grab his phone and possibly take a picture of the object however when he returned the glowing lights were gone. 

Conclusion

I found the witness to be a very credible witness with knowledge of typical and familiar commercial aircraft. I am positive you could tell if the object could have been a plane or not. Objects like these have been seen in the areas of Maryland quite often. I was able to visit the “National UFO Reporting Center State Report Index for MD” http://www.nuforc.org/webreports/ndxlMD.html 

In this site there have been several similar “Lights” reported in the area. In fact just a day prior to Mr. Haymans report, just one hour southwest in Frederick MD there was a very similar report of “… a bright orange light reflecting off the windows.”

Now I can’t really say this was definitely a UFO however with other people in the general area reporting the same mysterious lights hovering it makes you wonder if in fact there is something of interest in Maryland. 

For the sake of this report and because of lack of physical evidence I would conclude this as undetermined due to lack of sufficient evidence.

The post UFO Over Manchester, Maryland – January 26, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Over Manchester, Maryland – January 26, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on March 24, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations researcher Jim Kerr for investigation. 

Witness Testimony

The following was submitted to TBV Investigations in the initial report:

“I observed a randomly flashing light that moved from the north in a southerly direction at various speeds, but generally slow. It appeared to almost hover at times and would also appear make slight changes in direction. The light light would flash with a bright silver slow pulse which was then followed by a quick much dimmer blink. Both were very random. It was visible for approximately 20 minutes and appeared change its general direction and moved in a more eastern direction and lights slowly became dimmer before disappearing. I also observed a similar object at approximately the same time the previous night at my residence and it appeared to behave nearly the same.”

The Investigation

by Jim Kerr, TBV Investigations

On 03-29-2018 I interviewed witness Jimmy Fugitt and he related his observations of what he referred to as a strange craft flying in erratic directions with random flashing lights. The object appeared to almost hover at times and would also appear make slight changes in direction. He also stated he observed the same object the night before at the same approx time. His description of the object did not differ from his original written statement submitted to The Black Vault.

This was a nighttime sighting which occurred on 03/23/2018 11:30 PM, not a daytime sighting as the original date and time indicates. He further stated he did not believe this object to be an alien craft but possibly an advanced military craft. 

There are three airports within 20 miles of Greenup , KY. The weather was clear with good visibility with temperatures from 24 to 53 degrees. 

1. Ashland-Boyd County Airport 

Location: Ashland, KY
Greenup County 4.23 miles

2. Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field 

Location: Huntington, WV
Wayne County 19.82 miles

On 03/23/2018 11:30 PM witness Jimmy Fugitt observed what he believed to be a strange craft flying in erratic directions with random flashing lights. The object appeared to almost hover at times and would also appear make slight changes in direction.

As an amateur astronomer I spend many nights observing the sky. In addition to celestial objects, I have observed countless aircraft, their flight patterns and marker lights. I also have tracked and observed satellites, the ISS and meteor showers . At night the human eye can play tricks with ones observations and perceptions. Aircraft marker lights can appear to flash in random pattern, dance around in erratic directions and even appear to hover. It is not uncommon to mistake a conventional aircraft classifying it as an unidentified flying object. 

Conclusion

Based on the witness description and my own observations, I believe the witness observed an aircraft in flight. However this case lacks sufficient evidence to make a solid conclusion.

The post UFO over Greenup, Kentucky – March 23, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Greenup, Kentucky – March 23, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to TBV Investigations on March 16, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations researcher Jim Kerr for investigation. 

Witness Testimony

The following was submitted to TBV Investigations in the initial report:

“My husband Lance and I both saw the UFO at the same time. It was at dusk around 6:05 PM but still light, and the sky was blue. We were standing on our back deck looking at birds on our lake. We had our binoculars in hand. I saw this bright shiny thing in the sky. At first we thought it was a plane, then we realized it wasn’t. It was round like a moon hovering in the sky and very bright, like a mirror reflecting light. As we watched it, it divided in half, a vertical line that divided the circle in half. You could see the sky between the two halves. The halves stayed side by side and continued to hover for about a minute or two. Then it just vanished. About 10 seconds later it reappeared still divided but this time it was moving southward, then it vanished again. It’s hard to say how far away it was, but you could see it well with the naked eye and even better with the binoculars. It would have been hard to get a good picture of it without zoom lenses.”

Witness Interview

By Jim Kerr, TBV Investigations

On 03-27-2018 at 1:10 pm PST I conducted a telephone interview with witnesses Tina and Lance. A little over a month has passed since their sighting and their description of the incident closely matches their original written statement submitted to TBV investigations. Both witnesses seemed credible, sincere and neither formed an opinion as to what this object was.

On 02-23-2018 at approx 6:00 pm, witnesses Tina and Lance related to me they were standing on the rear deck of their house which overlooks a small lake behind their property. The sky was clear with no cloud cover, the sun had set but was still light with good visibility. It is common practice for witnesses to bird watch from their deck using binoculars. Both witnesses observed a round illuminated stationary object in the western sky at approx 30 degrees above the western horizon. This initial sighting lasted for approx two minutes. Both witnesses stated the object first appeared to be the light from an aircraft but then determined the object was stationary and was not a aircraft. The object was brightly illuminated with a mirror like appearance. Witness Tina related, with her naked eye, the object was the size of a 50 cent piece held at arms length. Witness Lance related, with his naked eye, the object was the size of a dime held at arms length. During this first observation, approx one minute into the sighting, the object split vertically into two equal half’s, slightly separated, and blue sky could be seen behind the vertical split. Viewing the object through binoculars both witnesses related the edge around both split half’s of the object was blurry and not sharply defined. After viewing the object for approx two minutes it began to move slowly in a southerly direction for a short distance while maintaining the same altitude then suddenly vanished. The object did not travel out of sight but vanished from view. 

Approx 30 seconds after the initial sighting, both witnesses related the object reappeared southwest of it’s original location at approx 30 degrees above the horizon. The object was moving very slowly in a southerly direction for approx 30 seconds then suddenly vanished.

The Analysis

By Jim Kerr, TBV Investigations

With the lack of video or photo evidence, I will attempt to identify what the witnesses observed based on the following facts along with witness statements. 

Sunset in Asheboro North Carolina 02-23-2018 at 6:08 pm indicating it was still daylight. Link, https://www.sunrisesunset.com/calendar.asp?back=USANC&comb_city_info=Asheboro,+North+Carolina;79.8117;35.7198;-5;1&month=2&year=2018&time_type=0&wsom=0

Checking the website “Weather Underground” weather for this date and location at 5:55 pm, the temperature was 70 degrees , dew point 59 degrees, average humidity 68%, precipitation 0.00, wind speed 0 mph and visibility 10 miles with scattered cloud cover. Based on this weather report the witnesses had a relativity clear but very lightly obstructed view of the sky due to scattered clouds. Evaluating witness statements, I don’t believe the scattered clouds hindered their observations of the object. 

Researching Stellarium for know celestial objects on 02-23-2018 @ 6:00 pm, the planet Venus was visible at approx 30 degrees above the western horizon. Venus would have appeared bright in the sky, approx 2 millimeters in size at arms length but not the size of a 50 cent piece or dime as described by the witnesses. Additionally, Venus’s only movement would be setting in the west same as the sun. Based on witness statements Venus can be ruled out as the object they observed. 

Airports near Asheboro, NC. Based on the number of airports located near the witnesses location they most likely have observable air traffic. Even at sunset aircraft landing lights can still be quite bright and at times appear stationary in the sky for several seconds, especially if the aircraft is traveling directly toward the observer. Many aircraft have dual landing lights. When approaching closer to an observer, dual landing lights could account for an object appearing to dividing vertically in two as both landing lights come into view. Turning off landing lights could account for an object appear to vanish. Could the witnesses have seen the landing lights of an approaching aircraft then 30 seconds later seen a second approaching aircraft? Based on the witness statements they are positive the object was not an aircraft. However, if the object was in fact aircraft landing lights pointed in their direction and the aircraft turned in a southerly direction, this could explain this sighting.

Again, with no video or photo evidence I can only theorize to the identity of the object. 

69 miles: Raleigh, NC (RDU / KRDU) Raleigh-Durham International Airport
38 miles: Greensboro, NC (GSO / KGSO) Piedmont Triad International Airport
6 miles: Asheboro, NC (KHBI / HBI) Asheboro Regional Airport 

Conclusion

According to the witnesses this was a strange unexplained sighting and unfortunately no video or photo evidence was captured. With the lack of physical evidence I could only theorize as to the identity of this object.

Case is unidentified, but lacks sufficient evidence to make a conclusion.

The post UFO over Asheboro, North Carolina – February 23, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Asheboro, North Carolina – February 23, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to TBV Investigations on April 15, 2018, just three days after the sighting. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Glenn for investigation.

Witness Testimony

The witness only submitted the following description in their report:

“White orb flying around then disappears”

The Evidence

The Analysis

The video was run through Adobe Premiere, wherein I checked for verification of a solid, real object in inverted mode, and with levels and contrast adjustments.

The object can be seen coming across the sky, touching the edge of the Flying J sign, and then reappearing moments later on the other side.

The witness was contacted, but no further reply was received. There is a regional airport in the exact direction of the sighting, however, no flight records could be cross reference at the time of this report.  The map of this location, with the approximate witness location, is marked:

I matched the Google Street View location, where the witness was approximately standing:

The same directional orientation is maintained with the following image, displaying the location of the nearby airport. Although the object does not appear from be going to the airport, it could be an indicator of the source of where this craft came from, or will eventually end up. 

It is also possible that the object is a satellite, however, an EXACT match was not possible to match up, since the witness supplied very little information. 

The object goes in and out of focus several times, and seems to disappear at the end of the video after going well out of focus by the camera.  

One concern is that the object seems to disappear all at once, rather than by degrees, before it goes behind the gas station sign.  This could be due to a frame rate issue of the cell phone camera or compression artifact when the video was exported, and the frames indicating the gradual disappearance behind the sign were dropped, therefore displaying as an immediate disappearance rather than a gradual one. 

Conclusion

The sighting is most likely air traffic, with the aircraft going out of focus or behind clouds at the end of the video. Without more testimony from the eyewitness the case must remain unknown. The aircraft shows no other signs of aberrant behavior while it is observed.

The post UFO over Cotulla, Texas – April 12, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Cotulla, Texas – April 12, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on March 13, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Glenn for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The following was submitted by the witness. The description was very minimal. It is here unedited:

“This thing or object makes a U-Turn in the Sky, then descents thru the clouds!”

The Evidence

The Analysis

by Michael Glenn, TBV Investigations

A video was submitted showing several objects swirling around an exterior security camera.

The witness stated in their original submission, “This thing or object makes a U-Turn in the Sky, then descents thru the clouds!”

This can be inferred from the video, but is more speculation than what the video shows. The object appears to rise, than come back down. Not enough contrast in the video makes it impossible to discern the nature of the object. The witness was contacted and asked for additional footage of the same camera views during daylight to determine what structures are in that direction.

To date, there has been no response or communication from the witness, and the object remains unidentified, but lacks sufficient evidence or any follow up from the witness.

Conclusion

As seen in the video, the object is little more than a white dot that rises, and makes a turn in the sky.

In still 6 the object seems to appear again at the bottom of the frame, at the very end of the video.

The quality of the video has been enhanced as much as possible, but the terrain, the object, and the sky cannot be discerned definitively. At this time the object is not identifiable, but likely not anything out of the ordinary, until further evidence (or testimony) is presented.

The post UFO Caught Doing U-Turn over Buffalo, New York – September 13, 2017 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Caught Doing U-Turn over Buffalo, New York – September 13, 2017 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

On June 3, 2018, a post appeared on Facebook that went viral. It was posted by Ashley Choney, the earliest post I could find when this case file was written, and it shows a photograph of a “UFO” or saucer-like craft on the back of a semi, followed by “20 police cars” as indicated by the witness.

The case was investigated by the creator of The Black Vault, John Greenewald, Jr.

Witness Testimony

The original Facebook posting, as published on June 3, 2018:

The Evidence

The only evidence was the photo updated. Here is the highest resolution available:

The Analysis

by John Greenewald, Jr., Founder of The Black Vault / Creator of TBV Investigations

There was something eerily familiar when I saw this photograph making it’s rounds. When I am writing this report, the post has had just about 20,000 shares, more than 7,000 likes and more than 3,000 comments. I recalled seeing a post nearly identical to this a few years back, and dug up a December 2011 video from YouTuber Alex Dieguez in the the same exact location as this new posting — specifically, Ponca City, Oklahoma.

In 2011, when this story and video first circulated, it too went viral. With thousands of shares and likes, it was unknown what was seen that day, but it sparked various news stories and newspaper articles.  That is, until Brooks McKinney, senior manager of public relations at Northrop Grumman, closed the mystery. He told Life’s Little Mysteries, a project by the popular LiveScience.com website, that the craft was a transport of the X-47B. According to Northrop Grumman:

“The X-47B is a tailless, strike fighter-sized unmanned aircraft developed by Northrop Grumman as part of the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) Carrier Demonstration program. Under a contract awarded in 2007, the company designed, produced and is currently flight testing two X-47B aircraft. In 2013, these aircraft were used to demonstrate the first ever carrier-based launches and recoveries by an autonomous, low-observable relevant unmanned aircraft. In April of 2015, the X-47B once again made aviation history by successfully conducting the first ever Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) of an unmanned aircraft. AAR unlocks the full potential of what an unmanned surveillance, strike and reconnaissance system can do in support of the Navy. These historical demonstrations solidify the concept of future unmanned aircraft and proved that the X-47B can perform standard missions like aerial refueling and operate seamlessly with manned aircraft as part of the Carrier Air Wing.”

The source of this, was published on December 20, 2011, on the LiveScience.com website.

With the 2011 mystery solved, now we have the post again, or a similar one, in 2018.

What is interesting to note, is the fact that the truck transporting the craft, is nearly identical (or IS identical) in both make, model and color as the 2011 video.

I put a side by side comparison:

It is likely, that this is the X-47  being transported again by the same transport company using a nearly identical vehicle. Oddly, it is seen and photographed in the same exact city of Ponca City, Oklahoma.  Northrop does have facilities in Oklahoma City and an address in Ponca City, so the locale in relation to the “sighting” makes sense.

It should also be noted, that on June 3, 2018, the same day as the original post of this “saucer” craft, the following was posted by Trevor Macy, a reporter with KWCH Channel 12 in Witchita, Kansas:

Just spotted this South of Ark City. Any ideas what it is? pic.twitter.com/pH99h6q7tv

— Trevor Macy (@KWCHTrevor) June 3, 2018

Hard to tell if it is the same craft/truck, but again, you have a near identical make, model and color of the transport vehicle.

Others have also referenced an “orb” in the photograph. I believe this can also be explained fairly easily. Here is a screen shot of the orb, along with what should also be noted — power lines.

To the left of the photograph, you will see the “orb” referenced by many others posting and re-posting this photograph. This is touted as further proof this is some kind of alien spacecraft, as it has its own buddy following along.

However, I also pointed out power poles in the photograph. I believe by these, we can safely assume there are power lines running from pole to pole, and going off camera frame.  This ‘sphere’ is not a craft, but rather, is a visibility marker ball. These are often put on power lines to indicate to passing aircraft and helicopters, where the danger is if you fly too low. They mark the power lines not easily visible when flying an aircraft.

Here is a clear photograph of these markers:

Conclusion

Based on the evidence, this is likely simply a transport of the X-47B (or similar shaped craft) as talked about in 2011 by Northrop Grumman’s Public Relations Senior Manager.

This is aside from the fact that if it was anything involving a massive amount of secrecy, like an alien craft or back engineered technology, it would not be transported in the open on public highways in it’s actual form — but rather, it would be disguised, transported under the cover of darkness, or even transported in an open vehicle at all.

The “orb” that is often also cited as being in the photograph, is likely a visibility marking ball.

The post UFO Type Craft Seen Hauled on Large Semi Truck in Ponca City, Oklahoma first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Type Craft Seen Hauled on Large Semi Truck in Ponca City, Oklahoma appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on April 22^nd, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Monica Salazar. 

Witness Testimony

The witness submitted the following, short, description of their sighting and video: 

“Distant object, slow moving until the tail end of the video. Started out very bright then became dim as if moving directly away from me.”

The Evidence

The following video was submitted by the witness:

The Analysis

By Monica Salazar, TBV Investigations

I was able to communicate with the witness via email multiple times she was very cooperative when requesting additional info. 

This video was filmed using a cell phone with MP4 1080p capabilities with an average Bitrate of 13.1Mbps and as per the witness; it is at “max zoom” at x10. 

The video was analyzed frame by frame and at slower speeds through windows video editor and Android video shop; however, the video is pretty shaky and grainy making it challenging to examine. 

There were no audible sounds apart from the witness speaking and after speaking with the witness, she did add that the object appeared to be traveling upwards.

In one of the frames about 00:01 sec in to the video, you can see the object the clearest seems like circular shape almost doughnut like. Here is a screen shot:

Conclusion

After carefully examining the video and speaking to the witness, I would conclude there is simply not enough tangible evidence to deem this case solved.

The video is not very stable and since it is zoomed all the way, it is a bit difficult to determine what the object really is. Close by to where this video was taken there is a NASA Airport test facility, and even though there were no test flights at the time of the video (that I could find) it could very well be a NASA drone. 

In brief, I determine this to be “Unidentified, Insufficient Evidence” as there is simply not enough evidence plus the fact that the NASA test facility is close by makes it difficult to determine if it indeed is something unidentified. Overall, despite the video being difficult to analyze, the case is quite compelling and definitely worthy of a conversation.

It will remain archived here in hopes another witness may come forward.

The post UFO over NASA Crows Landing, California – April 21, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over NASA Crows Landing, California – April 21, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on March 13, 2018. It was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Glenn for analysis.

Witness Testimony

“I thought this was a plane but it appears to hit something in the air and kept on flying as if nothing happen!”

The Evidence

The Analysis

Video was run through Adobe Premiere to enlarge the object, and run filters.

Adjusted with INVERT and noticed a shadowy shape in front of and behind the object at 0:16:20 and :21, Object appears solid.

Adjusted with AUTO CONTRAST, adjusting the levels to Black Clip, 10%, and White clip .99%.

Found a lip, such as a roof soffit or gutter in the foreground which the unknown passes IN FRONT OF.

See Still 007 and 009.

There are also artifacts at 0.:17:14 when the object is supposed to “disappear.”

Conclusion

Preliminary conclusion is that this is a water droplet, or snowflake, as it does appear to be snowing, which is passing over the lens of the camera.

The artifact is likely where the droplet crosses across oil or dirt on the lens.

Another indicator it is likely water is the shape changing of the blob frame by frame. The most likely conclusion is that the object is moisture on the lens of the camera.

The post UFO Caught on Camera over Buffalo, New York – December 31, 2017 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Caught on Camera over Buffalo, New York – December 31, 2017 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigation on January 25, 2018, the day after the sighting occurred. The case was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Andrew McLimans for analysis. 

Witness Testimony

“I was on my way to work, I was traveling east on rt 5 just entering Scotia, I saw at least 3 red lights atop one another in the sky, i thought maybe a satellite, but i thought it was too close, I pulled over to try to get it on my cell phone, because it was moving away and dark my phone didn’t really capture the image. I got back in my car and about 20 seconds further down the road I saw something light up in the sky. It looked like a big scoreboard all lit up and moving towards me. I pulled over and started to get a video. The size was big and lights all over, the shape was something I’ve never seen before. It glided right past me!!!! No noise from the craft at all. The design of it has me at a loss for words and I’m anxious to know what the hell was it! No military or airplane that is for sure! I reviewed my video and I believe because of the lights it doesn’t show what I exactly saw but I do have video. I’m trying to draw what I saw. I really need to speak to someone who can help me get a grip on this and go further into detail about this ship that I saw. I know it was below radar because it was that close! When I watch the video I hear strange sounds that I don’t know what made them. The only sound made was a few cars passing by and at time of sighting i did not hear anything at all.”

The Evidence

The Analysis

by Michael Andrew McLimans, TBV Investigations

I spoke with the witness multiple times via phone, text, and email. I’ve analyzed the video at slower speeds and frame by frame. There are 4 objects visible in the video. The moon, an aircraft identifiable by its flashing/blinking navigation/collision lights, a tree in the right side of the video, and what I suspect to be lights from a home, or building in the distance of bottom of video.

This was later confirmed after receiving a daytime photo of the sighting location. The noise in the video not audible to the witness while shooting is most likely interference from the high voltage power lines seen in the daytime photo producing EMFs, Electro-magnetic frequencies.

The object in her sketch doesn’t resemble anything I’m familiar with, nor any typically reported object I’m aware of.

Conclusion

I found the witness to be a very credible witness with knowledge of typical civilian and military aircraft.  When only taking the video into consideration, it is very likely the object is an aircraft, or a drone, as the blinking lights, and the colors of them (seemingly alternating white and red) are indicative of an aircraft or drone.  However, her testimony and firsthand account of the object’s description, coupled with her knowledge about civilian and military aircraft, adds a different element to the case. 

Although her video does not contain evidence of the object she describes or sketches, I believe that she saw something she couldn’t identify.

Therefore, I feel I will label this case unexplained, with the caveat that it does lack sufficient evidence (a stabilized video with more detail) to properly identify the object, or to confirm it is truly an “unknown.” 

The witness stated additional, uncompressed videos, are being sent. To date, they have not been received.

The post UFO over Scotia, New York – January 24, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Scotia, New York – January 24, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

On March 22^nd, 2018 around 10:30 PM in Tully, NY an object was witnessed in the sky above the cemetery next to Doody’s Garage.  It was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations the same evening by the witness.

The case was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Kelly. 

Witness Testimony

“I was driving down the street, I was heading in to work, as I was driving I saw a white light go across the windshield in the sky, and did an “S” maneuver, then disappeared. It’s currently winter in Tully, it was not a plane or a helicopter, and it was not a firework or a flare. I pulled over and scanned the sky but saw nothing other than stars. We were probably about 1/4 mile from the light, we had our windows up so we didn’t hear anything and we saw no structure behind the light. The light was circular, no change other than when it disappeared, my buddy who was driving with me saw it too. There was no one else around, and I’ve never heard of stories or rumors of the area.”

The Analysis

by Michael Kelly, TBV Investigations

This object displayed unusual flight patterns, doing an “S” maneuver and disappearing, which suggests that it was not a normal aircraft. The witness did not think it was a plane or helicopter, so based on his own observation this would be classified as unidentified.

It is possible that the object was further away than originally thought, and if that were the case, this may have been a traditional aircraft of some kind. There are three airports within 10 miles of Tully, so the pedestrian explanation for this observation is that this object was merely a craft operating out of one of these airports.

It should also be noted that there is a Hang Gliding Launch less than 5 miles from Tully.

Conclusion

There is not enough data to make a definitive conclusion about this case. The fact that the observer did not think this object was identifiable should be taken seriously. If one were to lean toward a skeptical explanation, the most likely account is that the observer witnessed a hang glider. This would account for the lack of sound, the bizarre “S” shaped maneuver (caused by high winds?), and the unusual lighting.

We document this case here for cross-referencing purposes.

The post UFO over Tully, New York – March 22, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Tully, New York – March 22, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Witness Testimony

Investigator Richard Kidd spoke to Lucy again on April 24, 2018, and she provided him with some additional information regarding some research she has been doing on her own. She stated that she hasn’t been able to find any other sightings in the San Leandro area that pertain to her and her son’s original sighting that she reported to The Black Vault. She did however, find sightings around the area that were more recent. 

Conclusion

Through my conversations with Lucy on the telephone, she is a highly educated and honest witness. I believe that she had indeed witnessed what she reported to The Black Vault. However, other than verifying that where her sighting occurred is an ongoing reporting area, her sighting could not be verified by additional witnesses or by other individual reports.

For this reason, Lucy case should be listed and “Unidentified – Lacks Sufficient Evidence” 

The post UFO over San Leandro, California – 2001 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over San Leandro, California – 2001 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.