Ultra-fast streaking soundless white light in the rural sky, car followed by dark shape in sky in same area.
In 1974, I was 20 years old, working as a correctional officer in Volusia County, Fl., outside of the county seat of Deland, at a correctional road camp/county road maintenance facility that was actually closer to Daisy Lake than DeLand. Myself and another county employee were standing outside having a smoke and talking, facing north, toward the Ocala National Forest just across the highway from the road camp grounds.
As we were standing there, we both noticed a brilliant white light appearing over the treeline to the north, possibly a quarter mile off. The light was streaking along almost due south in a perfectly straight line, emitting no sound at all, and trailing a perfectly formed 'tail' that faded out in a very even, regular manner perhaps 70 feet behind the head. It appeared to be no more than 200 feet up, yet it did not seem to illuminate the pine trees below it at first, then there were no trees for us to gauge by in the mid-part of the flight.
The visible portion of the sky, to us, was perhaps a mile and a quarter from the northern edge of the clearing we were in to the southern, and this object crossed that entire space in the space of 8 to 10 heartbeats, though we did not count it off while it happened. We arrived at that number after comparing notes immediately afterward, when we were trying to comprehend whatever it was we had seen. I do not know where that employee is, I actually only knew his first name, and that he was a heavy equipment operator for the County.
It should be noted that the Ocala Nat'l Forest starts just on the northern side of SR 44 and continues northward for about 50 miles, with an average width of 30 miles, and has no paved roads traversing it E to W for the first 25 miles. There are a number of fire roads through it, and they are used by people who have cabins on the Wekiva River.
Which leads me to the second half of this sighting. Fast forward to 1995, I have a lawn care business in the Orlando area, and one day I get to talking with a customer, an old school friend of my mother's, and I tell him about that night in late 1974 in rural Volusia County. I share this with him because he was one of the lease holders for a cabin in the National Forest down by the river, and we had gone up to it to clear brush away in preparation for fire season.
After hearing when my encounter had occured, he shared an encounter with me from about that same time, though I think his was in October of 1974. He and his family, wife and 3 kids, about 12 to 15 years old, were driving back up to the cabin over the rough dirt fire roads after having had dinner in DeLand that evening, when one of his kids almost screamed that there was something in the air over the car and behind a little way, keeping pace with them. All 3 kids saw it through the rear window, though he and his wife did not. He stated that it was with them for perhaps 30 seconds, and there was no mechanical failure or engine stalling during that time. I asked him specifically, as by this time I had read a good deal about UFO's and knew that was one of the things that oftentimes accompanies near sightings. I do know where this man is still, and can put you in touch with him if you like, but he's getting up in years now, nearing 80, I would guess.
What ties these two together is the year and time of year, and the fact that his cabin is only 1.5 miles away from my sighting as the crow flies, a little farther if you follow the river. Also, the Ocala Nat'l Forest plays a large, mute part in it, as I see it. The area covered by it is vast, varied in land type, and largely inaccessible to anything but the most hardcore campers or hikers. Look on Google Earth in Layers>Gallery>NASA>Earth City Lights and you'll see, the forest is a large black smear through the central part of the state for miles and miles, offering plenty of secrecy and out of the way spots to land a craft.
((NUFORC Note: Witness indicates that date is approximate. PD))
In 1974, I was 20 years old, working as a correctional officer in Volusia County, Fl., outside of the county seat of Deland, at a correctional road camp/county road maintenance facility that was actually closer to Daisy Lake than DeLand. Myself and another county employee were standing outside having a smoke and talking, facing north, toward the Ocala National Forest just across the highway from the road camp grounds.
As we were standing there, we both noticed a brilliant white light appearing over the treeline to the north, possibly a quarter mile off. The light was streaking along almost due south in a perfectly straight line, emitting no sound at all, and trailing a perfectly formed 'tail' that faded out in a very even, regular manner perhaps 70 feet behind the head. It appeared to be no more than 200 feet up, yet it did not seem to illuminate the pine trees below it at first, then there were no trees for us to gauge by in the mid-part of the flight.
The visible portion of the sky, to us, was perhaps a mile and a quarter from the northern edge of the clearing we were in to the southern, and this object crossed that entire space in the space of 8 to 10 heartbeats, though we did not count it off while it happened. We arrived at that number after comparing notes immediately afterward, when we were trying to comprehend whatever it was we had seen. I do not know where that employee is, I actually only knew his first name, and that he was a heavy equipment operator for the County.
It should be noted that the Ocala Nat'l Forest starts just on the northern side of SR 44 and continues northward for about 50 miles, with an average width of 30 miles, and has no paved roads traversing it E to W for the first 25 miles. There are a number of fire roads through it, and they are used by people who have cabins on the Wekiva River.
Which leads me to the second half of this sighting. Fast forward to 1995, I have a lawn care business in the Orlando area, and one day I get to talking with a customer, an old school friend of my mother's, and I tell him about that night in late 1974 in rural Volusia County. I share this with him because he was one of the lease holders for a cabin in the National Forest down by the river, and we had gone up to it to clear brush away in preparation for fire season.
After hearing when my encounter had occured, he shared an encounter with me from about that same time, though I think his was in October of 1974. He and his family, wife and 3 kids, about 12 to 15 years old, were driving back up to the cabin over the rough dirt fire roads after having had dinner in DeLand that evening, when one of his kids almost screamed that there was something in the air over the car and behind a little way, keeping pace with them. All 3 kids saw it through the rear window, though he and his wife did not. He stated that it was with them for perhaps 30 seconds, and there was no mechanical failure or engine stalling during that time. I asked him specifically, as by this time I had read a good deal about UFO's and knew that was one of the things that oftentimes accompanies near sightings. I do know where this man is still, and can put you in touch with him if you like, but he's getting up in years now, nearing 80, I would guess.
What ties these two together is the year and time of year, and the fact that his cabin is only 1.5 miles away from my sighting as the crow flies, a little farther if you follow the river. Also, the Ocala Nat'l Forest plays a large, mute part in it, as I see it. The area covered by it is vast, varied in land type, and largely inaccessible to anything but the most hardcore campers or hikers. Look on Google Earth in Layers>Gallery>NASA>Earth City Lights and you'll see, the forest is a large black smear through the central part of the state for miles and miles, offering plenty of secrecy and out of the way spots to land a craft.
((NUFORC Note: Witness indicates that date is approximate. PD))
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Off
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
DeLand
USA
8 to 10 seconds
8 to 10 seconds
29.04
-81.29
light
FL
Occurred : 11/15/1974 22:00 (Entered as : 11/15/74 22:00) Reported: 9/6/2009 3:16:11 PM 15:16 Posted: 12/12/2009 Location: DeLand, FL Shape: Light Duration: 8 to 10 seconds Characteristics: The object left a trail, There was an aura or haze around the object
Ultra-fast streaking soundless white light in the rural sky, car followed by dark shape in sky in same area.