UFO group probes light mystery in Erath, Comanche

10:17 PM CDT on Monday, October 27, 2008

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA-TV

Also Online

REPORT: Stephenville residents report more UFO sightings

ERATH COUNTY - An investigator with the Mutual UFO Network has travelled to Erath County to talk to dozens of people who all reported seeing unusual lights in the sky last week.

Similar reports were made in January that led to international attention to Stephenville, which was previously best known for cowboys and dairy farms.

On video, a Dublin High School senior captured 30 seconds of the lights that were spotted by people across Erath and Comanche counties Thursday night.

U.S. Air Force officials at the joint reserve base in Fort Worth said seven F-16s were training in the area at about the same time the lights were spotted. Still, there are those who say that doesn't appear to be the answer.

"These don't look like conventional flying lights of any kind," said Jay Miller, an aviation photographer who has snapped hundreds of aircrafts from various angles all over the world.

Taking a look at the video, Miller said he doesn't believe the lights are that of an F-16.

"I'm not saying this isn't an airplane, but the arrangement [and] color, what have you, isn't what I would consider normal for a fixed-wing plane," he said.

Some witnesses also reported seeing flares.

"I'm very familiar with flares and they would react much differently than this," he said.

Andy Monrreal, who shot the video, said he saw the F-16s, but said that was after he already saw the mystery lights three times. Monrreal said he could also make out a disc-like shape, which some other witnesses also described.

Around the time of the previous sightings in January, the Mutual UFO Network sent a team of investigators to Erath County. In this case, the organization has only sent one investigator.

Although Miller said he is puzzled by the lights, he said they did leave him with one overriding impression.

"They don't look extraterrestrial to me," he said. "They look very much manmade."

E-mail jdouglas@wfaa.com