Radar study supports witnesses in Stephenville
Posted 7-11-2008
By ANGELIA JOINER - Stephenville Lights Reporter
A radar study recently released supports eight witness reports of an unidentified object in Stephenville, Texas, and the surrounding area on January 8, 2008.
Robert Powell, MUFON national research director, and Glen Schulze, retired radar analyst, have labored hundreds of hours analyzing 2.8 million bits of Freedom of Information Act requested raw radar data from five FAA towers between the hours of 4 - 8 p.m. surrounding the Dublin/Stephenville, Texas area. Dozens of Erath County residents reported seeing an object or lights in the sky at separate locations and the story quickly made national and international news. The study may make even the most hardnosed skeptic scratch his head. The report is entitled, Stephenville Lights: A comprehensive radar and witness report, and can be fully downloaded at http://www.mufon.com/symposia.htm. And, the slap and tickle to the whole story? The unknown object was on a trajectory towards and 10 miles from President Bush's Crawford Ranch without a required beacon signal and, seemingly, without any military interest. About two weeks after the first story was publicized in the Stephenville local paper on January 10, Maj. Karl Lewis, spokesman for the Carswell Naval Air Base, said his unit had 10 F-16s in the skies above Erath County after first having said no jets from the base were in the area. Could this be because Lewis knew the information would come out after seeing freedom of information acts filed at his base? Powell and Schulze tracked those 10 jets without any trouble. Now, they are scratching their heads wondering how an object without a beacon could apparently fly into Crawford air space without raising military eyebrows. That is not the only thing that left the two report authors with unanswered questions. Four jets may have encroached on civilian air space after deviating from the Brownwood military operating area return path on return runs to the Carswell Naval Air Base. Additionally, two jets traveling to Carswell from an Oklahoma air base made a wide sweep around Comanche, Dublin and Stephenville before landing at the Fort Worth base. And, what the authors claim could only be an AWACS craft studied the area for the entire four hours in what Powell calls a "race track pattern" sweeping back and forth making 180 degree turns. To see more on this report watch Larry King Live tonight at 8 p.m. central where the authors will make guest appearances. ######
On January 8, 2008 in Stephenville, Texas, one of the larger UFO sightings in the United States occurred. A few days ago the UFO investigative organization Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) released a 77-page report on the sighting. MUFON is a UFO investigative organization in the United States. Founded in 1969, it now has 3,000 members and is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The MUFON report, entitled "Special Research Report Stephenville, Texas" was written by Glen Schulze and Ropert Powell. Shulze has radar experience from working at the White Sands Missile Range. Powell has a chemistry degree and has extensive experience with semiconductors from working for Advanced Micro Devices.

The report is an analysis of radar records from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Weather Service, obtained through several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and comparing them to witness accounts.

Shulze/Powell concluded that the radar data confirms the witness observations of an object, as well as the Air Force's statement that said ten aircraft were operating in the area. They say that it is too difficult to say what the witnesses saw, but that there was something there. Twice, they say, radar picked up an object travelling at nearly 2,000 mph, and at other times it showed a slow moving object.
George W. Bush and Germany's Angela Merkel in front of Prairie Chapel Ranch in November 2007.
Much media attention has been focused on the report's observation that radar records show one of two objects moving directly toward the Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford. This is the home of United States President George W. Bush, which has been nicknamed the Western White House. They did not draw any conclusion as to why such movement was observed.

The authors also concluded that military air activity was heavy at the time, but that the radar records show no overt action toward the unknown object. They express concern about the possibilty that this could have been a terrorist aircraft with no transponder.

Shulze/Powell stated that they felt that they had been stonewalled in some of their FOIA requests by some government agencies. They encouraged the government to more readily provide more information about the incident.

Location of Stephenville within Texas.
The Stephenville incident on January 8, saw dozens of witnesses reporting a large object in the evening sky that hovered above the community before it took off at high speed. Steve Allen, a pilot, observed the object from the ground and described it as being a half-mile with flashing strobe lights. He also said that it was pursued by two fighter jets, when it disappeared at a speed he estimated to be 3,000 mph.

"I don't know if it was a biblical experience or somebody from a different universe or whatever but it was definitely not from around these parts," Allen said. 

Another witness was local law enforcement officer Leroy Gateman  who reported it as a red glowing object suspended 3,000 feet in the air. "It was so fast I couldn't track it with my binoculars," said Gateman.

Rick Sorrells says he saw the object while deer hunting in the woods. "You look at the trees, and it was right here," he told ABC News. He estimated it to be the length of "three or four football fields," though he could not be entirely sure due to his vantage point.

Sorrells has later claimed that military helicopters have since overflown his property at low altitude and that he has been getting strange phone calls. He also claims that an unknown man came to his door, even once told him that,"Son we have the ''same'' caliber weapons you have, but we have more of them.", after Sorrells grabbed his rifle, and, "You need to shut your mouth about ''what'' you saw."

"I'm trying to decide whether or not to open the door," Sorrells said to the ''Empire-Tribune''. "We're just standing there face to face looking at each other. I'm thinking he's dressed for the elements and the dogs are raising such a ruckus he must know he's in danger of being caught. That's when I realized he wanted me to see him." The man then turned away and walked into the woods.

The United States Air Force initially said witnesses must have seen reflections coming from commercial airliners. However, they later clarified that ten F-16 Fighting Falcons had been on a night-time training mission in the area on January 8.

"In the interest of public awareness, Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs realized an error was made regarding the reported training activity of military aircraft," said the statement.

According to Air Force spokesperson Karl Lewis, the aircraft were from the 457th Fighter Squadron and the error in the initial report was due to an internal communications problem between offices at the base.