SIGHTING: VAUGHN (HWY 285; SOUTH OF), NM

Witness Testimony

"12+ pulsing red lights, low on ground. Could be distant radio towers, but some things don't fit.On the night of February 18, 2008, my spouse and I were driving south on Highway 285 from IH-40. About half-way between Vaughn and Roswell, I saw a group of red lights on the horizon towards the east/southeast (driver’s side of the car). The lights were very low on the horizon--from my perspective they were at or near the ground. There were at least a dozen red lights spread out over several hundred yards (from my perspective) and pulsing/blinking on and off at the same rate and at the same time. They looked just like pulsing radio tower lights, except they were so low to the ground. The lights were not moving. The lights were somewhat dim (my husband couldn’t see them at all), and were not always visible since the terrain was slightly hilly. Eventually, as we continued south, the lights moved fully toward the east, then east/northeast, then out of sight. My first reaction was that it was a nearby airfield, but blinking red lights would not typically be used on a runway. Looking at area maps, there is very little in the area. We were already well south of Clovis/Cannon AFB, headed south, and the lights I saw were towards the east/southeast. Also, since the lights were generally towards the east, I don’t believe it was the Roswell airport either. Those lights didn’t come into view until much later, and were directly in front of us (due south). The most logical explanation is that this was a large group of radio or cellphone tower lights far in the distance -- perhaps as far as the NM/TX border -- that appeared from my perspective to be near the horizon. (We were using XM at the time, so I don’t know if there was an actual radio signal transmitting.) The only thing that doesn't fit this explanation is that most radio tower groups I've seen have lights pulsing at different times, and these lights all pulsed simultaneously. Primarily, I’m curious if anyone in the area has seen something similar, and/or if someone knows of a feature in the area that fits with what I saw."