SIGHTING: VAIL, CO
Witness Testimony
" Bright object seen over Vail for 90 minutesI work as a security officer at the medical facility in town and on Monday morning, 9/15, at about 0645 AM I was patrolling outside the facility and looked up at a clear blue sky to see the moon off to the south. I was surprised to see a very bright object below and to the right of the moon, more towards the SSW. I watched it for several minutes and it appeared completely stationary. While it did not appear to be a bright star or planet I went back inside and checked the 'Heaven's Above' site and there was nothing seen near the moon. I went back outside and watched the object again, and over a dozen or more employees and visitors saw the object too. During this time the object, which had appeared to be stationary, began to move very slowly to the east. It was still in the sky around 0810 when I went out with two employees to see if we could still see it, which we could, though it was now in the southeast and still visible despite the sun being up. I took 8 photos with my I-phone and when enlarged on my computer do not show any detail. The consensus of the people who saw the object was that it was a high altitude balloon.I thought it might be a large balloon, and if so would likely be known to the FAA and tracked by their radar. I called the Eagle County airport and was told that they knew nothing about large balloons in the area, and suggested I call the FAA. Eventually I talked with a supervisor in the FAA Denver office who said they had no information on any large balloons over Vail at the time. They suggested I contact your site.There I read about the sightings that occurred around Albuquerque/Santa Fe area on the 13th, and thought it might be the same thing. I also read the article on the X-Calibur balloon which was interesting and if the balloon operates at 120,000 feet then it would not be a worry for the FAA. It would be nice to know more about this balloon and if it had been launched as planned, and where it traveled to so far. Also knowing wind directions over this time. Fort Sumner is about 140 miles southeast of Albuquerque and the winds often come out of the southwest this time of the year, but then there might not be wind at 120,000 feet.I am a MUFON field investigator, currently inactive, who have had numerous sightings out here, so when I saw this object I thought it might be a UFO. Eagle County is a very active area and was among the top 100 counties in the U.S. in reported UFO sightings, I think about 95th on the list. As a MUFON investigator I have done about three dozen investigations in the area, and also have talked with dozens of people who have had good UFO sightings out here that were never officially reported. We have had some cattle mutilations and reports of orbs over the years. I have had several dozen good sightings myself, including three where the UFO was within a few hundred feet of me. It's amazing what you might see when you look up a lot. I have had two good LITS sightings in the last two months, one on 8/14 and the other on 9/2, and will do reports at your sight in a day or two. Also I will call to see if you have any more info on this X-Calibur balloon. "
