Size of Object(s)

1/8 to 1/4 moon size LIGHT spheres.

Distance to Object(s) & Altitude

Half a mile.

Shape of Object(s)

ORBS/BALLS/SPHERES

Color of Object(s):

WHITE

Full Description & Details

I remember it was the summer of 1985-1986 because I was going from 11th grade in high school to 12th grade, and I was working at a local movie theater (my summer job). We didn't have the theater multiplexes back then (not in Vegas, anyway). We had 3 movie theaters at the place I worked at.

After the crowds were let into the final showing of the night, we (employees) waited about 20 minutes, then started to CLEAN UP for the night (this was protocol/procedure). Last shows were about 10:00 pm or so. So an hour or so of cleaning after that, and we'd get to go home. I figure it was between 11:00 or 11:30 pm and midnight when I finally finished that night and took my mother/father's car home.

Back in 1986, near Sunrise Mountain on the East side of Las Vegas was sort of on the "outskirts" of town, but it was slowly building up with new buildings and homes. So it was sort of rural, sort of urban. Sort of a transitional phase.

Anyway, I was nearing my home near Sunrise Mountain (about 3 to 4 miles from the base of the mountain). It was very dark, of course. As I drove, I suddenly noticed up in the sky what I perceived to be a HELICOPTER that was descending VERY QUICKLY from the air toward the ground.

Why did I perceive it to be a helicopter being so dark and all? Because there was a "series of white lights" that SPUN IN A CIRCLE very, very quickly, almost BLURRING in their effect. Of course one does not think immediately "UFO"! The mind first tries to make sense of what it sees. In my case, I took the SPINNING LIGHTS to be "lights on the TIP of the helicopter blades." I did NOT see a "helicopter body." I only saw the SPINNING LIGHTS.

More detail: the lights chased each other in a circle, is another way to describe it. Basically imagine a propeller or frisbee with a series of lights on the outer rim, and the object spinning quickly, and the lights chasing each other.

Well, I'm watching these CHASING LIGHTS, and I realize immediately that this whole thing is DROPPING TO THE GROUND from the air very, very quickly. At first I think the lights/helicopter are merely coming down for a landing, but the faster they DROPPED, the more I thought, "HEY! THIS THING IS GOING TO IMPACT/CRASH!! IT'S DESCENDING WAY TOO FAST!!"

Now to give you an idea of my perspective: I was driving heading EAST toward Sunrise Mountain. This OBJECT/HELICOPTER/SERIES OF CHASING LIGHTS was slightly off to my 11 o'clock position (relative to my facing East with the car, and the direction of my car being 12 o'clock), right outside my front window. I would estimate the HELICOPTER appeared to be a few blocks away from me at most. Let's say roughly about 700 feet. Relative to a standard compass, the object was NORTH/NORTHEAST from my position.

Okay... Being about 16 years old at the time, I thought THIS THING IS GOING TO CRASH!! Again, I'm still thinking it's a HELICOPTER. So what do I do, being 16 years old?? I STEP ON THE GAS and hurry up to "witness the crash!!" Yeah, I know. Morbid.

As I"m speeding up the highway to get closer to this thing, suddenly the BLURRED CHASING LIGHTS each SPLIT UP!!!! "Each" light on the "tip" of what I thought were blades (although I never saw blades, just assumed they were there), BROKE OFF AND WENT OFF IN THEIR OWN DIRECTION!!!!!!!!

Now, they did NOT go off in a direction like, let's say, a bottle rocket of 4th of July fireworks would go off. No, NOTHING like that. Each of these lights went UP, UP, AND UP INTO THE SKY!!!

I forgot to mention, it was a CLEAR NIGHT, and the STARS WERE OUT! And back then you could STILL SEE the stars in the Vegas night sky, especially out by Sunrise Mountain.

So each of these lights went UP, and I literally FROZE, but nonetheless in my instantaneous shock, I guess my mind still tried to hold onto some sanity and FOLLOWED one or two of the lights. It was like a scene out of Close Encounters, and each light went UP into the sky and SETTLED in among the STARS, like PINPOINTS OF LIGHT IN THE SKY!!!!!

The OVERWHELMING SENSE I got during those few seconds was that the lights were either SENTIENT themselves, or CONTROLLED intelligently!

If this was some kind of natural phenomen, I would expect the "lights" to fall to the ground due to gravity. They did not drop. They went UP. They were CONTROLLED, because they spread out.

And the thing that still gets me to this day is the fact that what I perceived to be a SINGLE OBJECT (the helicopter) was actually a SERIES OF OBJECTS, each CHASING the other in a perfect DANCE as they rolled around in a CIRCLE, making the whole display appear to be a series of lights on a PINWHEEL or frisbee or whatever you'd like to compare it to. The fact is the LIGHTS CHASED EACH OTHER, and after they "split up" it became obvious they not only chased each other, but also did so in a PERFECT MANNER WHEREBY THEY MIMICKED A PERFECT CIRCLE WHERE THEY CHASED EACH OTHER.

The last detail: I remember counting no less than 8 BALLS OF LIGHT that split up from the spinning circle of lights and went up into the night sky. 8 balls of light!!!!! Chasing each other!!!!! Then splitting up and going back to the sky!!!!!

And the last thing is that after I saw the lights, I think my perspective on the size of the "object" now that I had seen it was not a helicopter, made me rethink the distance -- the object was probably a little farther out than my first impression. I would say between a half a mile to a mile at most.

And my reaction after that?? I just let off the gas and let the car coast................ I could not believe what I had seen. I was dazed!!! Literally!!!! I pulled over after a few seconds and looked up at the sky. I saw hundreds/thousands of stars, but of course I could not pick out the lights that had gone up to join them. There was no more motion up in the sky. The lights were motionless. Majestic. Serene. And EERIE at the same time, because I KNEW those SENTIENT LIGHTS were there among them!!!!!!!!

Witness Background

Professional. Writer. Published. Corporate Executive.

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