- OTTAWA (CP) -- From a translucent,
saucer-shaped object in British Columbia to mysterious lights buzzing motorists
in New Brunswick, Canadians are on their way to reporting a record-high
number of UFO sightings this year.
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- More than 400 stories of curious encounters were filed
through the end of July, compared with just over 300 by this time last
year, says Ufology Research of Manitoba, a group that tracks reports of
unidentified flying objects.
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- At this rate, the total for 2004 will surpass the current
record of 673 sightings reported last year, said Chris Rutkowski, research
co-ordinator for the Winnipeg-based organization.
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- The group receives reports directly by telephone and
e-mail, from sister agencies that follow the phenomenon, and via federal
departments such as Transport and National Defence.
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- Mr. Rutkowski isn't sure why the numbers are rising,
but suspects it might be linked to public awareness of recent exploratory
missions to intriguing planets such as Mars and Saturn.
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- "I think there is a resurgence of interest in space,"
he said Thursday in an interview.
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- Dazzling mid-air manoeuvres were a feature of some of
the more dramatic otherworldly episodes.
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- At a military base in Beaverbank, N.S., last April, three
people spotted several lights in the east, including a slow-moving red
one bobbing up and down.
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- Suddenly, a second red light swooped in, prompting the
first one to climb upwards and fly over it.
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- In a July incident, a Rosemont, Que., couple saw a very
bright red light moving slowly westward. Travelling much too low to be
an airplane or helicopter, the object plunged to the ground and disappeared
after about a minute.
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- Two people sitting on a hill in an Edmonton park on June
23 watched four distinct lights hover above them.
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- "At first they thought it was some sort of satellite,"
Mr. Rutkowski said.
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- "But then the lights gathered together, close in
the sky, and spread out again. They would travel in one direction for a
while and then curve back in a very sharp turn in another direction. And
they watched it for 90 minutes."
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- The Prairies seem to be a hotbed of unexplained activity.
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- In Alberta, 61 sightings occurred up to the end of July,
compared with 76 in all of last year. There were 50 in Manitoba, already
double the total for 2003, while 19 reports emerged from Saskatchewan,
topping last year's 13.
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- In a widely reported incident, the pilot of Prime Minister
Paul Martin's plane reported seeing a "very bright light" falling
through the air, with smoke trailing, while the aircraft passed over Suffield,
Alta., in March.
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- Mr. Rutkowski believes that while most UFO reports have
simple explanations - many being meteors - a small percentage are puzzling
and deserve the attention of scientists.
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- Among notable sightings recorded this year:
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- * A semi-transparent object shaped like a saucer flew
over a witness in Terrace, B.C., in April.
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- * Oval patches of light chased each other in the July
sky above Winnipeg.
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- * A multi-coloured object performed an aerial ballet
in June above Shipshaw, Que.
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- * During four memorable nights in July, residents of
Dryden, Ont., took in the spectacle of a V-shaped, metallic craft gliding
through the sky.
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- * Odd pairs of lights zeroed in on motorists in January
near Caraquet, N.B. The sighting was one of many incidents reported by
New Brunswick residents early this year.
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- There is "just no explanation for what was going
on at that time," Mr. Rutkowski says.
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