From Researcher: Stan Gordon

Residents of Pennsylvania continue to report encounters of the unusual kind on a yearly basis. Strange incidents were reported from 40 counties in the commonwealth during 2005. Among the phenomena reported were UFO sightings, reports of strange creatures such as Bigfoot, and giant birds with huge wingspans, strange sounds, and unusual footprints. Since 1959 when I began researching these mysteries, I have found that many UFO sightings and other phenomena, when properly investigated are found to be explainable and determined to be natural or man-made in origin.

Some of the UFO sightings that I investigated during 2005 were explained as bright meteors, lights on aircraft, and the bright planets Venus and Mars. In past years, some Bigfoot sightings were determined to be a bear or a large shaggy dog. Some huge footprints in the snow could be explained as bear tracks that were distorted in appearance from fast changing weather conditions.

During the past 46 years I have investigated thousands of strange and unusual happenings from across the Keystone state. I have never had a personal UFO or Bigfoot encounter. I am convinced, however, that not all UFO sightings or other anomalies can be easily dismissed.

I have been taking sighting reports from the public since 1969. Back in 1970, I founded the Westmoreland County UFO Study Group, the first of three volunteer research groups I directed, which would investigate UFO sightings and other phenomena reported by the public in Pennsylvania. Since 1993,I have continued to document these ongoing unusual events as an independent researcher. I commonly receive current UFO sightings, and other strange reports
on my PA UFO Hotline, or via e-mail. I also maintain contact with many other researchers and organizations. The National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) is also a good resource for Pennsylvania UFO reports.

Besides keeping track of current incidents, I am continuing to investigate the 1965 Kecksburg UFO crash incident. I have been pursuing the Kecksburg incident since it occurred over 40 years ago. I am am still seeking information from those people who were on the scene that night, as well as any military personnel who were involved in that operation. I continue to search for photographs that were reportedly taken of the fallen acorn shaped object back in 1965 which some people claim to have seen. If you know the whereabouts of these photos or have other photos taken at the scene that night, please contact me.

Some of the interesting events reported during 2005 include:

January 2, 2005-Westmoreland County-During the early evening, a man visiting in a rural location near the Chestnut Ridge heard the sound of brush snapping in a field about 40 feet away. The witness crossed the road to look around, thinking that it was a large deer. Instead, a huge man-like creature with dark hair and huge arms was soon observed. The creature was very broad shouldered, and was estimated to be well over 7 feet tall and around 500 pounds. The creature was observed as it moved uphill, and it quickly covered a large distance with its' huge stride.

February 2, 2005-Washington County-Around 4:40 P.M., the driver of a car traveling in the vicinity of the toll booth entrance had her attention drawn to something huge and black in the sky. The witness watched as the object made a left turn swoop, and realized that she wasn't observing an aircraft, but instead a huge bird. The creature was all black, and the wings were estimated to be the length of a small aircraft. The witness pulled off the road and watched the strange sight for a few minutes.

March (or early April) 2005-Fayette County-This case was investigated by researcher Jim Brown.
A man walking near Smithfield, observed 2 strange objects that were about the size and shape of a football. The objects were glowing very brightly, and moved swiftly through the air at close range. At one point, both objects hovered low over the road, then flew off very fast and passed under a railroad bridge which was only about 14 feet high.

August 24, 2005-Vandergrift- A man was packing his car at 5:20 A.M. when he observed an object in the sky moving from the northwest towards the east, that looked like a flattened football with a bump on top and was bright silver in color. The object made no sound as it passed across the sky and was observed for a long distance. Then suddenly, a second object came from the direction of Pittsburgh that looked triangular in shape with a pointed front section, and with several lights on it. This object appeared to slow down to adjust to the speed of the first object which was still crossing the sky. The triangular shaped object took on a burst of speed, and began to chase the first object across the sky, and both objects were soon lost from sight.

There were a number of bright meteor observations reported last year. For example, about 5:45 A.M. on October 3rd, numerous witnesses in Western Pennsylvania reported a bright green fireball with a tail moving fast across the sky. I also received reports from West Virginia and Ohio as well.

To report a UFO sighting, Bigfoot, or other strange encounters, call my 24 hour PA UFO Hotline at: 724-838-7768, or e-mail me at: paufo@westol.com. Write to me at: P.O. Box 936, Greensburg, PA 15601. For information on Pennsylvania's UFO sighting and other strange encounters, as well as the Kecksburg UFO crash, visit my web-site at: www.stangordon.com.