Untitled Document

2002 Sighting Reports

The following incidents were among the sightings of alleged UFOs and the Unusual reported to researcher Stan Gordon throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring states (when available). These cases have come to Stan Gordon’s attention from various sources. Many sightings that have already been identified as natural or manmade in origin are not listed. Some of these reports are still being investigated.

DATE	January 2, 2002
LOCATION	Whitehall, PA
(Source: NUFORC)-It was dusk when two witnesses reported seeing two objects moving across the sky and moving parallel with each other. The objects were dark with no lights and were quite unusual in shape. To the witnesses they looked like spiders, in that they had a solid body in the middle, with 4 or 5 extensions. The objects made no sound and moved off in the sky.

DATE	February 15, 2002
LOCATION	Western Pennsylvania
At about 8:50 P.M., reports started coming in of a bright fireball illuminating the sky around Washington County. Later reports indicated numerous sightings over a widespread area of the state and surrounding area. The object was likely a bright fireball meteor which can indeed be seen over a widespread area.

DATE	February 13, 2002 (approximate date)
LOCATION	Saltsburg, PA Indiana County
Witness observed a bright white light hovering low in the sky at about 8 P.M.

DATE	February, 2002
LOCATION	Waynesboro, PA (Adams County)
Members of the (PBS) Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society are investigating a large number of large footprints found near the local reservoir. The tracks which are about 17 inches long and 7 inches wide, covered a path of almost 1,000 feet around the reservoir before disappearing into a wooded area. Photographs and casts were taken of the tracks. The PBS will continue to investigate and try to determine the authenticity of the event.

DATE	February 21, 2002
LOCATION	Saltsburg, PA-Indiana County
(Source: NUFORC) The witness first observed a white light through trees. The light began to intensify in brightness. Suddenly a large triangular object estimated to be 100 yards in length, rose up into the sky moving eastward. There were three bright lights at each comer of the object. After about 5 seconds, the object which had been silent, disappeared, but a low rumbling vibration sound was heard as the object left the area.

DATE	February 24, 2002
LOCATION	Hermitage, PA
(Source: NUFORC)- Three people reported seeing a rectangular shaped object, that was a bright electrical blue color. The object was described as moving in a triangular shape. The object would appear, then disappear, then about 30 seconds later be visible again. See the NUFORC web site for more details.

DATE	March 7, 2002
LOCATION	Harrisburg, PA
(Source: NUFORC)-Witness reported that at about 10 P.M., he saw 10-15 points of light in a circular pattern, moving westward across the sky. As they moved, they changed into a triangular pattern, then lined up in a straight line and continued off into the sky.

DATE	March 27,2002
LOCATION	Beaver County, PA
Witness reported seeing an object with blue and green lights that was very bright at about11:15 P.M. The object was falling rapidly from the sky at approximately 160 degree angle. The object appeared very large, but with no discernable shape. It was seen for about 5 seconds. The object appeared silent.

DATE	April 10, 2002
LOCATION	Pittsburgh (Peters Township)
The witness has experience as a pilot. He was driving home at around 11 P.M., when he observed a bright white diamond shaped object hovering low in the sky. The object was observed for about 4 minutes when it suddenly 'Just vanished."

DATE	April 15,2002
LOCATION	Clarksburg, PA, Indiana County
Two people traveling in a car near Clarksburg on Rt. 286, observed something odd in the sky about 8:30 PM The passenger in the car noticed a bright light and pointed it out to the driver. The light suddenly disappeared. Soon a bright light appeared again that was moving very slowly. The light which was very low in the sky began to move towards them and hovered just above the trees. They could now see an object which was estimated to be the size of a bus, but had the general shape of an aircraft fuselage. It was however described as "too fat" for an airplane. The object appeared to have two short wings, which appeared to small for the body of the craft. There was a red light on each wing that was non-blinking. There was a very bright light at the front of the object. One witness emphasized the wide "fat" body of the silent object. The object continued to hover over the trees, as they passed by- They lost sight of it as they traveled down the road.

DATE	April 30, 2002
LOCATION	West Wheatfield, PA, Indiana County
A report was received that at about 1:08 AM., a man saw a bright light low in the sky.( Note: There had been a recent tornado in the area, and it is-possible that a power company helicopter could have been checking the lines.)

DATE	May 14,2002
LOCATION	Harrison City, PA, Westmoreland County
The witness was traveling east on the P A turnpike at about 9:55 P.M. when he noticed an object in the sky, hovering at a low altitude. What was seen was described as two square lights side by side at a 45 degree angle, gold in color and flashed alternately, left, right, left, right.

DATE	June 7, 2002
LOCATION	Greensburg, PA
Family members living in a rural location reported some odd events during early June. For example, at about 2:45 AM on this date, one person heard an odd sound like a "swoosh" giving the impression that a huge bird had just past over. It is interesting to note, that this location is not far from South Greensburg, where the sighting of a possible Thunderbird was reported last September. This family was apparently unaware of the previous alleged incident.

DATE	June 8, 2002
LOCATION	Pittsburgh, PA
At about 8:45 P.M., the witness observed an object, red-orange in color which appeared on fire, and was dropping fast from the sky. No sound of explosion was heard.

DATE	June 9,2002
LOCATION	Clearfield County, PA
Members of the PBS found three toed footprints on Rockton mountain. To view the tracks go to the PBS website at www.pabigfootsociety.com.

DATE	June 24, 2002
LOCATION	Gettysburg, PA
About 9:45 P.M., the witness reported seeing a bright orange, rectangular shaped object in the western sky. The object was there long enough to obtain about 10 minutes of video footage. The object was still visible just before 10 P.M. when the park was closing, forcing the witness to leave the area. After interviewing the witness, and having the opportunity to view the videotape, the object was determined to be the planet Venus.

DATE	June 26, 2002
LOCATION	Wyoming County
-(Thunderbird sighting?) This incident occurred between the towns of Tunkhannock and Nicholson in Wyoming County. This is close to the PA / NY border. At about 9:05 PM, the primary witness had stepped out on his back porch. His attention was drawn to two huge black birds that were approaching from the north. His first impression, was that they were Herons, but soon realized that the color was wrong, and "they were huge, much larger than any bird I have ever seen." The two birds landed at the top of a very tall coniferous tree. The witness stated that the wingspan appeared to be wider than the branches. The body size was estimated to be about six feet head to tail. The witness also mentioned that the legs were not long like a Heron, or Crane. The oddest feature was the shape of the wings, which looked more bat-like. The tree where the birds landed seemed as though it would break from the weight. The witness yelled for others in the house to come out to look. Another family member was able to see the huge black birds as they passed overhead and headed for some woods. The witness looked in a bird book and said the closest species that he could find in shape was a Black Cormorant, but the size of birds he saw is out of the range of cormorant. The witness looked at the tree, and checked the size of the branches in the tree where the odd birds had rested. He estimated that the wingspan would have been close to 12 feet or somewhat larger.

DATE	July 3, 2002
LOCATION	Greensburg, PA
(NUFORC and personal followup.) Two people reported observing a huge bright white light which was shining and shimmering. The object which was observed for an extensive period of time , reportedly made sharp movements, then shot straight up into the sky.

DATE	July 24, 2002
LOCATION	Pittsburgh, PA suburb
At about 6:15 P.M., a witness reported a round white object near tree top level, which moved fast across the sky then vanished.

DATE

July 24, 2002

LOCATION

North Huntingdon Twp

Close range encounter with small sphere in Pennsylvania.

On August 1, 2002, I received an interesting report of an encounter with an unusual object that had taken place on July 24, 2002. I had the opportunity to interview the reporting witness later that day. The sighting occurred in a shopping complex in North Huntingdon Township, in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The incident involved three witnesses, a man, his wife, and a friend. Since these people hadn't seen each other for sometime, they stood in the parking lot and got involved in a long conversation.

It was about 10 P.M., and the local businesses had all been closed for a while. In the middle of the conversation, the friend suddenly said "look behind you." They turned around to look, and observed a small odd object which looked like a bubble, but was "absolutely round and shiny." The sphere was estimated to be the size of a tennis ball. While it gave the appearance of looking something like a bubble, the witness said "it was solid, in a way not I like a bubble. You could see thickness in the wall of the object."

As they watched, the object floated past them at a distance of no more than 10 feet. The man indicated that if he had moved forward a few feet, he could have reached out and grabbed the object. The object continued to move slowly in a straight line down the middle of the road "moving straight as an arrow." The object which was only about 6 feet off the ground, kept the same height. The witness commented "It was a perfectly calm night, with no wind at all, yet this bubble zoomed on past us as if being driven by something unseen." (The Pittsburgh National Weather Service Office verifies that the winds were calm at the time.)

As the object continued to move straight down the road, at one point it zigzagged left then right, and was halfway down the complex when they lost sight of it. At one point as the object was moving, it passed under an awning, and it was apparent that there were no strings attached to it. The object did reflect light from the overhead lighting. There was no sound detected during the approximately 20 second observation. There was no one else in sight around the location of observation. The man stated that the object "appeared to have thickness to it, not like a child's bubble that was blown from soap bubble." The witness who has a military background, stated that whatever it was he saw, it gave him the impression that it was "a probe of some kind."

Note: While reports of small spherical objects are not that common, since the 1960's I have on record a number of such instances which have occurred in Pennsylvania. These small objects, all of which were reported at very close distance from the observers, range from several inches to about a foot in diameter.

Stan Gordon

DATE	July 26, 2002
LOCATION
About 4:15 P.M. witness observed two very large odd looking birds flying at a low altitude above Route 422. The birds were moving oddly as if they were having trouble staying in the air. The wings appeared almost bat-like.

DATE	July 27, 2002
LOCATION	New Stanton, PA
The witness was driving down Route119 North, when at about 4:15 A.M. he observed a bright white light in the sky ahead in the distance, which was dropping in altitude. The driver’s first thought was that it was a medical helicopter landing at an accident scene ahead. But suddenly the white light shot straight up into the sky, then moved to the left. The light then moved towards the right. Suddenly the light shot across the sky at an “incredible rate of speed toward the direction of Delmont and could no longer be seen.

DATE	August 3, 2002
LOCATION	Susquehanna County
At about 11 P.M. a witness reported seeing a dull triangular shaped object appear in the east, and moved at a high rate of speed across the entire sky towards the west, where it was lost from sight. The object which was at a high altitude, was described as faintly lighted, and larger than a nickel at arms length.

DATE	August 4, 2002
LOCATION	Beaver County
The wife was awakened at about 3:45 A.M. A bright round object could be seen through the bedroom curtains. The object which was behind a tree that was about 50 feet high, and about 100 feet from the house, was also observed by the husband. The couple’s first thought was that it was the moon, but realized that the silent object was to large, and to low. While the object was present, a large area of the field was illuminated with a whitish glow.

DATE	August 10, 2002
LOCATION	Uniontown, PA
Two people traveling in a car on Route 51 towards Pittsburgh, observed a bright white light with no tail moving north at an incredible speed. The light was observed at about 12:10 A.M., and appeared to be low in the sky.

DATE	August 17, 2002
LOCATION	Between Latrobe and Greensburg, PA
Five witnesses observed a strange black object moving slowly across the sky at approximately 8: 15 P.M. The black oval shaped object appeared to have six appendages attached to it. The silent object which was not illuminated, was observed long enough for the family to video tape it. The family was so shook up by what they saw that they called the police.

DATE	September 4, 2002
LOCATION	Jeanette, PA (Beech Hills)
At 11:10 P.M., witness heard an odd sound for about five seconds. It was hard for the person to explain the sound which was like a “swoosh.” He mentioned a tornado with no wind. He looked all around in the clear sky but saw nothing. He got the impression that something big was close by in the sky but was amazed he couldn’t see anything.

DATE	September 5, 2002
LOCATION	Lancaster, PA
Man was standing outside at about 9:07 P.M., when he observed a silent dark triangular object gliding across the sky towards the east. The object was described as “tremendous in size,” The object blacked out the stars as it passed, and the witness could see one non-blinking white light at each corner.

DATE

September 11, 2002

LOCATION

Derry Twp., Westmoreland County

On September 28, 2002, I received a phone call from a man who reported that recently two members of his family on separate occasions had observed an unusual creature that resembled the description of a Bigfoot. The most recent incident had occurred on September 27, 2002, and was a close range daylight observation by his wife. The man said that he thought that I should be made aware of what was happening, but he strongly expressed that the identities of those involved, as well as the actual location of the sighting not be made public.

I asked permission to come out to the sighting location to interview those involved, and search the area for evidence. I packed up my gear, and my wife Debbie and I responded immediately to the area. The incidents took place in Derry Township in Westmoreland County. It took some time to reach the location which was remote, and was made up of many acres of dense woods. We were greeted by the family who were very cordial, and my wife and I spent most of the afternoon questioning the observers, and looking over the sighting locations. Debbie assisted me with video taping and photographing the sites.

We learned that the first incident had occurred about two weeks before. The teenage son was the first to have an encounter with the strange animal. The event took place on or about Wednesday, September 11, 2002, at around 6 P.M.

The young man appeared to be a very serious individual, and carefully revealed the details of what occurred. The sighting took place just as the sun was going down. He was riding his bicycle on the family property when he heard crashing sounds originating from a wooded area. There were sounds as though something was hitting a log, and branches breaking.

He stopped to listen, when his attention was drawn towards a fence and tree line about 300 feet away where he saw "a big brown human looking thing but very tall." The creature was moving along the area, and there were some clearings where the creature could be observed at times. The fellow described the creature as generally man-like, about 8 feet tall, and covered with dark brown hair. The creature was broad shouldered, had very long arms, and the head was not perfectly round, but somewhat cone shaped. The creature which took very long steps, was occasionally swinging its arms as it moved, and was slightly bent forward as it walked. "It leaned over when it walked." The observation lasted about 30 seconds.

The boy hurried home to tell his father about what he had seen. They both went back to the location, but nothing more was observed.

Then on Friday, September 27, 2002, at about 2 P.M., the wife of the caller was driving up a road near the wooded area where the first sighting had taken place. She heard a sound like limbs and trees breaking coming from her left, and she stopped. There is a lot of deer in those woods, and she was concerned that some deer were about to run across the road and could hit her vehicle. She was talking to her husband on the cell phone at the time. Suddenly about 45 yards away she was startled to see a creature emerge from a clearing in the woods.

She said that what she saw was tall and man-like, and was estimated at about 8 feet tall. It was covered all over with long brown hair which looked to be about 12 inches in length. The creature's arms hung to the knees, and long hair was hanging down from the arms. The creature had "big shoulders." The witness watched as the creature moved from the wood line, and crossed a field for a distance of about 100 feet. The creature which was slightly hunched as it moved, took big steps and quickly covered a lot of distance. The creature did not swing its arms as it moved across the field.

At the end of the field was a barbed wire fence. What amazed the witness was that the creature never slowed down or hesitated as it approached the fence line. It crossed the fence without breaking stride. The witness watched as the creature just raised its leg over the fence. "It just walked over the fence." When I measured the height of the barbed wire where the creature crossed, it was 44 inches off the ground. The creature never looked towards the vehicle. The woman was describing to her husband via the cell phone what she was seeing. She said that suddenly she became scared, and felt the need to "leave quickly."

In neither case was any odor detected. We searched the nearby woods and field for any signs of footprints or other evidence, but the hard and leaf covered terrain revealed nothing unusual. The boy and other family members are avid hunters, and know the woods well. They are familiar with the local wildlife. They know there are bear in the local woods. The witnesses are certain that what they saw was not a bear. The boy mentioned that in the last week or so, they have noticed that they are not seeing many deer, which is unusual. It is my opinion that these people are sincere, and concerned about these recent encounters. They wish no publicity, but would like to know more about what these creatures are. They have heard tales of similar Bigfoot sightings which have occurred in past years from various locations around this area.

Researcher's note:

As I approached the vicinity of the sighting location, I reflected back on many memories. I had made many trips in this general area during 1973, when a major outbreak of Bigfoot sightings was occurring. Not far away is the Chestnut Ridge.

Historically numerous alleged Bigfoot sightings have occurred in locations near the ridge which extends from Preston County, WV through Westmoreland, Indiana, and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania.

Stan Gordon

DATE	September 25, 2002
LOCATION	Erie, PA
The witness, a former weather observer, reported observing a strange contrail in the sky at about 7:45 A.M. over Erie. The witness stated that the contrail was “oriented southeast to northwest and was shaped like an S and the pulses were pointed to the north.” The witness estimated the height at about 30,000 feet.

DATE	September 27, 2002
LOCATION	Derry Twp., Westmoreland County-Bigfoot steps over fence

DATE	October 20, 2002
LOCATION	Tyrone, PA-Object emits beam of light towards the ground.
On October 21, 2002, I received an email report of a UFO incident from the witness involved. The sighting reportedly occurred on Sunday, October 20, 2002, near Tyrone, PA in Blair County. The man forwarded details concerning his experience, as well as two color photographs that he took of the object before it departed. The witness indicated that he had also forwarded this material to the National UFO Reporting Center. The witness is very concerned about being ridiculed, and requests not to be identified. Due to his concerns, my only communication with the witness has been via email. He has responded to my request for additional details concerning his observation. Due to computer problems, I am unable to post the photographs at this time. I have talked with Peter Davenport at the National UFO Reporting Center, http://www.nwlink.com - who is expected to post the pictures as soon as he completes his sighting report updates. Sighting report narrative: The witness was hiking in the woods on Ice Mountain near the town of Tyrone. The man had stayed out longer than he expected that day. He estimated that it was about 7:30 P.M. (local time) as he was walking back to his vehicle, when he noticed a bright light south of his location, moving towards him in a northerly direction. His first impression was that it was an airplane. The light appeared similar to the brightness of a nonnal aircraft light when first observed. He then noticed that the light suddenly stopped, then began to pulsate and appear to brighten and dim. The witness then noticed a faint haze that was orange-red in color, and which encircled the object. The pulsation pattern of the light began to increase, and it started to flicker very rapidly. The light became might brighter as it pulsated. Suddenly a thin beam of very bright blue-white light was emitted from the bottom of the object to the ground. The witness points out that this was not an ordinary searchlight. The witness stated, “This was no searchlight. Even a well focused searchlight tends to diffuse with distance, but his light was a tight, bright beam from top to bottom.” The man tried to describe the appearance of the beam with the following statement. “Imagine a piece of dental floss held at arms length, and you’ll have a good idea of the beam’s apparent width from my location.” The witness said that the pulsating effect suddenly stopped, and the beam of light went out. The observer commented, “As far as the form, I couldn’t see any craft or object per se, just the bright light itself and the beam that came down from it, as it was pretty dark at the time.” The object at first appeared to be circular in shape and orange-red in color. When the object stopped moving and began pulsating it seemed more oval or egg shaped. The object continued to hover in the sky, and the witness ran to his vehicle which was about 100 yards away, to get his Olympus digital camera. The witness took one photograph as the object hovered, then a second picture was obtained just as the object was beginning to move around slowly in a tight circle. As the man prepared to take a third picture, the object, “suddenly shot straight up in the air at fantastic speed and was gone from sight.” The sky conditions at the time of observation were described as partly cloudy. The witness did not detect any sound, or odd smells during the sighting. The witness estimates the total incident lasted about 5 minutes or less. The witness commented that at the location where the light beam appeared to meet the ground, he estimated that he was about 1/4 mile away, or farther from the object, and that it was about 1,000 feet in altitude. The witness also mentioned that there is a large microwave relay tower at the top of the mountain, and, “the beam appeared to be hitting the ground close to the tower.” The man couldn’t see the exact spot where the beam hit. In closing, the witness had these comments to make. “I don’t know what this thing was, but I know I’ve never seen anything like it before.” and “If anyone else saw this object, please let me know. If for no other reason, so I can stop questioning my sanity.” Stan Gordon

DATE	October 27, 2002
LOCATION	State College, PA
Area-Man was walking his dog at about 9:30 P.M. when he saw the sky light up towards the north. He observed something falling from the sky “like a rocket coming down” which appeared to be in an area near Mt. Nittany The witness heard no sound, and said the object was illuminated and not moving real fast.

DATE	November 19, 2002
LOCATION	Pittsburgh, PA
(NUFORC) This event occurred at 4 A.M. “Myself and a friend were doing some training for cross country track by running a few miles on this abandoned strip mine near our houses. we were running along when I looked up, for no reason at all. All of the sudden this almost elliptical object came with fifty feet of us, and it was right above us. It barely made any sound then all of the sudden it made this rumbling sound. It followed us for about five minutes the two others came. one from our left and one from our back. we keep running hoping that they would go away, but they kept following us. when we came near the end of out trip by some houses we looked back up to see them start moving to were we first saw them, then with a flash of light they flew up into the sky.”

DATE	November 19, 2002
LOCATION	North Huntingdon Twp, PA
At about 11 P.M., two witnesses were traveling on Northview Drive and when they came to a stop sign, they noticed an bright object swaying back and forth in the sky. The bright light moved behind them and was hidden by some trees. The observers turned left, and went to the top of a hill, where they caught sight of the object again. The object was now only about the height of two telephone poles and began to move towards the direction of the car. One witness thought that it was actually going to hit the car and was prepared to jump out. What they could see was a bright light illuminating them, accompanied by numerous lights that formed a V formation and made no sound. One witness indicated that the series of non-blinking lights “appeared long, and came to a point.” The object suddenly made a u turn, went back from the direction it originated and was lost from sight. The two witnesses were frightened by the experience and notified police. The entire observation lasted about 5 minutes.

DATE	November 20, 2002
LOCATION	Easton, PA
(NUFORC) -Two fireballs hovered for a while, then one took off while one stayed another minute, or so then vanished.

DATE	November 20, 2002
LOCATION	Johnstown, PA
(NUFORC)-White light in night sky viewed for 15 minutes, traveled n to w and reversed it’s path.

DATE	November 24, 2002
LOCATION	Pittsburgh, PA
Witness at 8 P.M. observed towards the west a formation of 4 lights that moved from west to east and made no sound. The lights were at a high altitude, appeared oval in shape, and were evenly spaced and non-blinking

DATE	November 26, 2002
LOCATION	Jeannette, PA
(NUFORC) Witness reports a tic-tac-toe formation of contrails in the sky.

DATE	December 2, 2002
LOCATION	Pennsylvania and other locations along the east Coast.
About 5 A.M. a brilliant bluish colored object with a long trail was reported by many observers. This appears to have been a very bright meteor.

DATE	December 8, 2002
LOCATION	Croydon, PA
(NUFORC)-Triangular shaped object 3 white lights, red in middle at times and silent.

DATE	December, 2002
LOCATION	Greensburg, PA
Along Route 136, witness was outside admiring full moon. Suddenly in the woods behind the house, the sound of something heavy running on two legs was heard. There was something different about this sound which indicated that this was not a human running. The family cat suddenly turned in the direction of the woods and hissed, then ran into the house.