MORE Charleston Police Officers See UFO (1978)

The Springfield News-Leader
24 October 1978

Last month, I posted a blog about an incident in 1966 when no less than seven members of the Charleston Police Department spotted a UFO. That wouldn't be the last time that officers in West Virginia's capital city would be plagued with their own personal sightings of unidentified flying objects.

On Friday, October 20, 1978 and lasting throughout the weekend, state police officers received around thirty calls about strange lights in the sky. The reports were all similar; a light that shot quickly across the sky, then would abruptly stop or slow down. The hovering, or super-slow objects were often sighted in groups of three, and shone with a range of lights, including blue, white, green, yellow or red. These lights would dim if an airplane flew above them, then return to their usual brightness once it had passed.

Cpl. Don Sharpe of the West Virginia State Police, who watched at least seven of the lights for over a half an hour said this about the objects: "I couldn't tell you what they were. I've never seen anything move like that, I'll tell you." Sharpe wasn't the only officer to see the lights. At least three state troopers and a number of other law enforcement officers from other agencies saw the lights. One officer even snapped a color photograph, but the images apparently didn't come out well. 

Not only were these objects sighted with the naked eye, but they also showed up on radar at the nearby Kanawha Airport. However, Bill Givens, supervisor for air traffic control, believes that the anomalies, especially those that showed up on Sunday, were merely weather-related phenomena. 

What's interesting is that apparently people around West Virginia were reporting UFOs around this same time, including 20 year old Fairmont State student, Joyce Dehner. On October 24, she saw a UFO on Interstate-79 near Fairmont. You can read about her experience (HERE)!

The Herald-News
24 October 1978

The Indianapolis-Star
24 October 1978

Charleston Police Officers See UFO

ECHO-1 Satellite
Source: Wikipedia

When dealing with reports of UFOs, the problem of witness reliability is always present. However, few can argue that fraudulent or untruthful claims are an issue when no less than SEVEN members of the Charleston, WV Police Department reported seeing a strange object in the early morning sky!

It all started on Wednesday, May 11, 1966. At around 2:58 a.m. Company B of the West Virginia State Police, stationed in South Charleston began receiving calls about a strange object in the sky. Twelve minutes later, the object apparently had traveled to Charleston, where it was spotted by Patrolmen Bob Easley and Robert King. The two reported a "blazing light of spectacular appearance." 

Easley radioed back to the station, where interested parties on duty stepped out to look skyward. No less than seven members of the police department, including Desk Sgt. James C. Robinson saw the craft. Robinson, who had a clear view of the object, noted that the object was very bright and fast-moving. He states, "When it got almost directly in my line of vision, there was something that went from the side of it at a much higher rate of speed. After about 15 seconds it completely disappeared.

Many of those who saw the object said it took off, straight up at a very high speed. One officer, who did NOT see it this interesting takeoff however, but did claim to see the object had a theory as to what was witnessed. John Bailes believes what the men saw was an ECHO Satellite. According to Wikipedia: 

"Project Echo was the first passive communications satellite experiment. Each of the two American spacecraft, launched in 1960 and 1964, were metalized balloon satellites acting as passive reflectors of microwave signals. Communication signals were transmitted from one location on Earth and bounced off the surface of the satellite to another Earth location."

Sgt. Robinson did agree that the object resembled the ECHO Satellite, but moved way too fast and was much brighter. In 1966, the United States was not only under threat from the Cold War, but was also deep into a Space Race with the former Soviet Union. Did a group of Charleston police officers really spot an extraterrestrial craft...or was it something from either our own or a foreign government?

The Charleston Daily Mail
11 May 1966

The Raleigh Register
12 May 1966