By Alana Edgin
Humans have always observed their environment & from their immediate surroundings, to the skies, and beyond. While technological advancements have increased our powers of perception, the naked senses remain extremely limited. Commonplace observations by the unaided senses, notably sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, can be very difficult to explain.
SAN ANGELO – The long, empty roads of Texas at night can have an air of mystery and fear.
For some locals, these highways are rife with extraterrestrial life and terrifying tales.
San Angelo and surrounding towns have a long track record of UFO sightings. Whether it was an out-of-this-world encounter or an errant weather balloon, one San Angelo woman started a trek to find the truth.
On May 6,1990, Linda Faulkner was chosen as the state section director for MUFON, the Mutual Unidentified Flying Objects Network Inc., according to an article from that day.
The 46-year-old former pilot first heard her coworkers discuss their sightings in the 1970s, which included mysterious lights following the plane's wingtips.
Faulkner's first experience was near Big Spring in 1973. Like several other sightings, it took place as she drove the lonely road late at night. A light came down in front of her car, and she remembered nothing else but feeling fear from that night.
"There's a lot of stress associated with sighting a UFO," Faulkner said. "This can be pretty traumatic for people who've seen something."
This Dec. 10, 1978 feature page details "close encounters" with UFOs in and around San Angelo.
San Angelo Standard-Times Archive
Faulkner wanted to give those who experienced encounters someone to talk to as well. Further coverage brought forth decades of encounters.
Seven years prior to Faulkner's encounter, two San Angelo women also experienced something on an empty Texas road home. Sister-in-laws Jessie Lea Boren, 29, and Fay Boren, 51, left Sterling City around 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3, 1980.
Somewhere between Sterling City and Carlsbad on U.S. 87, Fay saw something in the center of the road, according to a 1980 article. The object began to approach their car, then soundlessly leapt over them and shot to the trees along the road.
The object, described as round or oblong and dark with flashing multi-colored lights, wasn't done with the duo. It was a bright red blur between the mesquite trees, but Faye recalled it following them.
"It just doesn't seem like it could be real," Jessie Lea said. "I just can't realize that we saw such a thing, but we really did and I'm not crazy and my sister isn't either."
UFO sightings in and around San Angelo
- January 1953 - UFO reports in San Angelo dismissed as vapor trails, meteorites or weather balloons.
- July 1, 1965 - Resident reported a sighting to MUFON. They saw it at 1:02 p.m. that day, according to MUFON records.
- April 1, 1967 - A San Angelo resident reported a UFO to MUFON. The person saw it at 8:30 a.m. and it remains unidentified, according to MUFON.
- August 16, 1967 - A woman driving along a highway near Big Lake spots a pulsating red light off the road. When she approached, there was a blinding flash and a pie pan-shaped object rose. The object changed colors from red to orange to white and hovered above her car.
- August 1967 - Ballinger boys cause a UFO scare after launching shiny balloons.
- October 6, 1967 - A greenish glowing light near the North Concho Dam causes two cars to stall and be covered in a sticky substance. Round depressions were found in the ground near the UFO's reported landing site.
- March 18, 1968 - Resident reported a sighting to MUFON. They saw it at 7:20 a.m. that day, according to MUFON records.
- May 1971 - Reports of "fiery" objects in the San Angelo sky are identified as flares tied beneath plastic bag balloons.
- January 1972 - Three Angelo State University students and a San Angelo insurance agent report an arrow shaped object "lit like a neon light with red streaks" hovering over Mathis Field. The coeds and agent were in different places when they saw it. Another witness came forth and claimed it was a kite, and Mathis Field mentioned a DC9 was practicing but could not confirm the time.
- Oct. 22-23, 1973 - At least four people reported seeing a flashing red, white and green object. Similar sightings were reported in Brownwood, Dallas, San Antonio and El Paso on Oct. 23.
- Oct. 29, 1973 - UFO described as a long flame of fire quickly moving about 500 feet overhead reported above Goodfellow Air Force Base. The object was "a little larger than a big airliner, round with bulges."
- May 6, 1974 - A westside San Angelo resident reports a pink saucer with an antenna on top hovering over a power line in the 2700 block of Rio Grande.
- 1976 - San Angelo resident Wayne Hill, 36, was working with a construction company in Sonora one night in 1976. He looked up to see two "dark grey and metallic looking" objects about 400 feet away.
- Nov. 4, 1980 - An air traffic controller at Mathis Field receives a report about 7 p.m. A pilot saw a long, elliptical-shaped object "with a pointed nose and a pointed tail" that glowed bright white after he took off from the Ozona airport. The object shot by his right side, and his engine began to cough and sputter for a few seconds. The object then split into two and flew parallel with each other along the ground from Ozona to Sonora. Similar reports were also given by an Ozona man and a San Angelo banker.
- September 1988 - A shiny UFO in San Angelo identified as weather balloon.
- Oct. 23, 2007 - Resident reported a sighting to MUFON. They saw it at 11 p.m. that day, according to MUFON records.
- July 14, 2010 - Oct. 10, 2010 - A resident reported a sighting to MUFON. They saw it at 10:20 p.m. that day, according to MUFON records. There was not sufficient information.
- Sept. 20, 2010 - Resident reported a sighting to MUFON. They saw it at 3:33 p.m. that day, according to MUFON records.
- July 12, 2011 - A resident reported a sighting to MUFON. They saw it at 9 p.m. that day, according to MUFON records.
After her close encounter, Faulkner urged people to call MUFON as soon as possible, draw a picture of the object, and write down details and other witnesses. Details should include time, location, weather conditions, sounds and travel direction, according to the 1990 article.
