The skies have long been a source of mystery and fascination, sparking curiosity about what lies beyond our planetary borders. In the Midwest of the United States, a particular group of sky-watchers was formally organized in 1969, under the banner of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). This organization was created with the intent to systematically study the numerous reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and maintain a comprehensive record of such encounters. Since its inception, MUFON has stood as a leader for those who seek to understand the unexplained phenomena that dart through our skies.
MUFON’s investigative framework categorizes UFO incidents into four distinct groups: Close Encounters, Maneuvers, Fly-bys, and Anomalies, each defining the nature of the sighting or experience. Further delineation comes with five subcategories: Sightings, Physical effects (e.g., radar sightings), Life forms or living entities, Reality transformations, and Physiological impacts. These subcategories help to classify encounters beyond the visual, touching upon the deeper, more profound experiences reported by witnesses.
The organization’s rigorous classification system is crucial, especially considering that a significant majority—70%—of reports can be explained as hoaxes, insufficient data, natural phenomena, or man-made objects. This leaves the remaining 30% in a realm of genuine mystery and intense scrutiny.
For those intrigued by MUFON’s work, the MUFON Journal’s July 2023 edition offers an invaluable resource. Available online, it features a “Newcomer’s Guide to MUFON: What it Does, How it Does it,” which provides a comprehensive introduction to the organization’s objectives, methods, and findings.
A notable initiative under the MUFON umbrella is the Multiple Anomaly Detection and Automatic Recording (MADAR) Project, which started in 1970. This project now boasts 170 sites globally, each tasked with the collection of civilian accounts of unexplained aerial phenomena. MADAR stands as a testament to MUFON’s dedication to utilizing both human and technological resources in their quest.
One such human resource is Carl Harper, an Excelsior Springs resident and a dedicated Field Investigator for MUFON, who also contributes to the MADAR Project. When reports emerge within his jurisdiction, Carl is the person on the ground. His role involves not only collecting written testimonies from those who’ve witnessed UFOs but also gathering any form of media that might have captured these enigmatic events. With 26 cases under his belt, Carl exemplifies the commitment of MUFON investigators to bring clarity to the clouded skies of uncertainty.
The work of MUFON and its investigators like Carl is not secret; rather, it invites public participation. Those who have experienced what they believe to be a UFO sighting are encouraged to make reports at mufon.com. With the assurance of confidentiality, witnesses can reach out to Carl Harper directly at 816-848-4500 or via email at mufoninv39217@gmail.com.
MUFON’s dedication to investigating the enigmatic and the unexplained has made it the cornerstone of UFO research. In a world where the search for extraterrestrial life has moved from the realm of science fiction to that of science plausible, MUFON continues to stand vigilant, gazing upwards, always ready to delve into the next report that comes their way.
As stated on their website, the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) was founded in 1974 by Robert J. Gribble and for the last five decades has been to receive, record, and to the greatest degree possible, corroborate and document reports from individuals who have been witness to unusual, possibly UFO-related events. Throughout its history, the Center has processed over 170,000 reports, and has distributed its information to thousands of individuals.
Additionally their website has a Data Bank of reports that you can search anywhere in the world and find reports local to the area. A search for Excelsior Springs brought up the following reports:
October 4, 2002
Occurred: 2002-10-04 13:18:00 Local
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO, USA
Shape: Oval
Duration: 1 minute
No of observers: 2
Reported: 2002-10-06 19:08:53 Pacific
Posted: 2002-10-15 00:00:00
A large, white, wingless object sped across the sky
My buddy and I were outside getting some tools from our truck when I heard him say, “Look at that”.
I looked to where he was indicating, and saw a white stubby looking object traveling across the sky to the west of us in a northerly direction. I asked him if he could see any wings or tail and he said no. Neither could I.
As we watched, the craft maintained its course at a very rapid rate of speed. It soon moved beyond our sight as it passed behind a cloud.
While wondering what we had seen, and what its actual size had been, my friend spotted a commercial airliner at approximately the same altitude. We could see that the airliner was quite thinner, a little longer, and had obvious wings and a tail.
The sky was dotted with white clouds that day and the object was visible to us for less than a minute before we lost sight of it.
June 1, 1982
Occurred: 1982-06-01 10:00:00 Local
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO, USA
Shape: Triangle
Duration: 30 minutes
No of observers: 3
Reported: 2006-05-11 07:16:53 Pacific
Posted: 2006-05-15 00:00:00
Characteristics: Lights on object
Two other friends and I (three of us ) were in a parked vehicle conversing after dusk. We all saw what I am about to describe- three lights in a triangular form, though we never saw the form of the vehicle. They floated, hovered and moved slowly.
The lights were equidistant from one another, and they were white–and very very bright. They remained the same distance from each other, the entire time, and it appeared to be 3 lights on the same craft. I never saw an acutal craft, just the lights of it.
The lights moved FAR to slowly to be a normal object (like a plane), and at times didn’t appear to be moving at all. I realize that objects appear to move slower than they actually are, the farther away they are. I know that objects can look smaller than they are the farther away they are.
Over the years, as I have tenatively, and cautiously shared this story with a few select people, I have been given the following explanations. “Sue, you probably saw an airplane.”
Well, do airplanes hover? Are there lights completely equidistant, like the lights on the point of an equilateral triangle? Do they hover? I know that they can appear to hover, if they are far enough away.
But the size of these lights made it impossible for them to have been that far away.
Suggestion number 2: “Maybe you saw a spot light.” Maybe…if there were three spotlights and they moved in a straight line, and all moved together; and, if they hovered.
Suggestion number 3: “Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you.” Okay… for over half an hour, that’s a long time for my eyes to adjust to the night light, whatever. But what about my witnesses? After being ridiculed, I decided it best just to let this event in my life stay private. I am now 42, and I was 18 when this happened.
Well, you are the third person I have shared this with, Mr. Moderator.
What is your opinion? Is there a logical explanation? I know what I saw, just don’t know WHAT it is that I saw back then. Any ideas?
August 1, 1998
Occurred: 1998-08-01 00:30:00 Local
Location: Excelsior Springs/Kearney (between), MO, USA
Shape: Sphere
Duration: 1 1/2 min.
No of observers: 1
Reported: 1999-02-27 00:00:00 Pacific
Posted: 1999-04-02 00:00:00
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Emitted beams, Electrical or magnetic effects
I saw a blueish-pink glowing sphere maybe a hundred feet off the ground…
I was on my way home from work and about a mile from my destination when a light caught my attention on my right.
All of a sudden my radio went dead and I glanced down at it to see what happened. When I looked back up at the light a chill ran down my spine.
I still don’t know what it was, but it scared me and I stopped my truck to look at it. I don’t know why I did this because I was so scared that I couldn’t move. It was above the field next to my truck.
It was a sphere that was glowing a blueish-pink and it was moving real slow. I could hear this intense humming that I assume was coming from the object.
Then a beam came out of the bottom of it and it almost looked like it was searching for something. The beam was just kind of combing the ground to the left and right below the object.
I decided to get out of my truck and look at it closer, but when I opened the door the beam went out and it stopped so I got back into my truck.
All of a sudden it just shot straight up into the sky and just kind of disappeared from the inside out.
When it disappeared my radio came on full blast and my windshield wipers turned on on high.
I was so scared that I drove the rest of the way home as fast as I possibly could and ended up sitting in my truck in the driveway for about 2 hours because I was scared to get out of my truck and go into the house.
Like I said, I still don’t know what it was, but I do know that I never want to see it again.
October 22, 1999
Occurred: 1999-10-22 12:00:00 Local
Location: Kansas City/Excelsior Springs,, MO, USA
Shape: Cylinder
Duration: 15 min.
No of observers: 4
Reported: 1999-10-22 00:00:00 Pacific
Posted: 2011-06-12 00:00:00
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby
A large white object moving slowly at cloud level that was over an aproach corridor to KCI airport. It slowly entered a large cloud and disapeared. It seemed to be two to three times the size of a jet liner. Two jets did fly over and under it, but evidently didn’t see it.
Its white color probably blended with any clouds that were near. The cloud that it entered was huge, but was only 1/4 as wide as the craft which seemed maybe 1,000 ft. X 300 ft.if it was a disc, it would have to have been tilted quite a bit to have shown such an exposed face which had no shadow to speak of. Bright white and possitively Not a baloon or derigible!
I was driving to eat lunch when I noticed the thing in the sky. When I saw that it was virtually standing still or was moving very slowly, I raced to the middle school and ran inside to get some other witnesses.
Three people came out and I said “now somebody tell me what that is!” Nobody could identify it, but we all agreed that it was not a conventional aircraft. Upon entering the cloud, the others went inside the school to go back to work. I of course had to stay, never taking my eyes off of the cloud. In four minutes, I noticed that the cloud had moved to the right with the wind ( the object had gone from right to left) and something very bright was now moving away into the distance very fast! It soon disapeared at a slight angle upward.
Art bell was correct in stating that people only see these things when they bother looking up! I wonder what else I’ve been missing all these years…oh yes, as the object slid into the cloud, and the haze slid around it, It took on a grey or metalic color. the shape was oval or cylinder.
NUFORC Note:
Date not indicated. NUFORC has assigned an arbitrary date above. PD
April 10, 2010
Occurred: 2010-04-10 19:50:00 Local
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO, USA
Shape: Unknown
Duration: 15
No of observers: 1
Reported: 2010-04-10 18:58:29 Pacific
Posted: 2010-04-13 00:00:00
Characteristics: Left a trail, Emitted other objects
I witnessed a possible satellite collision or re-entry.
Unknown occurrence.
I was out in the late evening bird watching and plane watching with binoculars. The approximate time was 19:50 hrs., April 10, 2010, just before sunset. I believe I witnessed a collision of satellites, or something entering the earth’s atmosphere and breaking up.
At first I thought it was a bright star or the ISS, but it broke into two distinct parts with a debris field behind it. The objects did not seem to be falling. It was not moving like the ISS and did not streak across the sky like a meteor.
The two distinct pieces slowly drifted apart. After a couple of minutes one of the pieces broke into two more pieces. Those also slowly drifted apart.
After sunset the light was failing and I lost sight of the objects.
I observed the objects/pieces for about 15 minutes, maybe a little longer.
December 1, 2021
Occurred: 2021-12-01 21:00:00 Local
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO, USA
Location details: 602 South St.
Shape: Fireball
Duration:
No of observers: 1
Reported: 2021-12-01 19:35:57 Pacific
Posted: 2021-12-19 00:00:00
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object
Fireball appearance coming towards me, 3 points of orange light when it turned and moved away from me
Object moved slowly, low in the sky moving south to north. It appeared to be a fireball meteor over downtown Excelsior Springs. The object turned to the east and ascended slowly and when it did, the orange lights were in a triangle shape. 3 points of light glowing orange. Slowly ascended and disappeared and I could hear no sound. I would have flown directly over The Elms hotel and downtown Excelsior Springs so hopefully there are other reports. I saw this at 9:15pm
September 24, 2022
Occurred: 2022-09-24 20:35:00 Local
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO, USA
Shape: Cylinder
Duration: 10-15 seconds
No of observers: 0
Reported: 2022-09-25 12:33:12 Pacific
Posted: 2022-10-08 00:00:00
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Aircraft nearby
Dull aluminum looking cylinder object
Moving NNE at a high speed seemed to be at a very high altitude no wings no light no sound no trail watched object move at a high rate of speed with no cloud coverage at all approximately three to five minutes later there was two very high flying aircraft following the same path the craft was cylinder and appeared to be some type of alloy or aluminum
April 8, 2023
Occurred: 2023-04-08 22:52:00 Local
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO, USA
Location details: Over small town
Shape: Star
Duration: 7-8 seconds
No of observers: 1
Reported: 2023-04-09 07:50:39 Pacific
Posted: 2023-05-19 00:00:00
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aircraft nearby
Thought it was a shooting star then Inotice it remained at the same elevation as it moved towards me at a very high speed as Two lights bright as a star moving nw at a very high speed then as it passed overhead it turned a 90 degree angle never slowing and headed due East and was no longer visible within 7-8 seconds
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