FIERY OBJECT STARTLES NORTH SHORE RESIDENTS
*Melson Daily News, Dec 30, 1967*
A mysterious, fiery object appeared suddenly from behind Nelson (Election) Mountain Friday evening and set North Shore residents talking of "reconnaissance craft" from a distant planet.
The UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) was spotted by 12-year-old Frank Schleiermacher while he was in the driveway of his parents' house across the lake at about 5 p.m.
"I saw a bright, whitish color with a small beam coming out of the top," he said. "The beam was going back and forth and little particles were falling from the bottom of it."
The mysterious object disappeared behind a cloud and Frank ran indoors to call his mother and aunt.
The UFO became visible again through a gap in the clouds and together with her sister-in-law and son, Mrs. Schleiermacher watched in awe "for two or three minutes."
"I don't know what it was," she said later. "It seemed to come just over the top of the mountain and it was very low. There was no noise and it looked at first like a helicopter on fire with sparks falling down from it.
The UFO came up over the mountain in the vicinity of the new CBC-TV tower.
Apart from the Schleiermachers, many other people spotted it and several drivers along the North Shore road hailed their vehicles to get a better look.
The object headed south across the lake, then being lost to sight behind the low cloud base, and finally disappeared from view.
The theory that it may have been a helicopter or aircraft in trouble was dispelled when Air-Sea Rescue officials in Vancouver said they had received no reports of aircraft in difficulties or of any unusual sightings.
RCMP said they had received no reports and had no knowledge of what the UFO might have been.
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National Research Council of Canada/
Conseil national de recherches du Canada
RG 77, Vol. 306