UFO Description: Two women, a mother and daughter, were coming back home from the Portland International Airport on the Highway 26 freeway when they saw an unusually bright white light.  As they continued to watch, it got much bigger till they could clearly see that it was a large structured craft that came closer to them and hovered over a field beside the freeway as they slowed on the freeway to look at it.

Witness(es): Two witnesses:  Mercedes Corbin (pseudonym) and daughter Connie (pseudonym).

Date and Time: October 16, 2011, at about 6:10 AM.

Duration: About five minutes.

Place: On Highway 26 near North Plains, Oregon.

Weather: Mostly cloudy; winds out of the WNW at 3.5 mph; visibility 10 miles; about 48.9º F.

Case Report: Highway 26 Structured Craft UFO. Investigated by OM Field Investigator Doug Helbling with the assistance of OM State Director Tom Bowden and OM Chief Investigator Kato Harris.

Note: If you, or someone you know, saw this event, please email us at Oregon MUFON.  During this sighting, the witness noticed at least a couple of other cars slowing down on the freeway watching this UFO just as she was, so we know there were other witnesses.

Brief Narrative

This fascinating structured craft sighting was witnessed by Mercedes Corbin and her daughter Connie (pseudonyms) as they drove west along Highway 26 coming back home from the Portland International Airport early in the morning of October 16, 2011.

Here is what Mercedes Corbin and her daughter experienced in Mercedes' own words:

I was on Highway 26 near Hillsboro, Oregon, just north of the Intel site. I first noticed the UFO before the Jackson School Rd overpass as a bright light ahead of me. I first thought it was a plane with its headlights on, coming straight at me. It started as a point of bright light about five miles ahead of me.

I woke up my daughter who was sleeping in the back seat to come sit in passenger side seat and view what I was seeing. I slowed the van as I drove along with at least four other cars that were on the highway and were looking at it.

It then zipped off to the right and was over the town of North Plains. Then it zipped to my right on the north side of Highway 26 and started to slowly cruise over the freeway in front of us about 50 yards in front of us heading to the southeast. It had only an unbelievable white light coming out the bottom.

Once across the freeway, it stopped and hovered over the open field to the left of the freeway.  It then turned on red lights that glided side to side on the far-side of it and green lights that glided side to side on the near side of it. They were gliding separately in opposite directions to each other with the white glow still present. It was at times easy to see the shape of a long rectangle with a triangle front, and at times it was hard to see the shape at all. It was dark gray and not shiny at all and made NO NOISE!

I was intensely focused on trying to figure out what I was seeing—looking for wings, looking for lights, looking for windows, anything that would have told my brain it was just a weird airplane.

But, when I didn't see anything I knew was normal, I started stressing and trying to explain to myself what my daughter and I were seeing. Then we passed the tree line and I knew I had to turn around and try to see it better. So we turned back around on Glencoe Road and headed back and that only took less than two minutes—if that—and it was COMPLETELY gone!

Something that big should have still been on the skyline or something! The last thing I was thinking was clicking pictures or stopping. I wish now that I had done that!

FAA Radar Data Acquired

When lower-level, structured craft UFO cases arise, Oregon MUFON sometimes makes a FOIA request for pertinent FAA radar data.  The Seattle office responded promptly to our request.  Some preliminary analysis of the data has been done, and it shows no large aircraft as described by the witness in the Hillsboro area at the time and date of the sighting.  Analysis of the data is continuing, however.

Download the case study and read more about this structured craft sighting.

Mercedes Corbin's Rendition of the Structured Craft UFO

UFO Description: Two women, bicycling together, near the Willamette River in downtown Portland both see a cigar-shaped, dark UFO.  It appears first in the north, gets closer to them, and then disappears back in the north after a ten minute flight.  They see it continuously.

Witness(es): Two witnesses:  Sheila Woolcott (pseudonym) and friend Alexandra Miller (pseudonym).

Date and Time: May 15, 2004, at about 1:15 to 1:25 PM.

Duration: About ten minutes observation and one minute and 12 seconds of video.

Place: Downtown Portland, Oregon.

Weather: Gray, overcast, low clouds with occasional light rain; winds out of the north at 4.6 mph; visibility 10 miles; about 55.9º F.

Case Report: Eastbank Esplanade Cigar UFO. Investigated by Tom Bowden, OM State Director, and Keith Rowell, OM Assistant State Director.

Brief Narrative

This case offers much more than the usual UFO case.  We had two excellent witnesses that we were privileged to interview at the site of their sighting.  Additionally, the principal witness (Sheila Woolcott) took both photos and video and generously made them available for analysis.  (We would also like to thank Sheila Woolcott for allowing us to use her UFO image for one of our three genuine UFO images in our OM website banner.)

At around 1:15 PM on May 15, 2004, on an overcast, very light rainy day, two women—Sheila Woolcott and Alexandra Miller (pseudonyms) —were riding their bikes together recreationally on the Eastbank Esplanade on the Willamette River just opposite downtown Portland. The Eastbank Esplanade is a popular walk way immediately adjacent to the east side of the Willamette River.

Alexandra first spotted an odd dark object in the sky to the north, so she stopped to examine it more closely. Sheila stopped, too, and they both watched in amazement as a quite dark, cigar-shaped (or rod-shaped) object moved along in the sky. It was going along just below the gray overcast cloud layer.

The UFO kept moving closer to them and was now in the northeast. At about its closest approach off to the northeast, Sheila remembered her camera and ended up taking three photos and a one minute and 12 second video of the strange object. Soon, it began more or less retracing its path in the sky to disappear back in the north.

When the UFO was near its closest approach, Sheila strangely had mixed emotions about whether she should be photographing and video-recording this UFO.

As always, be sure to download the full case study and read it thoroughly before committing to judgment about just what this thing might have been.

Sheila Woolcott's Photo of UFO and an I-5 Freeway Light Fixture

Doug Helbling, chief investigator and organizer of the Strange Events Institute, and Keith Rowell, Assistant State Director of Oregon MUFON, have teamed up to sponsor a new UFO discussion group based in Beaverton on the westside of the Portland, Oregon, metro area.

Purpose

This new group is meant to bring together people sincerely interested in the UFO topic who would like to participate in a respectful information sharing environment. Participants will likely range from casually interested first timers to people with almost 40 years of experience in the UFO research and investigation field.

Not for Debunkers and Extreme Skeptics

Please note that this group is not for UFO debunkers or extreme skeptics. There are other places for you if you want to talk about UFOs. Try the Oregonians for Rationality people. They will be happy to have you. However, if you are a true, open-minded skeptic who can be respectful of other opinions, then you are welcome. Unfortunately, it is necessary to talk about debunkers and extreme skeptics because they can be disruptive when your aim is open, honest, respectful sharing of information.

The Genuine UFO Is a Reality

SEI and Oregon MUFON think there is plenty of evidence amounting to proof that there definitely is a genuine mystery surrounding the best of the UFO evidence so far gathered and evaluated after 60 years. We strongly suspect a human-like (but non-human) intelligence is associated with the genuine UFO phenomenon. A first guess as to the origin of this intelligence is the known physical universe outside Planet Earth. However, another good guess might be the "transpersonal world." Scholars and scientists concerned with UFO study know that genuine UFOs exist but there is lots more to learn.

Some Simple Guidelines

To help accomplish our goals for this group, we will be following some simple guidelines:

• The free discussion periods will be moderated with a five minute limit per person with a five minute follow up unless a majority of participants would like more time. Then we move on. This will ensure that everyone who wants to talk will get a chance.
• There is no requirement for an attendee to be a member of either of the sponsoring organizations.
• Participants may choose to share their personal stories, their knowledge of sightings and related research, or whatever is of interest to the attendees. The participants will drive the content of the discussions. Some may choose to make brief presentations based on their own research or experiences. We may occasionally show short videos or share relevant web content.
• There will be no restrictions placed on the subject matter except that it needs to be at least marginally related to UFOs and paranormal phenomena. (This includes a lot of stuff, however!)
• Individuals are free to take notes during these discussions, but the sessions will not be audio- or video-recorded.
• Food and non-alcoholic beverages are allowed, so you can “brown bag it” for yourself or bring snacks to share if you want to. Volunteers are welcome for that little bit of effort needed to help set up tables and chairs and to clean up the room afterwards.

Schedule and Location