Photos: UFO conference to examine incidents like these
- Updated
The 2017 International UFO Congress begins in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Wednesday at the We-Ko-Pa Resort and Conference Center. The event runs through Sunday. One of the keynote topics will be the Phoenix lights reported on March 13, 1997 and discussed by Arizona Gov. Fife Symington.
Arizona Gov. Fife Symington talks UFOs
- Scott Troyanos
- Updated
Jay Heiler, right, and Arizona Gov. Fife Symington joke around after Symington pulled an alien mask off the suit worn by Heiler during a new conference at the state capitol in Phoenix Thursday June 19, 1997. Symington insisted he was only joking when earlier in the day he suggested that he have the Arizona Department of Public Safety investigate the mysterious lights seen over Phoenix in March. (AP Photo/Scott Troyanos)
Demanding info on UFO sightings
- Scott Troyanos
- Updated
Phoenix city councilwoman Frances Emma Barwood sits in her north Phoenix home with a copy of The Arizona Republic which touts "UFO Mania" on its front page June 20, 1997. Barwood didn't see the lights, but many people called her about them demanding an explanation. (AP Photo/Scott Troyanos, File)
Mexico reports UFOs
- TEL
- Updated
This image made from video shows unidentified flying objects in the skies over southern Campeche state filmed by Mexican Air Force pilots on March 5, 2004, according to a Defense Department spokesman. A videotape made widely available to the news media on Tuesday May 11, 2004, shows the bright objects, some sharp points of light and others like large headlights, moving rapidly in what appears to be a late-evening sky. (AP Photo)
UFO in Gleeson, Ariz.
- Dan Tortorell / Tucson Citizen
- Updated
William Mayfield, operator of the Gleeson museum, examines a badly burned rock which was among the burned cactus at the site of the UFO in October, 1968. The rock was too hot to touch even 48-hours after the incident, Mayfield said. He reported a "queer, acid-like smell" after the event. "Nothing like our fuels smell."
UFO in Gleeson, Ariz.
- Dan Tortorell / Tucson Citizen
- Updated
Looking down from Brown's Peak near Gleeson, Ariz., in Oct. 1968. Witnesses alleged several UFO's hovered over the peak for hours late one night, leaving erratic burn patterns and acid-like smells. "They seemed to back off into the Valley behind the peak," said Pearl Christiansen.
UFO in Gleeson, Ariz.
- Dan Tortorell / Tucson Citizen 1968
- Updated
Pearl Christiansen, 71, of Gleeson, describes a UFO she saw in October 1968: “It looked as though there were a train of lights trailing from one side,” she said. “When I went through another gate, I saw the second object — very shiny and gold. ... Once in a while both would glow simultaneously.” For more photos of the encounter, go to azstarnet.com/retrotucson
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Arizona Gov. Fife Symington talks UFOs
- Scott Troyanos
Jay Heiler, right, and Arizona Gov. Fife Symington joke around after Symington pulled an alien mask off the suit worn by Heiler during a new conference at the state capitol in Phoenix Thursday June 19, 1997. Symington insisted he was only joking when earlier in the day he suggested that he have the Arizona Department of Public Safety investigate the mysterious lights seen over Phoenix in March. (AP Photo/Scott Troyanos)
Demanding info on UFO sightings
- Scott Troyanos
Phoenix city councilwoman Frances Emma Barwood sits in her north Phoenix home with a copy of The Arizona Republic which touts "UFO Mania" on its front page June 20, 1997. Barwood didn't see the lights, but many people called her about them demanding an explanation. (AP Photo/Scott Troyanos, File)
Mexico reports UFOs
- TEL
This image made from video shows unidentified flying objects in the skies over southern Campeche state filmed by Mexican Air Force pilots on March 5, 2004, according to a Defense Department spokesman. A videotape made widely available to the news media on Tuesday May 11, 2004, shows the bright objects, some sharp points of light and others like large headlights, moving rapidly in what appears to be a late-evening sky. (AP Photo)
UFO in Gleeson, Ariz.
- Dan Tortorell / Tucson Citizen
William Mayfield, operator of the Gleeson museum, examines a badly burned rock which was among the burned cactus at the site of the UFO in October, 1968. The rock was too hot to touch even 48-hours after the incident, Mayfield said. He reported a "queer, acid-like smell" after the event. "Nothing like our fuels smell."
UFO in Gleeson, Ariz.
- Dan Tortorell / Tucson Citizen
Looking down from Brown's Peak near Gleeson, Ariz., in Oct. 1968. Witnesses alleged several UFO's hovered over the peak for hours late one night, leaving erratic burn patterns and acid-like smells. "They seemed to back off into the Valley behind the peak," said Pearl Christiansen.
UFO in Gleeson, Ariz.
- Dan Tortorell / Tucson Citizen 1968
Pearl Christiansen, 71, of Gleeson, describes a UFO she saw in October 1968: “It looked as though there were a train of lights trailing from one side,” she said. “When I went through another gate, I saw the second object — very shiny and gold. ... Once in a while both would glow simultaneously.” For more photos of the encounter, go to azstarnet.com/retrotucson
UFO in Gleeson, Ariz.
- Dan Tortorell / Tucson Citizen
Pearl Christiansen, 71, of Gleeson talks watching a UFO in October, 1968. "I was happily happily excited about the beauty of the thing," she said. "I never was afraid. I had no fear – just excited."
UFO in Gleeson, Ariz.
- Tucson Citizen 1968
Pearl Christiansen, 71, of Gleeson talks watching a UFO in October 1968. “There was a red band which turned wine in color, then turned purple,” he told the Tucson Citizen. “Several minutes later it was gold.”
UFO in Gleeson, Ariz.
- Dan Tortorell / Tucson Citizen
Burn site on Brown's Peak where witnesses saw UFO's in October, 1968. Strange fires had scorched the parts of the peak. Some observers think that may be "ritualistic" ceremonies done by a nearby "hippie camp."

