by William E. Jones

Mr. Glen A. Conrad was returning to his home in Hilliard, Ohio, then a small suburban village west of Columbus, from attending church on the northeast side of Columbus. He was accompanied by four family members, two adults and two children. They had seen what they thought was an odd amber colored light or star over to the east toward Columbus while driving to church, and it was still visible during their return. They would occasionally look back to watch this light as they continued their return trip. As they were nearing Hilliard this star, or whatever it was, was reportedly seen by one of the family to quickly move northward and down toward the ground, where the family member lost sight of it. Interested in seeing it again, they drove north. Having no success, the family started for home, ultimately turning westward on Hayden Run Road. They were heading back toward Hilliard.

The year was either 1974 or 1975. Glen didn’t write it down, and over twenty years have passed. It was cool out, Glen remembered. They had on jackets and there were leaves on the trees. However, he isn’t sure if it was late spring or early fall. Glen’s sister, Luann, on the other hand, is fairly certain that the year was 1975 and the sighting occurred in May. She remembered it was still cool out, there were leaves on the trees, the farm fields had not yet been planted and they were wearing jackets. Both agreed that it was dark, around 11:00 to 11:30 PM. Stars were visible, but there was no moon. If there were clouds, there weren’t many, and there was no wind.

As they neared the I-270* overpass, one of the family noticed lights coming over the trees to their left. Glen quickly stopped the car and they all quickly exited the vehicle. Four lighted objects, all in a line, were slowly moving to the north across Hayden Run Road just to the east of their position. They were moving silently and "gracefully." The objects were at a perceived altitude of two telephone poles, or approximately 60 feet. Six large rectangular white/opaque areas on the side, like "windows," lighted the objects. Toward the top and to the rear of each was a blinking red light or beacon.

As the family was exiting the car, Glen noticed that the first object was moving down toward the ground as the other three moved in a curve to the west and then back around to the south, passing between where they were parked and I-270. These three objects maintained their altitude, going southeast and disappearing back over the trees. The first object came down close to the ground about 100 yards north of where they were parked. The area was a plowed muddy field. It had rained earlier in the day. A small white farmhouse sat in this field just a bit to their right. That house is there today (1999). The object landed just beyond the house and to its left, i.e. the west.

As this object passed between the family and the dimly lit sky to the north where Dublin, Ohio is located a couple of miles away, Glen saw that the object was teardrop shaped. He estimates that the object was 60 to 70 feet long and 20 to 30 feet in height. The "windows" were located in two rows of three, with the top three windows off set to the front of the bottom three. These window-like areas were large in comparison to the size of the object. Glen estimated that they were 6 feet high. To the rear of the object, based upon its direction of movement, was the narrow end of the teardrop and a tall "blade like fin or mast." On the top of this mast was the blinking red light. The light appeared to be more like an incandescent light than a strobe, in that it turned off and on slowly rather than quickly like a strobe. The object did not seem to touch the ground, in that it kept moving to their left very slowly, seemingly floating.

They continued to watch this object for a few minutes. Glen said that if the field hadn’t been muddy, he would have run over to near where the object was hovering. Then, the object started to move slowly and "smoothly" upwards, finally gaining altitude and moving westward over I-270. Up to this point, about 10 minutes had passed. The family got back into their car and tried to follow the object as it headed toward Hilliard. The object then began to pick up speed. Because of where the roads went and the object’s speed, they finally lost sight of it. The last thing visible in the night sky was the blinking red light.

Luann, who was interviewed separately, remembers the sighting in the same detail as Glen, with a couple of exceptions. According to her, the object that almost landed finally moved northward out of sight over a low hill that is no longer there. The objects that they followed to the west were the three that never landed. She also remembers seeing a red light under the front end of the hovering object, not on a fin or mast as Glen remembers. The fact that the event isn’t remembered in exact detail by these two witnesses after twenty-four years is not surprising. The opposite would be surprising. Clearly, they saw something unusual that they couldn’t explain. Neither can we.