And then it did an unusual thing, for a UFO. In mid-evening, it sailed slowly, gently, right over a major U.S. city: Phoenix and the metropolitan sprawl of the "Valley of the Sun."

People sitting outdoors in the warm desert evening saw it. Both teams in a softball game saw it. Three little girls playing with a puppy in their backyard saw it and called for their mommy and daddy to look at it. A commercial pilot coming in for a landing saw it.

Phoenix police phone lines lit up, and five officers later admitted to their buddies that when they had responded to radio calls about the object, they had seen a huge boomerang or triangular object with large, evenly spaced lights underneath, or along its front edge.

A dozen people around Phoenix pulled out video cameras and started shooting. Several witnesses called local TV stations and Luke Air Force Base.

The object apparently continued its way slowly toward the southeast and drifted out of sight.

The next morning, the Phoenix newspaper had an article about the object. Local TV news carried the story. And before long, newspapers in other cities picked up the story. Even the TV networks covered it. "UFO over Phoenix."

People from other parts of the country noticed that Arizona was down there by New Mexico. Roswell. And not so far from the so-called "Area 51" in Nevada, either.

People from all over had their theories. A formation of small planes, maybe. Could've been a secret stealth bomber on a night flight. Obviously an extraterrestrial craft. No, definitely flares from the nearby Air Force range used for practice bombing runs.

At first, Luke Air Force Base reported that they got no calls about it. But local news reporters found sources from the base who said the phone lines at Luke were lit up like a Christmas tree. And maybe some fighter jets had been scrambled to intercept something that night.

The next morning, back in San Diego, JRSG folks had their own opinions.

Ed Thompson and Bill MacNeil were supposed to be researching UFO reports, among other things.

Colonel O'Brien thought this was a highly unusual case. He even called a special afternoon meeting. All of them were there except Amy and Mike. Dan Wells and Jim Etienne walked up the hill from the dolphin facilities. Gene Voss, Karen Valdez, and Jennifer Thorsen canceled a drive to Camp Pendleton.

O'Brien opened the meeting and passed around copies of newspaper articles on the incident. A few of them had heard about it on TV or the radio.

"I've called the meeting to discuss the situation in Phoenix. I've asked Team Two to give us a briefing on it. This seems like an odd UFO sighting to me. I'd like us to kick it around a little. Colonel Thompson, enlighten us please."

"Well, sir, MacNeil and I called some TV stations over in Phoenix and read the newspaper articles. I called Luke Air Force Base and they can't give us any more than is in the press. That's about the extent of our inquiry at this time. MacNeil called some relatives who live over there and they just know what they saw on TV and in the papers. MacNeil has prepared a brief report. Mac, go ahead."

Bill glanced at his legal pad and skimmed over the notes he had jotted down on the UFO.

"Well, basically about fifty or more people in central Arizona and Phoenix reported the thing. It started in small towns up in the mountain area north and northwest of Phoenix. The thing apparently stayed fairly steady on a course of southeast or south southeast right through the center of metro Phoenix."

"Reliable witnesses. Pilots. Cops. Average citizens. Video and still shots clearly show a boomerang, or some say a triangular shape with bright, oversized lights. Air traffic controllers reportedly saw it visually but there was no signature on radar. Or so they say. Witnesses reported no engine sound and the thing was reportedly cruising at a relatively slow speed. Most of the reports and calls to the cops and TV stopped as the thing apparently cruised out of town on its course to the southeast."

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