In the diagram the craft was described as a somewhat flat octagonal shape with raised portions on the top and bottom. Various light configurations with different colored lights were observed by the officer.

When he first observed it, the craft was hovering in a horizontal position. It was approximately 100 to 500 feet off the ground, based on reports of other officers.

The officer said, "My estimate is the object was about a half mile away at the most. At first, I thought it was a big aircraft, but then I realized it was hovering. I then thought, 'An aircraft that size doesn't hover.'"

Joiner quotes him as saying, "It started out horizontal, went up to the left at 30 to 40 degrees, and stopped for about five seconds. Then it went slowly vertical. It took about another five seconds to do this; then it slowly moved away to the northwest. It was one big craft."

The object eventually slowly moved away from the officer's position, remaining at a low altitude, and he was no longer able to observe it because it went behind tree tops and he was required to respond to an unrelated official police call.

NEWS MEDIA, TEXAS AND ARIZONA INCIDENTS

According to Joiner, the officer began to think more about discussing what he had seen after reading articles in the Empire-Tribune about witness reports of an unidentified object.

The first of a series of articles, written by Joiner, was published in the paper Jan. 10.

Upon learning that other officers were talking about it, he contacted them. One officer was Erath County Constable Lee Roy Gaitan, who was quoted on print articles and appeared on camera in local and national TV news reports at the time.

He told Joiner, "I thought, 'Okay ... Lee Roy (Gaitan) is talking, and he's a good friend of mine. I've known him for years and he's a credible, good person.' The other two officers had already talked about it, so I went straight to them."

"The first night I talked to them was Jan. 12. They described what they saw and I did a drawing on Notepad and took it back to them, and they said it was how they saw it."

Constable Gaitan was not the only local credible witness who had stepped forward early in the incidents. Local businessman and pilot Steve Allen came forward. So did machinist Ricky Sorrells.

Other local citizens and law officers chose a more low-key stance. Some talked only with friends, family and professional associates. Some spoke confidentially and off-the-record with Joiner.

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