By
Richard G. Santos
After 9PM during the last week of January 2008, coffee drinking friend Robert Hernandez saw some inexplicable lights over Dimmitt County. He had just left the truck stop heading home on Veterans’ Boulevard when he spied a bright amber light in the sky. The light was brighter and larger than a star and seemed to be beyond the intersection of highway 83 and 109. The light was flickering on and off and at that time he thought it might be a helicopter or aircraft. However, the light went off completely just as two bright lights appeared at a further distance toward the west. These two lights would have been beyond Carrizo Springs and most likely beyond Asherton and Catarina. Like the nearer solitary light toward the southwest, these two lights flickered on and off. Soon they also disappeared from view.
Now at home and parking his pickup truck, Robert again saw two bright amber lights toward the east most likely well beyond Brundage. Due to the amount of time between the disappearance of the lights toward the west and appearance of the lights toward the east, either the lights moved extremely fast or there were two different sets of unidentified objects. To make matters more interesting, the solitary light toward the southeast perhaps over Highway 277, was flickering at the same time.
None of the four or five flickering, on and off lights made a sound. The lights moved too fast from one extreme position to another (if they were the same objects). Therefore, Robert does not believe they were helicopters or aircraft. Bottom line is that they did not seem to have been man-made crafts. So what did Robert see? And did anyone else east, south or southeast of Carrizo Springs also see any strange lights in the sky? If so, email me at richardgsantos@yahoo.com.
This column has in the past written about many other sightings. However, we have always been quick to note that in the late 50’s through early 70’s the high flying U-2 spy plane was operating from the Air Force Base at Del Rio. Most likely many of the sightings of inexplicable lights during that time period can be attributed to the highly secretive U-2 spy plane and whatever else was using Del Rio as a launching base.
Although the government will not formally discuss the missions, it is known nonetheless that many of the missions were over Cuba and Latin America.
Today, meanwhile, various government branches operating under the umbrella of Homeland Security are constantly conducting aerial surveillance of the border area. Apart from helicopters, blimps and small airplanes, there is no telling what else is flying over the first 50 miles of the Rio Grande. So, we repeat, what did Robert see in the night sky the last week of January?
Zavala County Sentinel – 6-7 Feb 2008