Wyoming Woman's Video of Three Rotating Lights Stumps MUFON Investigator

This scan turned up one fresh unexplained case, one that has already been explained, and a newly released set of federal records on an airport shutdown. Here is what each report says and how much weight it can bear.

Gillette, Wyoming: three rotating lights that a MUFON investigator can't explain yet

On November 5, Cowboy State Daily reported that Gillette resident Sommer Chase has filmed three lights turning in a triangular pattern over the city. She says she often sees them on evening walks near Sunflower School. Her husband says he first noticed similar lights in 2019 while working night shifts at a coal mine in Colstrip, Montana. The article does not give a date for the newest footage. Her first video has more than 200,000 views.

Richard Beckwith, Wyoming state director for the Mutual UFO Network, reviewed the video and said he has "no explanation at present." He cautioned that it could still be explained later. Chase says the lights don't move like satellites and don't make the hum of a drone.

Rating: Moderate. This is a named witness, video and a local news report, but no independent witnesses or sensor data. Drones flying in formation, aircraft and camera artifacts have not been ruled out, and without dates and times nobody can check the footage against satellite passes.

Punta del Este, Uruguay: new videos of lights, and the Air Force says they were Starlink

On November 6, Examedia reported that residents of Punta del Este had filmed another set of lights in the night sky. CRIDOVNI, the Uruguayan Air Force's UFO reports commission, analyzed the new videos. It said the lights match Starlink satellites, with nothing else unusual in the footage. Authorities reached the same conclusion about a run of about 25 reports there in February. A 2022 episode remains unexplained.

Rating: Moderate (multiple residents with video, plus an official analysis). Likely explanation: Starlink satellites, according to the Air Force.

San Diego airport shutdown: FAA records describe a drone, and a military plan to engage one

On November 3, The Black Vault published FAA records it obtained through a public-records (FOIA) request about the September 4 ground stop at San Diego International Airport. The airport said a drone and a weather balloon had been spotted around 2 p.m. The FAA's occurrence reports say several taxiing aircraft saw a drone over the runway's departure end. They also say tower controllers spotted a silver object near Taxiway F, and that a Southwest crew reported a drone about a mile off the runway. One report notes that Naval Air Station North Island called to say the military was preparing to engage an unauthorized drone. The records don't show whether that happened, and a claim in tower audio that a drone "got shot down" is unconfirmed.

Rating: Strong (official FAA records, several crews and controllers). Likely explanation: an unauthorized drone, possibly alongside a weather balloon. Who was flying it is still unknown.

Saw something yourself?

Before you post it, run it through our Is It a UFO? checker, which screens for satellites, planets, drones and other common lookalikes. Steady footage helps a lot when investigators review a clip, and a phone tripod mount can help you keep the frame still.

Sources: Cowboy State Daily; Examedia; The Black Vault.