On January 11, 1966, there was a mass UFO sighting involving the mayor, a councilman, policemen, other media and residents. They reported what was described as a very bright and silent object hovering over the reservoir from 6:20PM until 8:58PM that evening.

One policeman was dispatched to the scene after a flood of reports. "I saw a bright light. You tell me. I don't know what it was...It stayed in the air, there was no noise. I was trying to figure out what it was," quoted Officer Joe Cisco.

There were also some physical traces of the incident, found on the ice at the reservoir. A hole was found in the ice where witnesses reported via radio that the strange light was shining down.

"We didn't know what it was," stated the Mayor of Wanaque, Warren Hagstrom. "We thought it was a helicopter, but we didn't hear a motor; it looked like a helicopter with big landing lights on. We got goose bumps all over when we saw where the hole in the ice was. None of us ever said it was a flying saucer, we just saw a bright light."

"It was there. I saw it, a brilliant white object and the color kept changing. We watched for a good half hour then it zoomed away," said another councilman.

As if the eye witness reports weren't enough, the military was tripping over itself, trying to cover up the story.

• Stewart Air Base reported no military aircraft in the area.
• Later, McGuire Air Base said that the UFO was a weather balloon which was launched from Kennedy International Airport.
• A weather observer at Patterson, N.J. then said that the UFO might be the planet Venus or an aircraft.
• Then Stewart Air Base said that an Air Force helicopter with a powerful beacon had been on a mission in the area.
• McGuire then called the local police and rescinded their balloon explanation.
• A Major Sherman then called from Stewart Air Base and denied the earlier Stewart explanation of the helicopter. He said that there were no aircraft from Stewart in the area. This call took place after several aircraft were seen over the reservoir.
• The next day, the Pentagon announced that the UFO was a helicopter with a powerful beacon.
• Shortly thereafter, Wright-Patterson made the announcement that the UFO could be attributed to the planets Venus and Jupiter and an Air Force Helicopter."

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