LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - One Fort Simpson family has seen more than their fair share of unexplained lights in the night sky and has started to wonder if maybe there's something else out there.

Mary-Jane Cazon, second from left, and her daughters Bianca, left, Shannon and Chantel stand at the Fort Simpson boat launch, a location from which they've seen unusual lights on the far side of the Mackenzie River. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

In the fall of 2009 Mary-Jane Cazon and her husband Gilbert Cazon were going for a drive in their truck near Martin River when they saw a light in the sky. As they crossed the bridge the light suddenly came close to the road above the trees.

At first Mary-Jane said she thought it was the scheduled flight coming back from Whitehorse. The light, however, was stationary and it made no sound.

Mary-Jane watched from outside the truck as the light turned red then blue then yellow before Gilbert told her to get back in. As they turned around the light followed them before buzzing over the vehicle making a sound like a large barge.

"I got really scared," Mary-Jane said.

Back in the village Mary-Jane found out her son and three of his friends had seen a similar light hovering over the ski hill. Since then the family of six has seen lights that they can't explain on multiple occasions.

This summer Mary-Jane and her daughter Chantel saw two lights, one red and one yellow, across the Mackenzie River near the site of the school's culture camp. Watching from the end of the island boat launch, the pair saw the lights disappear and then reappear much farther down the riverbank.

The lights usually begin appearing around 8 p.m. at night and are easier to see on clear nights from the banks of the river, Mary-Jane said. Everyone in the family has seen something unusual in the last six months and they now send texts to alert each other of sightings.

Bianca was at the papal site in the beginning of January when she saw a red light hovering over the trees across the river. It was snowing and there was low visibility and no stars, she said.

Bianca watched the light for about 20 minutes until it drifted upwards and finally moved away.

"When it moves side to side, up and down you have to wonder," she said.

The whole family believes the lights they've seen were created by extra-terrestrial phenomena but are cautious about being labeled as the UFO family. When they do raise the subject, however, Bianca said it's well received.

"It seems like something everybody sees but nobody talks about," she said.

Bianca has friends in Wrigley, Trout Lake and Deline who have all seen unexplained lights.

"There's so many people that have witnessed things," said her sister Shannon.

The family's most recent sighting was on Feb. 7 when a red light appeared to hover over the trees across the river and to the left of the boat launch. The light blinked slowly and changed intensity from pale to bright.

The family has unanswered questions about what is causing these lights and plans to keep watching the skies.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.