Gjoa Haven residents report UFOs
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Gjoa Haven (Feb 05/01) - Some people who watched the sun go down last week got more than they bargained for. Some saw strange lights in the sky.
"I guess you could call it a UFO," said Joseph Aglukkaq, mayor of the hamlet.
"I thought it was a satellite moving, but it seemed awfully low. Then it started glowing brighter and brighter and then it just took off in another direction."
It was the first such experience for Aglukkaq. It was followed by a second, similar sighting. The whole affair left him feeling a bit uneasy.
"That was the first time for me. It gave me an awful feeling. I felt so small," said Aglukkaq.
"You see them on TV all the time, but you kind of doubt it. Then you see it and you feel so small. You don't get that feeling until you see the thing."
Elizabeth Hiqiniq went on the local radio after she and her daughter saw the lights.
"I started watching them to see if they would move. They started going slowly at first and then one of the lights went off," said Hiqiniq.
She said the objects were round and in the sky for quite a few minutes.
"I reported it to the Rangers right away and I phoned the cops. I was hoping they'd believe it," said Hiqiniq.
"I wasn't scared. I was just surprised to see those things up here."
RCMP Const. Christine Soucy said she received 10 different reports from community members who saw the same thing on Jan. 31.
"Many people from the community have reported they've seen these," said Soucy.
Soucy placed calls to various military officials to find out if they were conducting some sort of exercise.
Capt. Brian Martin, the public relations officer for the Canadian Forces Northern Area, said the military was not conducting any exercises in the Gjoa Haven area.
"I have absolutely no idea what they're seeing," said Martin."Our official policy is there are no UFOs."
