MUFON Investigation Team: Dave Miller
Investigation Date: January 24, 1997
This is my only International UFO Case out of my 24 cases, a Close Encounter of the Second Kind. My father was a fighter pilot and his brother Jim served on a battleship, both in the Pacific in World War II. Uncle Jim saw countless flying objects that he could not explain as conventional WWII aircraft. His curiosity peaked after the alleged 1947 Roswell, New Mexico report of a downed flying saucer with bodies and saucer parts flown back to Wright-Patt AFB in Dayton and the wave of UFO sightings in the 1950’s. Jim became a Field Investigator for MUFON (Mutual UFO Network). As a teen in Moraine, fueled by his cases and intrigued by the unknown, I pursued by paranormal hobbies as an adult and also became a Field Investigator for MUFON.
THE SIGHTING: Seventeen Rotarian’s and I flew to Mexico City, were driven 100 km south to several cities and stayed with Mexican Rotarian families for a week. We were there to help Mexican Rotarians implement a $150,000 joint grant to set up mobile cervical cancer treatment centers. I stayed with a family in Cocoyoc in the state of Morelos. One evening during dinner conversation UFO’s were mentioned and my host Antonio said a close friend had taken a photo of a UFO four days ago. I asked if I could talk to him the next day.
We traveled ten miles to his friend, Carlos Diaz, to his house in Tepotzlan (pop. 12,500). His house was in a canyon around a mountain from the city, with few houses in the area. Carlos explained that five nights ago he was awakened at 2:30am when his dog was barking outside. The dog would not stop barking. As he looked out the window he observed a white pulsating disc shaped object moving slowly northwest. He turned away to locate his camera. Two minutes later he returned but the UFO was gone. Carlos left the camera out on his bedroom table. The following night at 1:35am he was again awakening by his dog barking outside. He grabbed the camera, looked out the window (which had no screen or glass) and took a photo (see Photo #1) of a yellowish disc shaped object which at first he thought had several dark observation windows. It was pulsating and moved east to west. It made no noise, the sky was cloudless with hundreds of stars. Carlos ran outside and saw the disc as it flew out of sight around the nearby mountain peak. His dog stopped acting agitated and barking after the UFO disappeared. This is classified a Close Encounter of the Second Kind because it was a visual nighttime sighting of a UFO seemingly 500 feet away or closer and has an animal reaction.
INVESTIGATION: When investigating the paranormal my goal is to debunk the claim, trying to determine a reasonable explanation or a hoax. Surrounding Carlo’s house was scrub brush, cactus and dirt. Carlo explained the sighting (Photo#2) to us. Started at his house we walked circles around his yard until we were 300 yards away but saw no unusual disturbance or damage to brush, tree tops or markings in the dirt. I checked and their area was in no military or commercial flight patterns. No helicopters service this area. We found no evidence.
Tepoztlan, located 46 miles south of Mexico City, is the reputed birthplace of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec feathered serpent God. Later that day we drove into Tepoztlan to the trailhead and hiked up 2,000 feet up the mountain on the 2.1 mile trail to the ruins of El Tepozteco Pyramid, a Temple honoring the Aztec God. The pyramid was built in 1470. Eerie Aztec and Mayan statues look alien-like (many Mexican UFO sightings have been reported near Mayan and Aztec ruins). We hiked a quarter mile north and west of the ruins overlooking the canyon where Carlo lived as his house was away from the city lights (Photo#4). We sat and enjoyed the panoramic view for a couple hours. Before we headed down the steep, dangerous trail at dusk, we observed nothing suspicious in the darkening sky.
