Conducting an investigation into a UFO sighting is something that can be done with a little preparation. This report will assist you in getting started, a few pointers on how to proceed, and some recommendations on dealing with the witness. It is not a complete step by step instruction manual because cases vary greatly and it is not possible to outline exactly which way the outcome of your particular case will be.
Once you begin investigating, you will most likely encounter one of three distinct types of report. The most common is the "Light in the Sky". These are most often somewhat vague, lacking any real detail. Often the light will turn on or off, blink, or move in some manner. Generally speaking these are natural or manmade objects. The witness will give you times, dates and maybe a description of what the light did but little else. Often that is enough to pin it down to a meteor, satellite, some type of aircraft, or other common explanation.
The second kind of report you will get involves a definite object of some kind. There may be a description that includes some details about the object, color, shape, sounds, etc. Possibly some effects were noted on the ground or to surroundings. Animals nearby may have reacted to it. People may experience impressions from being nearby. There may be some disruption of nearby electrical devices. As an investigator you will need to interview witnesses and determine from their response the direction your investigation should go.
Finally there are those reports where close contact is alleged. These are the most complicated cases. They encompass all of the above mentioned areas. In addition you now have the possibility of physical evidence to consider. This evidence must be handled in an appropriate manner to preserve its integrity as well as prevent possible contamination of the investigator or witnesses. All evidence gathered should be stored in some type of clean, sealed container and treated as hazardous material until proven otherwise. Another concern is the witnesses. They may have experienced something traumatic and the investigator may need to deal with that issue as well. He will need to be aware that their actions may be triggered by what they experienced or it could be a result of a psychological problem. At first contact it may be unclear what is behind their actions. The investigator will have to sum up what he sees and use his judgment to proceed. He will need to approach the situation initially with an open mind and let the case itself determine the course of action.
Regardless of which type of case you get, all begin with a witness interview. From this you can determine the direction your case will proceed. If there are multiple witnesses, treat each as a separate case, interviewing them apart from each other. Minimize the contact between them to the extent possible. As you interview do not give any of your opinions, save that for the conclusion phase of the investigation. Whenever possible interview the witness face to face to better assess their responses and help in determining their credibility. Much as we would like to believe everyone, as an investigator you need to be aware that there are people out there who do hoax reports and will fabricate stories. You can't be judgmental before hearing them, but on the other hand why waste time with an obvious hoax?
Begin the interview process by obtaining the basic information about the witness and the sighting. A General Report form is often helpful here. Have the witness complete the form, which should include at a minimum the following responses:
The narrative section is the most important. Generally it is recommended that the witness complete it at his leisure, since this where most of the detail is documented. The witness should document everything he recalls regarding the sighting. That includes what was seen, heard, smelled, felt, and even his emotional responses such as fear, happiness, or confusion. The detail here will comprise the bulk of the evidence, so it is advisable to obtain whatever you can.
It is usually recommended to have the witness complete the General Report form as soon after the sighting as possible while details are fresh and the chance of others influencing his story is minimal. In any event, the report should be completed and the researcher read through it before conducting the face to face interview.
A second important part of any interview is to establish a confidentiality level for the case. Your report from should include a provision to establish this near the beginning of the page. I use three levels of confidentiality that applies to all cases regardless of type. It should be mentioned that cases with a low level of confidentiality are usually considered more credible than those with many details withheld. But some witnesses don't want any identifying details included, so it becomes a trade-off. ( I should point out that under NO circumstances do I release witness contact information to others regardless of confidentiality level. Phone numbers or e-mail addresses are never given out.) The three levels of Confidentiality I use are:
Once the interview is complete, you may want to go out to where the object was seen. In the case of light in the sky reports, if an object was seen near the ground, take a few pictures of the area preferably using a zoom lens to bring in details of any possible ground based object that might be responsible for a misidentification. If the object was high in the sky, note any stars or planets which are in that general area. Ask the witness if he is sure one of them was not responsible for his sighting. If he says no, get a reason why not. Celestial objects are responsible for many UFO sightings, so you want to be sure that is not the case here.
If you are investigating a landing report, do not enter the area after dark. It is possible there could be physical evidence present and you would not want to destroy it inadvertently by walking through. If it is daylight, enter the area carefully. Start from one end and work through the site being careful to note anything unusual. This could be depressed vegetation, burn marks, or foreign material on the ground. If you do see anything, take pictures first before moving it. ( More about that in the next topic.)