The most recent reported sighting in Burlington Township was just weeks ago

By LINDSEY NOLEN and EMILY KEIFLINE

Burlington Township residents reported seeing unidentified flying objects, better known as “UFOs,” near their home three times last year, according to the National UFO Reporting Center. The most recent Burlington Township sighting was in late December.

“At approximately 9:53 p.m. on the night of Aug. 20, 2016, I went out back of my house to smoke a cigarette and looked up to the sky as I always do,” one report reads. “As I looked, I saw a dim light move across the sky, and at first, I thought it was a satellite, which I have seen numerous times. As I continued to watch the object, it suddenly became very bright as if a spotlight was turned on, only to disappear into the sky as if it was never there.”

Another report describes a cigar-shaped object flying over a Burlington Township development. The report says the UFO, which had no lights and made no sound, was flying very slowly, yet getting smaller and farther away incredibly quickly.

The most recent sighting, which occurred on New Year’s Eve, says a circular, red-colored craft the size of half of a football field hovered overhead before coming down and back up again at amazing speed.

The National UFO Reporting Center has hundreds of reports listed, and many are from other towns in South Jersey including Palmyra, Voorhees and Medford.

Medford resident George A. Filer III, a retired major from the United States Air Force moved to South Jersey in 1971 when he was stationed at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst.

As an intelligence analyst, briefing officer and master navigator in the Air Force, Filer spent much of his time in the sky, and to date remains certain of the presence of unidentified flying objects, better known as “UFOs,” in the skies immediately overhead.

While humanity has debated the existence of UFOs for centuries, Filer, who is now 80 years old, says throughout his military career, he was regularly asked to chase the vessels. He became increasingly interested in UFOs as he saw them more frequently and as ground control requested he intercept the objects.

“When I see a Volkswagen, I know it’s a Volkswagen,” Filer, who was born in Oak Park, Ill., said. “When I see a UFO, I may not be able to tell exactly what it is or where it came from, but I can see that it’s there.”

When asked why the U.S. government, if informed, does not openly share its reports and findings on the UFOs, Filer explained it is because it is back-engineering much of its known UFO technology. Additionally, he said the U.S. does not want its adversaries and enemies, such as China and Russia, to gain information into its technologies and findings.

“As far as I can tell, UFOs have been around for thousands of years. I don’t think the average person is or should be too afraid,” Filer said. “But today, more and more people are beginning to report sightings.”

Filer explained that UFOs appear different than man-made aeronautic devices in that they have the ability to defy gravity, travel much faster and make 90-degree and 180-degree turns. He added one of the UFOs he chased as a result of being picked up by his airborne radar system while in the military looked like a passenger ship, and this “mothership” had 20 to 30 smaller UFOs hovering underneath it in the sky.

“I have a bachelor’s degree from Bradley University, a master’s degree from Central Michigan, was the vice president of Medcor in Princeton, debriefed four-star generals and had all the high clearances in the military,” Filer said. “I’m not crazy.”

As a result of his extensive military career, knowledge on the subject matter and a result of his television show broadcast from Channel 53, WWAC in Atlantic City called “Investigations UFO,” Filer chose to begin an involvement with the Mutual UFO Network in 1988, initially as a field investigator. He later sent his resume for the eastern regional director and New Jersey State director of MUFON, was accepted into the position and still holds the title.

Under this role, Filer says he has received as many as 20 sightings a day, 25 to 50 reported sightings a week with pictures and as many as 1,000 reports per month. He added most reports have to do with lights in the sky, 20 percent of which are said to look like discs, 20 percent that are triangular-shaped aircrafts, 50 percent that simply appear as lights in a pattern or formation and 10 percent that resemble “motherships.”

Filer explained the presence of UFOs in South Jersey may very well be due to their affinity for bodies of water, which Filer believes they use to hide.

While Filer does not believe the inhabitants of these UFOs have any particular interest in him, he thinks they are here observing and watching the human population, as well as conducting various operations, “because we’re interesting.” With 60 new planets having been discovered in the stratus closest to Earth, he feels people need to become more open and accepting of this foreign presence.

“I don’t believe that the Earth and its plants and life are here by chance,” Filer said. “I feel the scientific research of unidentified flying objects may be the most important endeavor of mankind.”

Filer believes someday the presence of UFOs will become public knowledge, especially as many countries are already more open to the idea. If a local resident believes he or she has seen a UFO, he asks them to reach out to him with a description, and he will log the instance for possible investigation by the MUFON.

To contact Filer, email him at majorstar@verizon.net.