“Calgary, Nordegg and the Edson area all seem to get a lot of confirmed UFOs,” said Nathan Zieber, MUFON Alberta’s chief investigator.

An extensive Canadian survey was recently held, said Zieber and it showed that Alberta is ranked either third or fourth compared to other provinces for UFO sightings.

Zieber, who is based in Edmonton, travels the province for MUFON. If he can’t meet face to face with people he converses with them either through phone or by email.

MUFON accepts UFO sighting reports through their website (MUFON Canada.com). People submit a sighting report and MUFON takes it from there.

“We [then] go and try and figure out exactly what the unidentified flying object is,” Zieber said.

There are many possibilities as to what an unidentified aerial vehicle (UAV) sighting might be. It could be an airplane, a satellite, a weather-related or an astronomical event. Zieber and his team of investigators determine this through a variety of means, even photography. One such photo, a triangular UAV, was submitted by an Edson resident in 2014.

“It ended up being totally genuine,” said Zieber.

The photos are scrutinized through MUFON’s forensic program. It detects whether a photo might be electronically manipulated.

Zieber said MUFON takes each sighting seriously.

“They [MUFON] remains unbiased in how they approach each investigation as submitted and it can be submitted by anyone on the website. We then try and figure out exactly what the unidentified flying object is.”

So why does Alberta seem to be a hotspot for UFO sightings? Zieber thinks that the Cold Lake military base could have a lot to do with it, along with close proximity to the mountains.

The Calgary International Airport seems to be another hot spot for UFO sightings.

“The ones [sightings] by the Calgary Airport don’t seem to line up with any natural flight paths or [with] civilian aircraft,” Zieber noted.

Many Edson sightings over the years seem to come from mobile home parks. Zieber explained this could be because many mobile home parks are located away from light pollution.

He noted that many UFO sightings occur at night – 75 to 80 per cent of the time.

Zieber has been a chief investigator with MUFON for three years. In order to do so he had to secure a MUFON membership first, and then order a training manual. After studying the training manual he had to take a test.

“They’re pretty thorough with what you have to know. The [online] exam took me about three hours.”

The exam covers everything from sighting calculations to algorithms to investigating cattle mutilations.

The MUFON investigator’s manual also has additional contacts an investigator can call if they’re not too sure on what to report.

Zieber said less than half of all sightings are confirmed to be true UFO sightings.

Investigators go through airport and weather data as part of their supports.

“If I’m not able to rule anything out that way you leave it as a UFO.”

MUFON also investigates and lends assistance to possible alien abductees.

As to the existence of aliens and what their intentions are Zieber believes like most people there are good and bad.

“I see a benevolent side – which is to help reach out [and] there is a malevolent side as well – abduction – those taken against their will.”

Zieber said as far as MUFON is concerned there is no official explanation as to what UFOs are or who is running them. He said some may be of alien origin while others could be terrestrial.

“[There are] reports from the Department of Defence, FBI and RCMP that talk about craft not being from our world.”

Zieber thinks the so called Men in Black exist and that some persons who have claimed they’ve seen UFOs have been visited by covert people who try to convince them not to talk about their sightings.

“There’s evidence that shows they’re hushing up certain things or approaching UFO victims afterwards.”

MUFON was founded in the U.S. in 1969. Alberta offices are located in Edmonton and Calgary.

Source: The Edson Leader