Chris Styles, at the age of 12, witnessed a peculiar light moving along the shoreline near his house in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on a clear night in 1967. Intrigued, he used his grandfather’s binoculars to observe a large glowing sphere with a dull orange hue, reminiscent of a poker in a fireplace. This event occurred on the same night as the famous UFO sighting in Shag Harbour, leading to various reports of unusual sightings in the sky between Halifax and southwestern Nova Scotia, earning it the moniker “The Night of the UFOs.”
Styles, who has authored or co-authored three books on UFO sightings, highlighted that the focus on the Shag Harbour incident overshadowed other sightings, such as the one witnessed by Captain Leo Mersey of the MV Nickerson off Sambro. Mersey reported spotting an object with three flashing red lights approximately 25 kilometers away, corroborated by radar data. As the night progressed, the object transitioned into the air with a single red flashing light.
The investigation extended to the MV Nickerson crew, with Captain Mersey’s credible account documented by the RCMP. Despite the significant attention on Shag Harbour, other sightings like the one in Dartmouth were also reported. A woman observed a bright, round object moving from the Halifax-Dartmouth ferry terminal, describing it as vivid and orange-hued. The report, verified with CFB Shearwater’s control tower, did not yield any radar data during the specified timeframe.
National Defence authorities were involved in the investigation, with Col. W.W. Turner confirming that the sightings did not match any known objects or aircraft. The search for evidence in Shag Harbour involved a naval diving team but yielded no tangible results. The incident remains a subject of intrigue, with numerous witnesses and official documentation supporting the unusual occurrences that transpired on that memorable night in 1967.
