Chris Styles, at just 12 years old, witnessed a peculiar light moving along the shoreline near his house one night. Fascinated, he used binoculars to observe a large, dull orange sphere glowing like a poker in a fireplace on October 4, 1967, around 10 p.m. Although this date is famous for a UFO sighting in Shag Harbour, Styles was in Dartmouth, N.S. That night, many individuals in the Halifax area and southwestern Nova Scotia reported seeing unusual objects in the sky, leading to it being dubbed “The Night of the UFOs.”
Styles, who has authored or co-authored three books on UFO sightings, highlighted that the attention on Shag Harbour overshadowed other sightings, such as what the crew of the MV Nickerson witnessed off Sambro. Captain Leo Mersey reported an object with three flashing red lights about 25 kilometers away, which was also picked up on radar. Additional radar readings showed three objects 10 kilometers away, unseen by Mersey.
The investigation expanded to involve the National Defence, with a memo by Col. W.W. Turner stating that known objects like aircraft, flares, or floats were ruled out as explanations for the sightings. Despite the focus on Shag Harbour, other sightings, like the one witnessed by the MV Nickerson crew, remained significant. The search for answers involved various individuals, including RCMP officers and naval diving teams, but ultimately yielded no concrete evidence.
Styles emphasized that the Shag Harbour incident persisted in public interest due to its extensive witness accounts, official responses at the time, and the detailed documentation left behind. The newspaper also reported another witness in Dartmouth who saw a bright, round object in the sky, further adding to the mysterious events of that night.