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ALSACAT:

ALSACAT is my comprehensive catalog of UFO sighting reports in Alsace, the region is the North-East of France, whether they are "explained" or "unexplained".

The ALSACAT catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file. A general index and thematic sub-catalogs give access to these Alsatian case files.

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Case in the Vosges, Spring 1991:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1991-00-00-VOSGES-1

Summary:

Eric, from the Haut-Rhin, filed his story on the website of the Swiss ufology group GREPI in the 2000s.

He says that in the spring of 1991 around midnight, he was finishing the cleaning of the terrace of his restaurant at 1145 meters of altitude, and saw a yellow car headlight in the forest behind the trees. He thought this was trivial, maybe a hunter or ranger.

Entering the restaurant, he wondered where the road on which the vehicle was traveling could be, and thought that it would not be easy to find in the dark, so that he would think about it the next day.

Puzzled, he went outside again and realized that this headlight was no longer on a path but in the air, in the middle of the valley, at the level of his eyes. He wondered if it was a helicopter, but noted the lack of noise.

The yellow light was coming in his direction, toward the power lines, and he then began to worry about the damage they may suffer.

He returned inside to watch the thing through a little window, and by the time he was inside, it was already behind the window, "watching me."

It was a round, smooth light, like a twin lens of a very bright yellow glare, and the size of a beach balloon. He thought that this was not just an object, that the light made him realize that it was lost and sad to have him scared. He noted that this was difficult for him to tell.

He looked at the thing for two seconds and fled, really scared.

On January 25, 2017, I received an email from Eric, who just read my page, and gave me his full name, and the exact location of the Inn where his sighting - whch he did not forget - occurred. I then note, indeeed, that there is a high power line in front of the inn.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: Spring 1991
Time: ~00:00
Duration: ?
First known report date: 2000
Reporting delay: 1 decade.

Geographical data:

Department: Haut-Rhin
City: ?
Place: From terrace of mountain restaurant then from behind one of its windows, UFO in the sky then close.
Latitude: 48.135
Longitude: 7.087
Uncertainty radius: 20 m

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 1
Number of known witnesses: 1
Number of named witnesses: 0
Witness(es) ages: Young adult ot adult.
Witness(es) types: Male, mountain restaurant worker.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: Web report to the swiss ufology group GREPI.
Type of location: From terrace of mountain restaurant then from behind one of its windows, UFO in the sky then close.
Visibility conditions: Night
UFO observed: Yes
UFO arrival observed: ?
UFO departure observed: No
Entities: Uncertain
Photographs: No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es): No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): No.
Witness(es) feelings: Puzzled, tried explanation, scared.
Witnesses interpretation: Thig with intelligence.

Classifications:

Hynek: NL or CE1
ALSACAT: Unidentified.

Sources:

[Ref. gri1:] WITNESS REPORT TO THE G.R.E.P.I. WEBSITE:

Scan.

Around midnight ... in the spring of 1991m I was finishing cleaning my terrace (a restaurant at 1145 meters of altitude) and I saw a yellow car headlight in the forest behind the trees ;;;;;;;;; nothing serious, commonplace, a hunter; a ranger ?? and on the way home I wonder where the path on which the vehicle is traveling was ?? in the dark not easy to find ... I will see tomorrow.

This intrigued me, I went back outside and there I realized that this headlight was no longer on a path but in the air, in the middle of the valley, at my eye level ... a helicopter? ?? no noise, nothing ... and this yellow light came toward me, toward the power lines.

I began to worry about the damage that could be incurred.

I went to watch this stuff through a small window ... the time I went inside, he was already at the window looking at me. I say "he" because it was not a simple object !! that glow of a very bright yellow, non blinding, and this is the hardest to say, made me understand that it was lost ... and sad to have to scare me !! I watched it for two seconds and fled !! He had me really scared ... this round glow, yellow, smooth like a twin lens ... and as big as a beach ball !!

Éric (Haut-Rhin - France)

[Ref. pgs1:] COURRIEL A MON INTENTION:

Subject: update of an article recovered from Grepy
Sent: January 25, 2017, 08:27 p.m.
From: [firstname].[name]@free.fr

Good evening

you copied an article in which i saw a yellow ball ?? and you are looking for the exact place !

ALSACAT-1991-00-00-VOSGES-1

At that time i was the responsible person of this Inn and i did not want to be considered as what people think to be weird things !! it was at the inn of the calvaire at 1145 meters altitude ! in the Bonhomme resort now is is the inn of [] at the resort of the [] ! for information i had made sketches of ny weird observation ! AND IT IS TODAY BY SEARCHING on Grepy that i stumbled on your website !! in case you would like more information i am at your disposal !there are stuff that one cant forget !! espcially like that one !!

greetings

[Firstname] [Name]

[Ref. pgs2:] COURRIEL A MON INTENTION:

Rep: Your observation.
[Firtsname].[name]@free.fr sent it to me on Mar 18, 2018, 3:47 PM
From: [firstname.name]@free.fr

Hello [Firstname],

In January 2017, you contacted me to tell me the location of the establishment where you had observed the yellow ball in 1991.

Let me first thank you for that.

Then, I apologize for responding to you so late. The thing is, I actually have thousands of emails regarding sightings that I'm trying to answer, but of course I can't get there in a short time, I'm sorry for that.

Let me ask you a few questions.

Do you remember the weather that night? Wind, cloud, rain, storm, thunder, anything?

You indicated that the yellow ball came at some place behind the window, as if looking at you.

Can you tell me if it was a window on the side of the road, or on the side opposite the road, or another side of the inn?

Were you able to get an idea of its apparent size in relation to the window? I mean, did it occupy a certain proposition of the width of the window, if so, which one? Or could it correspond to an apparent size of the type "the width of X finger if one extends the arm"?

You tell me that you had drawn diagrams relating to observation. Is there any way you can scan them and email them to me, or send me copies by mail?

Thank you very much, in advance.

Patrick Gross
ufologie.patrickgross.org

Rep: Your observation.
[firstname].[name]@free.fr sent it to me on Mar 18, 2018, 3:47 PM
From: [firstname.name]@free.fr

FOLLOWING THIS, TWO THREE answers to your request!! late......

just by cleaning my mailbox I fell on your link put aside but not lost!!!

this evening the sky was very, very slightly hazy and there was a lot of humidity in the air, the high voltage lines were crackling quite a bit!!

for this thing it looked like a beach ball 30/35 cm in diameter but to say that it was a ball or I don't know how to define this thing in any case it was very round which was indeed orange-yellow bright that gave off no lighting !!!

I still don't know wether it was a sphere or a concave or convex lens! the impression of looking through a poorly adjusted microscope!! and this thing had a crack on the edge and impurities on it or in it?? like looking through dirty binoculars! It's really not easy to explain something that one has never seen before! the impression of having looked at this thing which seemed to be round but so smooth that I had the impression of looking inside this thing! indefinable !!! a hollow soap bubble ???

to define the size it was in front of the small window located to the left of the entrance, 20 cm from the wall of the entrance hall and at the height of a wooden board which was placed on the wall ..... ...

I couldn't resist leaving fastas this thing scared me!!

a ball that tells you it's lost and asks you not to be afraid??? crazy??

Now about the sketches and the plans, I had sent them to Grepi and I hadn't made duplicates!

if you wish, when I have some time, I'll give you a map of what I saw!

looking forward to meeting you or reading you again,

[Firstname] [Name]

Discussion:

This is a quite extraordinary event for which I see no obvious ordinary explanation. The problem is that it is impossible to ascertain the veracity of the story

There are several mountain restaurant that could match in the Haut-Rhin. At 1150 meters of altitude, we have the ferme-auberge Buchwald at the Petit-Ballon, 68230 Wasserbourg. The closest from it in altitude is, at 1157 meters, the ferme-auberge du Kastelberg in Mittlach on the route des crêtes. The others are at less similar altitudes, such as the Schnepfenried at 1040 meters.

Scan.

Above: one of the "fermes-auberges" that could match.

Addition on February 2, 2018:

By Eric's email [pgs1] I now have the exact location. It was not the inn I gave a picture of above as an example of the possible inns, but another one.

In front of that inn, across the road that nears the inn's walls, there is indeed a power line, visible on this picture by the pylons on the left and the right:

Scan.

On the aerial view below, it is very apparent that it is a high power line, not just a low power electric line:

Scan.

Evaluation:

In evaluation phase...

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

File history:

Authoring:

Main author: Patrick Gross
Contributors: None
Reviewers: None
Editor: Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version: Create/changed by: Date: Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross February 29, 2016 Creation, [gri1].
1.0 Patrick Gross February 29, 2016 First published.
1.1 Patrick Gross February 2, 2018 Additions [pgs1]. In the Summary, addition of the paragraph "On January 25, 2017...".
1.2 Patrick Gross February 19, 2023 Additions [pgs2].

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This page was last updated on February 19, 2023.