Witness 4 Narrative: The Western U.S. Event, October 2023

Source file: DoW-UAP-D082_Narrative-4_Western-US-Event.pdf Originating agency: Office of the Under Secretary of War for Intelligence and Security — All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) Document type: Memorandum for Record — first-hand witness narrative (with hand sketch) Signatory: Jon T. Kosloski, Director, AARO Date: 02 June 2026 (incident October 2023 and after) Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Page count: 3 (all read) VIRIN: 260508-D-D0360-1064 PURSUE Release: 3

Summary

Witness 4, a federal law enforcement special agent, gives the most sustained and wide-ranging account in the Western U.S. Event — a series of observations spanning the initial October 2023 nights and continuing intermittently for months afterward. The narrative opens with a bright ball of light "like a shooting star" beaming over a hillside just after sunset, then escalates to "very bright orange lights that appeared to shoot out smaller orange lights as if being hatched from the larger very bright orange light," repeating until the witness "lost track after five occurrences."

Across several nights Witness 4 describes nine static lights in a horizontal line above a ridgeline, clusters forming "diamonds, triangles," a light that "darted between the top and bottom of the mountain within seconds, which would not be feasible for a standard vehicle," and — most concretely — a dark object roughly 400 meters away, "slightly darker than the sky at dusk and lighter than the color of the terrain," with a faint red light, hovering motionless between two mountain ridges and seemingly "using the terrain to stay hidden" with "no sounds, emissions observed and no movements despite heavy winds." The account includes a hand sketch and is signed by AARO Director Jon T. Kosloski.

Research Article

The shooting star and the "hatching" orbs

Just after sunset, Witness 4 saw "a bright ball of light like a shooting star beam across and over a hillside," orange-yellow-white, lasting "about a second or two," with "no mechanical buzzing." About ten minutes later, naked-eye and night-vision observation revealed "multiple singular bright orange lights/orbs of various brightness, size and distance," some "organized in a line of three, evenly spaced." Then came the signature behavior: "multiple singular very bright orange lights that appeared to shoot out smaller orange lights as if being hatched from the larger very bright orange light. The hatching occurred multiple times, I lost track after five occurrences." Soon after, "nine lights formed a horizontal line just above a ridgeline... static, not moving, evenly spaced apart and... visible for 30+ seconds."

Formations, a darting light, and impossible motion

Over subsequent nights the displays grew elaborate. Lights "group[ed] together, moved in a horizontal line, evenly spaced... or move[d] towards another cluster to form a shape, I remember seeing diamonds or hexagons" — so persistently that "it happened for a while that I got bored looking at them." One light "darted between the top and bottom of the mountain within seconds, which would not be feasible for a standard vehicle to do," over "very rough dirt roads" yet "produced no dust cloud." Another bright light, approached by the witness, "disappeared from my field of view (right) and an equally bright light appeared on my left at eye level."

The hidden object between the ridges

The most physically specific observation: about 400 meters away, "an object that was slightly darker than the sky at dusk and lighter than the color of the terrain. There was a faint red light on the object which was static and hovering in between two mountain ridges. This looked like an actual object and from my vantage point it seemed to be using the terrain to stay hidden... No sounds, emissions observed and no movements despite heavy winds at that altitude on that evening." Months later, the witness still occasionally saw an anomalous yellow light that hung motionless then "quickly move[d] North to South."

Significance

Witness 4's account broadens the Western U.S. Event from a single dramatic night into a prolonged campaign of activity around the sensitive site. It independently corroborates the "hatching"/"launching" behavior central to the case (here counted to at least five repetitions), the silent, dust-free motion over rough terrain that defeats a conventional-vehicle explanation, and the structured geometric formations multiple witnesses describe. The candid note that the agent "got bored looking at them" underscores how routine and sustained the activity became — a striking detail from a trained observer. The hand sketch and the description of a terrain-masked, faintly red-lit object add a tangible, near-range data point to AARO's otherwise sensor-poor case file (DOW-UAP-D077).

Key People

Locations

Incidents

Notable Quotes

"Later, I observed multiple singular very bright orange lights that appeared to shoot out smaller orange lights as if being hatched from the larger very bright orange light. The hatching occurred multiple times, I lost track after five occurrences." — page 1

"The light darted between the top and bottom of the mountain within seconds, which would not be feasible for a standard vehicle to do... the light produced no dust cloud and moved steadily." — page 2

"There was a faint red light on the object which was static and hovering in between two mountain ridges... it seemed to be using the terrain to stay hidden... No sounds, emissions observed and no movements despite heavy winds." — pages 2–3

"I continued to see three or more lights group together... or move towards another cluster to form a shape, I remember seeing diamonds or hexagons. It happened for a while that I got bored looking at them." — page 2