Some Nevadans thought test missile was a UFO

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2000 | 12:11 p.m.

Hundreds of curious observers in Reno and the Lake Tahoe saw the brilliant white light in the western sky shortly after the missile interceptor was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 6:19 p.m. Tuesday.

The interceptor missed its target and the Air Force is trying to figure out why.

Local law enforcement offices were flooded with phone calls from people who thought they'd seen a UFO.

"It was huge," said Pat Swanson, who was driving home from Pine Middle School in Reno with her 12-year-old son, Tyler.

"At first, we figured it was some kind of aircraft. But then we thought, 'No, it's too big and too bright for that.' But what could it be?"

The launch was part of the second test of the experimental National Missile Defense Program, a missile interceptor system being tested by the Pentagon.

Matt Walther of Crystal Bay, who was barbecuing on his deck when he saw the eerie flashes, said he had a hard time believing that the lights he saw were caused by a missile.

"It illuminated the whole sky," he said. "It seemed too low. It couldn't have been more than 5,000 feet above us."

Swanson was a bit disappointed to learn the true cause of the mysterious lights.

"A missile isn't very X-Files worthy," she said.