41594 BC-OH--UFOSighting AP-RG LOCAL NEWS RUSH 276 09/01 3:37 AM

BC-OH--UFO Sighting,310 (0048d0pa--nr014NY)

Teen-Ager Reports Seeing Unidentified Flying Object


BERLIN HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) _ A teen-ager has reported seeing an

unidentified flying object with blinking lights hovering around her

home for almost three hours before it disappeared.

Carmen Utter, 15, said she also heard a loud noise like the

wind, but did not see any signs of wind.

Ms. Utter's reported sighting was the latest in a series of UFO

sightings in Erie County in recent years. Most of the sightings

were centered near Perkins Township and occurred in the summer.

``It scared me,'' said Ms. Utter.

She said she first saw the UFO at about 10:30 p.m. Monday but

continued to see it off and on until early Tuesday.

``It was pretty big _ bigger than an airplane, about the same

size as a blimp,'' she said.

Ms. Utter said she was looking out her window when she saw what

she thought to be a star moving. She said she saw red, green and

white lights going around like a beacon. At one time, the red and

green lights stopped and bright white lights formed a cross, she

said.

Her parents also saw the object and reported it to the Erie

County Sheriff's Department.

A sheriff's deputy responding to the call also saw the brightly

lighted object, according to his report. Deputy Jeff Hippley said

it appeared to be stationary over the eastern end of Oxford

Township and was about two miles in the air. He continued to check

on the object, which appeared to move due west at a slow rate,

before he lost sight of it at 1:07 a.m. Tuesday.

Hippley said he doubts the object was from outer space.

``It reminded me of a blimp,'' he said.

AP-NY-09-01-94 0337EDT