Countywide : Club Meeting to Focus on Soviet UFOs

The day after the all-American celebration of Thanksgiving, Dan Campbell of Camarillo will turn his attention to more distant lands.

Campbell, a founding member of the Ventura Chapter of the Mutual Unidentified Flying Object Network, will show a video about UFO activity in the Soviet Union at the club’s meeting at 7:30 tonight at the Camarillo Library.

“In the network, we’re not interested in the tabloid-type sensationalism surrounding UFOs,” Campbell said. “What we want is to assimilate and provide information and to keep a scientific outlook on UFOs. I’d say about 98% of sightings can be explained by ordinary events. But I keep an open mind to the other 2%.”

Tonight’s meeting, which is free and open to the public, will feature a speech about UFO activity. Headquartered in Texas, the UFO network has chapters throughout the world.

Campbell said that organizers hope to hold meetings once a month after the holidays. In the future, he said, the club will provide training sessions for people who want to become UFO investigators.

Campbell say his interest in UFOs stems from an incident that occurred about 13 years ago.

“I stepped out my front door and there was this big red light just hanging over Thousand Oaks,” he said. “At first I thought it was a plane, but it didn’t move. And then I saw helicopters and other activity coming from Point Mugu. The red light moved north and then made an abrupt turn west and flew right over my house. All I could see was a red streak, it was going so fast. I don’t know if it was an alien ship. I don’t know if it wasn’t. All I know is that I’m curious and that I’d like more information.”

Campbell, 58, said, “There seems to be pretty many sightings in Ventura County, but a lot of people don’t talk about it freely, out of fear of being ridiculed.”