Sgt. Jim Clifton of the Erath County Sheriff's Department was with Erath County Constable Lee Roy Gaitan in the early morning hours of Feb. 2 on U.S. Hwy. 377 when both saw something extraordinary in the black sky.

"It was a clear night, no clouds, no moon, and a dark night," Clifton said. "I've never seen anything like that before in my career. I've never seen any aircraft like that. The lights did not appear to be military. I was very amazed at what we saw."

Clifton said he received a call to check out an alarm at Woody's restaurant and when he got to the eatery, Gaitan had heard the call also and was already there. The two took care of business and then Gaitan told Clifton there was something in the sky.

"He heard the alarm and got there before I did," Clifton said. "I got in the car with him and observed this with him. It looked like it was over the Highland area to the west and it was a large object."

Clifton said they observed the unidentified flying object through the "dash cam" in the car and could see it quite clearly with the zoom feature. He said the camera is in a permanent mount, which is stationary. So, in his eyes, the video is more than credible because shaking the camera could not be a concern.

"To your naked eye it looked like a bright light and I couldn't really tell if it was moving, but I don't think it was," Clifton said. "What it looked like is difficult to describe because there is nothing to compare it to."

Clifton said the object had a transparent or perhaps translucent appearance and it had " a fog or vapor or cloud around it."

Clifton said he saw colors of white, blue, and red.

"I wasn't frightened - I was just trying to think of what it might be," Clifton said. "I don't have a clue. I wish I had an explanation but I can't think of any explanation. The thing that impressed me was how big it was. It stuck in my mind."

Clifton said he is looking at the sky more now to try and see it again. He said most people he knows are doing the same.

Clifton said he has seen a video from Canada in what he thinks was the year 2007 that is most similar to what he and Gaitan saw.

Both men said the sighting was reported to the Erath County Sheriff's office at the time.