Five hours of red lights and the watch that jumped 25 minutes
Two FBI interview summaries describe an unusual night in the western United States. Two witnesses reported groups of red lights, some apparently very close to the ground, moving through a mountainous area beneath heavy cloud. After the observation, one witness found that his mechanical watch was 25 minutes ahead of both phones, the vehicle clock and the second witness's digital watch.
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Two interview summaries
The files are government records, but their function matters. An FD 302 is an FBI agent's summary of an interview. It preserves what a person reported and how the interview was recorded; it does not certify that every event occurred exactly as described. Here, agents prepared a separate summary for each witness. Names, occupations and much of the operational context are redacted, yet both accounts describe the same night drive, the same families of lights and the same unusual difference between the mechanical watch and every digital time source nearby.
The first light above the ridge
According to one summary, the pair entered a mountainous area for reconnaissance during the evening, waited for heavy rain to ease and then drove about 25 miles along a remote route. Around 10:00 pm they noticed a red light near the crest of a range to the west. It first appeared to be on the mountain, then began moving east. The witness placed it between the roughly 5,000 foot ridge and a cloud base near 7,000 feet. About fifteen minutes later, six to ten more lights appeared above them, joined a common movement and travelled east and southeast. One dropped an estimated 1,000 feet rapidly before disappearing.
Three lights inside every point
To the unaided eye and initially through night optics, the lights appeared as red points. On closer examination, witnesses described groups of three smaller lights in triangular or diamond formations moving together. One reported more than 25 years of night vision experience. The summaries distinguish unaided from optical observations and say cloud concealed the stars.
Lights close to the ground
More lights appeared later to the east. One interview places two of them roughly 200 to 300 metres from the vehicle and says they were visible only through night vision. The other describes a light approaching and stopping at an estimated 400 metres, with a second light apparently only six feet above the ground. A third descended into a dry wash about 100 metres behind the observers. Terrain blocked a direct view of its source, but they said its glow moved through the wash. The pair changed position and tried to reacquire the targets without success. They reported no engine sound, exhaust or physiological effect.
The watch stayed 25 minutes ahead
Near the end of the observation, one witness checked an automatic mechanical watch he had owned for about five years. It was 25 minutes ahead of his phone, the vehicle clock, his companion's phone and the companion's digital watch. He said the watch had never differed by more than 60 to 90 seconds and had shown the correct time when checked around 10:00 pm. He deliberately left it unchanged for another 24 hours. It continued to run at a normal rate but remained 25 minutes fast. The second witness told the agent that the discrepancy was shown to him at the scene and that every digital source agreed.
What could account for the details
No inspection of the watch mechanism or environmental measurement is attached. The public record therefore cannot establish what changed its reading or connect that change with the lights.
Compare interview records D037 and D040
Interview summaries D037 and D040 allow comparison of the watch check. One witness describes using it; the other confirms seeing the time difference. Neither account supplies a technical inspection of the mechanism.
Sources and context
FBI UAP D037 and FBI UAP D040 are separate FD 302 interview summaries for the two people present. They were released on August 7, 2026 in the fifth PURSUE collection, together with four FBI digital renderings based on the witnesses' descriptions.
The witnesses' names, the precise location and the complete incident date are redacted. No original sensor files, position logs, event photographs, professional inspection of the watch or environmental measurements were released.