I'd like to express i would prefer not to be contacted by telephone, but email is perfectly acceptable as a method of contact - should that be deemed necessary. so, i wanted to come forward now and report an experience i witnessed back in the (approximate) late summer of 1996/7. while walking along the beach at ardnadam / lazaretto point one late afternoon, i observed a glistening aeroplane fuselage in a typical position and not uncommon altitude in the sky, from what i could assertain would perhaps approximate around 1,000 feet above the top of the highest point of the adjacent hill top, not an entirely unfamiliar sight at least, that's what i initially thought it was on this, a perfectly clear virtually cloud-less sunny day but the events that unfolded over the following minutes however, changed that entirely. i somewhat surprisingly noticed firstly there was a distinct lack of any vapour-trail or notable trace of direction of travel as it moved very slowly on a direct course upon realizing this merited closer examination i immediately determined the colours were unlike any other metallic surface or similarily shaped structure usually associated with every day commercial aircrafts as this was gleaming with the super-reflectiveness of light on glass or a mirrored surface, there was an almost translucenct hue to the body. colours which i observed i would have to say still don't currently exist and i've still yet to see replicated. i'd almost compare it to something which is alive, something resembling the scales you'd find on a champagne coloured comet goldfish under the light of a incandescent bulb. it's appearance was that of an exceptionally highly polished chromium, copper, brass, gold and/or platinum, a multitude type of contrasts to these, are the closest assimilation i can express as a visual representation, it was all of those in one shape, so obvioulsy not a 'generic' aircraft fuselage paint you'd commonly find, i'd seen those many times and this was nothing compatible. neither was it at this point any type of helicopter as there was no kind of rotor blade noise vibration detectable. this situation was heightened when all of a sudden this object just stopped dead in place and hovered as though it co-incided with having an awareness of me noticing it. i could still make out the light cascading off the surface from the sunshine in sequences of reflective rays along the bodywork as it hung there, it remained silently motionless for a few moments, possibly a full minute or slightly more before accelarating directly upwards and in doing so, the shadows changed from my observational perspective, meaning this object had a difinitive shape to it with a distinguishable form akin to holding a plate overhead and i was clearly able to distinguish colour darkening and changing as shading and shadows were cast around the underside peripherary edge with a lower-hanging slight 'domed' external form to it becoming visible and as it climbed above all base cloud level and any reflected light from the earths surface below, continued far up into the stratosphere - where if i hadn't been focusing on it from my initial viewpoint at that moment in time, it's possible i wouldn't have noticed it all, then with a deliberate and controlled graceful long high-arching curvature shot off at a speed far beyond anything i could attempt to associate it to. having an almost animated or 'cartoonish' quality to it and just like that, it was completely gone in well under a couple of seconds, thousands of miles away in an instant with no visible trace of it previously even being there at all. the memory will always live with me i wasn't concerned, quite the contrary, i felt exceptionally lucky, it was a memory i cherish and it had such a profound effect on me that i am able to recall with such clarity over 20 years later. i was the only one present there and i don't recall even hearing a single vehicle during the entire time. i returned home and recanted the story to my parents and really didn't think much else of it, that was until the local paper reported others witnessing identical happenings in the local police reports column that week. (that may be worth pursuing for research purposes as records with both the police and the local paper should still exist and be relatively easily traceable and it may well serve to substantiate my account but obviously i'll leave that to your discretion) what's most intreguing here is that this occurred directly over a former site the us navy occupied from the late 1960's to the late 1990's - this took place merely a few weeks after their departure from the region. i wondered if there could be a correlation as just a random coincidence didn't seem likely given the definitive synchronicity and timeframe of this particular encounter. as to why i didn't come forward sooner, many reasons. having both the time to dedicate and consciously deciding to actually attempt recounting everything from memory and compile it in a coherent way hasn't necessarily been afforded to me as well as the fact this record is highly personal to me and i haven't felt like i wanted or maybe wasn't ready to disclose it at all, until now. i have also moved around considerably over the years and most importantly when this encounter took place it was long before the age of mobile phones or phones with camera's, even the advent of the age of the internet for that matter. i obviously didn't have anything with me at the time (and believe me, i still rue the day for not having anything with me) but it was intended to be nothing more than another leisurely walk along the shore to me, i couldn't ever have imagined it would have involved a quantifiably life-altering experience at that particular moment. i also only recently learned of mufon's existence and thought now may be the opportune time to reach out and report this in an 'in-depth' style and pass this on to you. i understand a considerable time has passed but i still feel what occurred that day holds a definitive certifiable validity. it may be worth mentioning, apprently that particular area has accounts of activity prior to my testimony. there is i believe even still to this day, a video uploaded on you tube of an event during the night recorded by some visitors to the town some years back. due to the sensitivity of my position working here within the state department, i'd kindly request that any and all contact be handled discreetly. i'd be more than willing to follow up with any other information as per your request. should the need arise for any interviews face to face, i'm sure accomodations could be mutually arranged within a convenient neutral environment. - many thanks for listening.