Sighting in Labastide-Saint-Pierre, July 20, 2024

At 11:50 p.m., the witness was driving along a small country road when they noticed a light in the sky on their right, in the direction of Montauban. It seemed close. The sky was cloudy and a storm was approaching. Trees soon hid the scene. A little further on, just before the stop sign at a junction, the witness saw a lasso-shaped light that stretched and changed shape like an elastic band, with quick changes of direction and altitude. They filmed it on their smartphone for 11 seconds without looking at the screen, as they had to concentrate on driving. The video shows a pale whitish light moving about in various ways at windscreen level. After taking the fork in the road, the witness saw only the lights of Montauban, about 10 km away, which was where they were heading. The whole observation lasted roughly 2 to 3 minutes. The strangeness the witness felt came mainly from the lasso shape and the movements in all directions.

The case was considered consistent, since the witness had completed a technical questionnaire and the video could be analysed. The remote investigation and the video analysis led to the conclusion that the phenomenon was probably a sky-tracer, used by a Montauban nightclub, during the "les lucioles" festival taking place in the town centre at the time, or by a private individual at a private event. The appearance matched a ground-based searchlight beam hitting the low clouds, which were confirmed to be present. The back-and-forth movements are typical of a sky-tracer, and a festive Saturday night is a favourable time for one. The witness also thought of a laser, after carrying out their own research and seeing a similar phenomenon again. It was not possible to confirm that a sky-tracer was in use in or near Montauban at that date and time, but it could not be ruled out. GEIPAN classified the case as B: probable observation of a sky-tracer.