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A group of southern Manitobans witnessed a strange sight in the sky over the weekend. Three residents of Piney claim they saw a shiny object three times the size of a jetliner, with a pointed end and no wings.

"It was silvery, tubular-shaped, with some odd protrusions on either side, and it flew overhead very silently," Ufology Research of Manitoba member Chris Rutkowski told Canada AM. His organization tracks UFO sightings in Canada.

The three observers watched for about 20 seconds as the object flew past them. They had a camera but were reportedly so amazed they forgot to take any pictures.

"They said it definitely was not an aircraft in their opinion, and they tend to see a lot of aircraft," Rutkowski said.

"Where they were is on a general flight path between Western Canada and heading to Toronto. They see a lot of airliners."

Rutkowski contacted air traffic controllers, who said that at any time there could be about 15 jets passing through the area at a high altitude. The mysterious object was flying relatively close to the ground.

Even more compelling, the group said they noticed the object Sunday afternoon in broad daylight.

"Most sightings are misinterpretations. This is the middle of the day," Rutkowski said.

There was another mysterious sighting on July 24, when two separate pilots saw a light moving north in the sky while flying between Thunder Bay, Ont. and Winnipeg. Air traffic controllers said there were no planes in the region at that time.

But Rutkowski said UFO sighting are down this year, after a rash of sightings in Newfoundland in January.

It's a far cry from last summer, when Rutkowski said there were over 400 sightings in July alone. Many of them were in the Prairies, including one involving Prime Minister Paul Martin's plane.

In a widely reported incident, the pilot of Martin's plane reported seeing a "very bright light" falling through the air, with smoke trailing, while the aircraft passed over Suffield, Alta., in March of last year.

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