Three Witnesses Spot Saucer Like Object With Windows

Drawing of Object by One of Witnesses

Date of Sighting: December 30, 2005 (Exact Date Unknown)
Time of Sighting: 6:05 AM PST
Duration of Sighting: Approximately 2 Minutes
Date Reported: December 30, 2005
Location of Sighting: 8 Miles East of Astoria, Oregon (Northern Oregon Coast)
Latitude:  46.15 Degrees N
Longitude: 123.675 Degrees W
Number of Witnesses: Three
Number of Witnesses Interviewed: One
Weather: Visibility 4 Miles in Moderate Rain.  Cloud Ceiling 900 Feet. 

Description (In Witness's Own Words With Minor Edits):
Description : I was driving east on Hwy 30 from Astoria, heading to Portland Airport. It is mostly a densely forested rural area, and there are no street lights. About 8 miles east of Astoria, between John Day and Svensen, I suddenly spotted an extremely bright strobing light (like from a professional camera's strobe light), which appeared to be to the south east of me, but there were trees in
the way.

In about a minute, I would guess, I rounded a bend, and there was an object in the sky to the southeast. It was not very high in the sky at all, and I only saw it for a few seconds, but my impression was that of a saucer-sort of shape, with porthole-type windows with cross-bars.

I could not discern the shape of the whole object, though, as the light from the windows was so blindingly bright. The description of having a saucer-like appearance is strictly an impression from my quick glance. Strangely, the windows seemed a little squared, and there were at least two, probably three, of them.

The light coming through the windows was even, although one window did appear to be larger than the others. It was the light around the object that was strobing. It did not appear to be moving, but it was hard to tell, since I was moving. I was so startled, I slowed down a bit, but it is a very narrow and treacherous road, so I could not stop. But I still have the image of it against the black sky in my mind. I had to keep my eyes on the road, too, but my son saw
lights on the bottom of the craft.

My son and daughter-in-law were both with me, and my daughter-in-law saw it, too. My daughter-in-law said it strobed for about a minute after we drove by, then the light disappeared.

Sorry, we have no pictures or audio-video clips. And I wouldn't know what to draw as I have more of an impression of an image than an actual shape that I could draw. My son says he could draw it, and will send me a drawing of it, but I don't know when.

We have no idea what we saw, but we all thought it was a UFO, since there just didn't seem to be any other explanation out there in the middle of nowhere. Is there another explanation? If so, please let me know!

Investigator's Notes: My initial impression is that the witnesses may have spotted helicopters.  The Coast Guard patrols this area on a regular basis.  The witness thought that the objects were saucer shaped and had windows.  Her report was detailed and must have had made an impression on her given that she reported the sighting within a few hours of occurrence.  The witness has provided considerable information since her original report. With this new information I rate this case as a "strong" unidentified because of the very low clouds (meaning that object was flying very low), the fact that witnesses heard no sound (eliminates helicopters),  and how "shook up" the witnesses were after the sighting. The picture drawn by one of the witnesses certainly indicates a non-conventional object.