The Stephenville Empire-Tribune said dozens of residents in and near Erath County reported strange lights in the sky Oct. 23, the same night the U.S. military confirmed F-16s flying in the area, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported Thursday.

"I think more people are willing to come forward now that more people are talking about this," said Whitney White-Ashley, a reporter with the Empire-Tribune.

Alejandro Rojas with the Mutual UFO Network, a nationwide organization dedicated to scientifically studying UFO sightings, said most of the reports were of an oval shape with lights around the outside. He said the group has requested radar data from the F-16s and has been interviewing witnesses.

"These are descriptions that were sent into our Web site the night of the sighting, so they could not have been something just copied from media coverage," Rojas said.

The sightings come after a flurry of reports Jan. 8 of an object above the Texas cities of Dublin and Stephenville that did not behave like a conventional aircraft.