UFO ROUNDUP Volume 2 Number 21
Volume 2 Number 21
May 25, 1997
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
FLYING TRIANGLE SPOTTED IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
On Sunday, May 18, 1997, at about 6:30 p.m., a handful of people standing in the church parking lot at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 443 and Appleby Road, near Linglestown, Pennsylvania (Pa.) were startled by the appearance of a "flying triangle."
Ten-year-old Adam Wentworth described the UFO as "a perfect triangle with lights on each side. Five lights per side (and) an end light on both sides. Twelve lights in all." At that distance, the object appeared to be "one inch long" and "moved much faster than any plane."
Jane Wentworth, Adam's mother, said the UFO was "to the north directly over Route 81. We soon realized it was not a plane and observed a triangle appearing to be six inches across."
Mrs. Wentworth was "uncertain" as to how high the UFO flew. But it "was real low" and "moved slowly to the west."
Gwen Hastings, Adam's aunt, was also in the church parking lot. Ms. Hastings said, "The triangle flew overhead, moving in a west-northwest direction. The lights gave the appearance of protruding from the actual craft."
The group lost sight of the UFO when it dropped toward forest-covered Second Mountain. The sighting took place in a rural section of Linglestown, about seven miles (11 kilometers) north of Harrisburg, the state capital of Pennsylvania. (Email Interview)
TRIANGULAR UFOs TURN UP IN RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA
On Thursday, May 15, 1997, at 12:07 a.m., Robert Haines stepped outside of his home in Richmond, California (population 74,676). His home is on a hillside a few hundred yards from Interstate Highway 80.
Haines, an amateur astronomer, noticed that the sky was "clear and illuminated by the first quarter moon." But as he looked towards San Francisco, he noticed something strange.
"I saw a black equilateral trianglar object about the size of a half-dollar held at arm's length, moving swiftly to the east-northeast about five degrees north of directly overhead," Haines reported. "It had three lights, one at each of the vertices. These were orange-yellow and appeared as bright as fourth magnitude stars. Each light appeared to be divided into two hemispheres along the axis of motion. The object was moving in the direction of one of the vertices at a high rate of speed. The duration of my sighting was about four seconds."
"As it passed overhead," he added, "I leaped to my feet to continue observing, but was unable to pick it up because of its general dimness and the proximity of a very bright street lamp. It produced no noise except perhaps the faint sound of rushing air. However, the nearness of the (Interstate 80) freeway makes that impression unreliable."
Twenty hours later, Haines was again in the backyard, ready to make observations. He wasn't disappointed, because at approximately 10:43 p.m., he made visual contact with a UFO.
"I saw a group of lights, perhaps eight or nine clustered near the front edge of a black triangular object with angles of about 120 degrees, 35 degrees and 25 degrees," Haines reported. "The object was traveling northeast at a high speed with the largest angle in the front and the smallest angle to the northwest. Also, it was about as large as a half-dollar held at arm's length."
"It passed directly overhead and made no noise," he added. "I observed this object for about six or seven seconds. Its lights were also about fourth magnitude and looked like eyes--almond-shaped with a dark center. I may have been mistaken about this because of the dimness of the lights and the high speed of the object... It should be mentioned (that) the first object was moving along a flight path out of SFO (San Francisco International Airport) used by passenger craft at high altitude." (Email Interview)
BLACK HELICOPTERS PATROL SKIES IN FRESNO, CALIFORNIA
On Tuesday, May 20, 1997, viewers in Fresno, California (population 218,202) were startled when Channel 30, the city's ABC-TV affiliate, aired a 15-minute segment on UFOs.
Highlighting the segment was a brief tape, alleged to have been shot in Fresno, showing "a round glowing object."
Prior to the Channel 30 presentation, city residents had been puzzled by reports of black helicopters on patrol over McKinley, Belmont and Olive Avenues, just north of Chandler Airport.
Eyewitness Jeff Heuer, who lives near McKinley Avenue, said he saw one black helicopter flying over the neighborhood on May 10 at about 9 p.m. The black chopper was flying low, about 100 feet (30 meters) above the ground, at an estimated speed of 160 mph.
One week later, on Saturday, May 17, 1997, at 10 p.m., Heuer spotted two more black helicopters. "There were two of them in close formation," he reported, "No sound, no exhaust, and no flashing lights--just a steady white light. They flew very close to the ground, from the southeast to the northwest. (Kings Canyon Road to Herndon Avenue-J.T.) Definitely looked like helicopters--but very Stealth-like."
Questioned about the helicopters' appearance, Heuer said they had a "wide fuselage, no visible (tail) rotor, could not see underbelly--no visible landing gear. No noise of any type. No exhaust. Both were in tight formation, with one just in front of the other. The one in the rear seemed to be on the right-hand side of the one in the lead." (Email Interview)
(Editor's Comment: From Jeff's description, the aircraft sound like the new Eurocopter NH-90. But, according to Aviation Week and Space Technology for May 27, 1997, there are only a few prototypes of the NH-90, and all are in Europe. The first NH-90s won't be out of production until 2002.)
WISCONSIN FAMILY CONFIRMS NEW BRIGHTON UFO SIGHTING
A Wisconsin family claims to have sighted three UFOs on April 25, 1997, the night over 30 UFOs were seen over New Brighton, Minnesota, just north of the "Twin Cities" of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The family lives in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin (population 9,909), located 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Milwaukee.
"We are avid sky watchers and go 'sky fishing' on clear nights, one or two nights a week," Mr. P.H. said. "For months, we have observed extremely high moving objects which traverse the sky in a few minutes. Under the increased power of my binoculars, they appear solid, self-illuminated and round. These objects, which we named 'High Movers'...are moving in a north-to-south or south-to-north direction, with slight east and west variations. This is not consistent with satellites."
Also, P.H. pointed out that his family is seeing these "High Movers" at nighttime hours when convential orbital satellites are cloaked in Earth's umbra (shadow).
"That night (April 25, 1997), my wife and I and our 13-year-old daughter had gone out about 9:30 p.m. to our favorite viewing spot outside of town (Oconomowoc)," he reported. "It is a remote, rural area, and the sky was crystal clear. That night we saw a total of seven High Movers."
"Now, here is what is interesting," he added, "all but two were moving to the northwest, towards Minnesota! I followed one moving to the northwest about 9:45 p.m. with my binoculars and just as it was about to drop below the horizon, I saw another moving near it, more to the east. I was totally amazed to have two in my field of vision at the same time, since viewing through binoculars greatly restricts your field of vision. A third High Mover (UFO) streaked past both of them. Wow! I've never seen three in the sky at once...much less in the same binocular field of view."
"I believe I was witnessing the comings and goings of some of the objects witnessed in Minnesota," he added, "The date was the same, the time was approximately the same, and the compass direction (northwest) appears to be the same, as well." (Many thanks to Steve Wilson for this news story.)
CATTLE MUTILATIONS ON THE RISE IN SOUTHWEST USA
Since late April, the number of cattle mutilations has increased sharply in the USA, with several new cases reported in Colorado and New Mexico.
On April 29, a 7-year-old Hereford cow was found dead in Colorado's San Luis Valley, just north of the New Mexico state line. The animal was missing flesh from its left mandible and a substantial portion of its tongue. The left eye had been "carved out of its socket." Sheriff's deputies searched 1/4-acres around the carcass but found "no unusual tracks, prints or evidence was found." (See the Colorado newspaper The Valley Courier for May 15 and May 16, 1997.)
On the morning of May 1, a rancher found his 11-month-old Hereford-Charolais bull dead in a 4-acre pasture near Arroyo Seco, New Mexico (population 500), located 46 miles (73 kilometers) north of Santa Fe. The case was investigated by the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS).
According to the NIDS report, which was posted by IUFO, the 400-lb bull "was lying on its left side facing north at the corner of the 4-acre pasture near the fence. The tongue was missing--it had been cut out by the root...The right eye was missing, and a quarter- sized hole on the right side of the neck was seen, which appeared by visible inspection to contain smooth edges. The penis and the testicles were removed through the rear of the animal and the scrotum was intact. The anus was missing, but appeared to have been damaged by predators."
According to the NIDS report, the group's field investigation team also found "that some type of heavy mechanical object had made indentations 150 feet south of where the bull was found." The report noted that similar ground marks were found near a cattle mutilation in Dulce, New Mexico on April 24, 1978.
On Tuesday, May 13, 1997, a rancher in Huerfano County, Colorado, just east of La Veta Pass, found two mutilated cows on his property. Missing from both cows were the eyes, mandible, tongue and rectum. The case was investigated by Officer Lonnie Brown of the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
According to investigator Christopher O'Brien, author of THE MYSTERIOUS VALLEY (St. Martin's Press, 1996), this Huerfano County rancher "has lost quite a number of animals in the past, including four in 1994," a case investigated by Linda Moulton Howe and David Perkins.
UFOs have also been reported in the same area of the San Luis Valley as the mutilations.
A couple from La Veta, Colorado (population 611) told O'Brien that "they watched an unusual bright orange-red light that previous Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (May 12 through May 14, 1997)."
Six additional witnesses from La Veta told David Perkins that they saw a UFO in the area during the first week of May.
According to the NIDS report released by IUFO, witnesses in Arroyo Seco, N.M. "testified that they had seen a green light flying in the area on the night of the bull's death," i.e. April 30, 1997. (Many thanks to Chris O'Brien and Yechiel A. Mann for these news stories.)
COLORADO PILOT MYSTIFIED BY STRANGE RADIO CALL
On Monday night, May 12, 1997, a Colorado pilot was flying near Walsenburg (population 3,945) when he picked up a strange call on his radio.
"I was flying in clear VUCU sky (VUCU stands for "visibility unlimited, ceiling unlimited") when I picked up a weak communication on VoiceCom 121.5," the pilot reported. "This is the common-use emergency channel, and it is always monitored by commercial and most large private aircraft with more than one communications radio."
"As well as I could, I was able to make out someone at Flight Level One-Two-Three-Five Hundred (123,500 feet or 37,424 meters--J.T.) requesting 'immediate traffic in area,.' There was obvious anxiousness in his voice, and he was talking to Air Traffic Control," he added, "The only thing I know that can travel at this altitude is the SR-71 Blackbird. Now it is not uncommon to see high-flying aircraft in this (San Luis) valley, but this guy is calling, in what must have surely seemed like some desperation, on the unsecured 121.5 emergency channel."
"I have two wonderings--was the SR-71 on recon? For what? And why was he so concerned with traffic at an altitude that few pilots have ever been at?" (Many thanks to Chris O'Brien for this story.)
(Editor's Comment: The pilot might use the civilian emergency channel if the military frequencies were being jammed. Then again, it might be some joker playing with a shortwave radio. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?)
SKY BOOM REPORTED IN MISSOURI ON MAY 15
Two hours before a "mysterious explosion" rocked southern Ohio and northern Kentucky on Thursday, May 15, 1997, a similar blast was experienced in the city of St. Joseph, Missouri (population 76,691), located 54 miles (87 kilometers) north of Kansas City.
Sally Freis, a spokeswoman for Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, said the blast was "probably a sonic boom caused by an aircraft breaking the sound barrier."
Ms. Freis told the media that the boom might have been caused by an SR-71 flying from Beale Air Force Base in California to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Another spokesman, Lt. Chris Karns USAF, said "the aircraft would have been in northwestern Missouri about 2:30 or 3 p.m. on that afternoon."
Officer Archie Auxier of the St. Joseph Police Department "said the boom felt like someone had hit his house, then things began to shake."
Police dispatcher Beverly Dunn "was on her way to work at 2:30 p.m. when she heard what she thought was a blast. 'I heard an explosion, and I felt it in the South End,' she said, 'When I got here, they were getting calls from every place.'" (See the Springfield, Missouri News-Leader for May 17, 1997. Many thanks to Sam Uptegrove and Jerry Nieman of the Heartland Research Project for this news story.)
MASS HORSE PANIC HAS DUTCH SCIENTISTS BAFFLED
On Monday, May 5, 1997, at 1 p.m., a herd of about a dozen horses grazing near Udenhout in the Netherlands suddenly panicked and stampeded for no apparent cause.
According to the Dutch newspaper Brabants Dagblad for May 7, 1997, "A group of ten horses were shocked enormously Monday afternoon by something in the (sand) dunes near Udenhout. The horses ran off and left the children, who had been riding them, behind and on foot."
"At the same time, between Riel and Goirie, a horse hitched to a wagon ran away."
"And in Hilvarenbeek, the citizens tell of seeing a horse running through the street."
"We have not seen anything like this in years," said veterinarians J. Silkman and A. Aarts. "There must have been something in the air."
However, the Koniklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI) reported no unusual weather conditions. Meteorologist H. Haak said, "On Monday, between 1 p.m. and 1:15 p.m., we cannot see any weird readings." (Many thanks to Jeroen Wierda of Picard UFO Research International for this news story.)
ROUNDUP CORRIGENDA:
Last week your editor inadvertently mixed apples with oranges while reconstructing a UFO report from Uruguay. Here's how it should have read:
On April 5, 1997, a group of eight people were hiking in the Sierra de las Animas, north of Maldonado, a city 90 kilometers (54 miles) east of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Included in the group was Dr. Ricardo D. Arca. The group spotted four oval-shaped UFOs in the night sky near the constellation Southern Cross. The four UFOs moved about very quickly, and the group had them in view for 20 minutes.
No video was shot during this encounter. However, Dr. Arca is in possession of a still color photo of a luminous oval-shaped UFO that was taken near a railroad track near Salto, a city 476 kilometers (285 miles) northeast of Montevideo, close to the Brazilian border. The photo was taken on September 15, 1996, and Dr. Arca has it available for downloading. You can reach him at this email address: rdarca@adinet.com.uy.
MORE OVERSEAS UFO VIDEO
German ufologist Werner Walter has built up a video clearinghouse for Europe. He's looking for "video exchange opportunities" with UFO buffs across the globe. Werner has great videos, both of UFO sightings over Germany and TV programs devoted to UFOs from central Europe. Interested readers can contact him at this email address: 105156.3630@CompuServe.COM
from the UFO Files...
1947: JUST BEFORE ROSWELL
The Roswell incident of fifty years ago came at the high point of a UFO flap that began earlier in the spring of 1947. Here are a few of the incidents that took place back then.
May 5, 1947 - "A silvery object was reported to have fallen out of the sky and disintegrated over Washington state (USA)."
May 18, 1947 - "Several observers in Richmond, Virginia, saw a flat, white, cigar-shaped object speed across the sky at sunset, heading north-west."
May 19, 1947 - "Between 12:15 and 1:15 p.m., a silvery object was seen approaching from the north- west toward Manitou Springs, Colorado. It halted, remained motionless for some minutes, and then started 'dancing' - performing complex aerobautics. Finally it rose and flew out of sight, against the wind."
June 10, 1947 - "At 11 p.m., at Douglas, Arizona, Mrs. Coral (E.) Lorenzen watched a light rise from across the Mexican border, assume a spherical shape and disappear among the stars. The sighting lasted 10 seconds." Mrs. Lorenzen and her husband, Jim, subsequently founded the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO).
(All quotes were taken from Peter Brookesmith's excellent book, UFO - THE COMPLETE SIGHTINGS, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, N.Y. 1995., page 37. This is the book that should be in every ufologist's library. They're still on sale at your local Barnes & Noble bookstore, so check it out.)
FUN UFO WEBSITES
For more info on the black helicopters sighted in Fresno last week, visit Jeff Heuer's Website at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/6210/
For a glance at the UFO scene in Eire, try Daev's Website at http://www.blather.net/
Our parent site, UFOINFO, has a new address: http://ufoinfo.com/<
And so do we! Now, let's see if I can get it right this week... http://ufoinfo.com/roundup/
If you see a UFO story in your local newspaper, why not clip it out and send it to our snail-mail address? That's:
Joseph Trainor
UFO ROUNDUP
2501 Leonard Street, Apt. 104
Duluth, Minnesota
USA 55811-2964
To report a UFO, email our newsletter at this address: Masinaigan@aol.com.
That's it for this week. To our readers in the USA, enjoy the Memorial Day holiday. We'll be back next Sunday with more saucer news from "the paper that goes home--UFO ROUNDUP." See you then!
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 1997 by Masinaigan Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post items from UFO ROUNDUP on their Websites and in news groups provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of the newsletter in which the item first appeared.
