UFO ROUNDUP Volume 5 Number 28
Volume 5
Number 28
July 15, 2000
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
CHUPACABRAS ATTACK RANCHES IN ARGENTINA
Chupacabra attacks were reported in two areas of Argentina during June.
The first attack was at the La Fuegina ranch, located 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Porvenir, a small city in the extreme south of Argentina. Porvenir is on the island of Tierra del Fuego about 1,300 kilometers (780 miles) south of Buenos Aires, the national capital.
"Over 100 dead animals and dozens wounded were found on Tierra del Fuego in recent days."
"The discovery was made by rancher Jose Levill Rios, who said the dead and dying sheep were found 15 kilometers from Porvenir, showing signs of having been attacked by some kind of animal. The strange thing about this case was that the animal produced no traces which pointed to the presence of dogs, foxes or game."
"'Furthermore,' Levill added, 'it is unlikely that one of these animals may have done so massive an attack in such little time.'"
"Knowledge of the situation came about on June 6, 2000 when the watchman of the La Fuegina ranch engaged in his customary reconnoitering of the premises in the early morning hours and came across 100 animals, 60 of them dead scattered across the range."
This was the second mysterious mass death of sheep on Tierra del Fuego in a year. In July 1999, "forty dead sheep were found in barrio San Antonio near the Fuentes Martines Airport. First they found 24 of them, and six turned up later in very bad shape."
Autopsies of the slain sheep were ordered by Julio Gomez, regional director of the Servicio Agricola y Ganado or SAG (Argentina's Agricultural and Livestock Service--J.T.)
"Gomex added that he heard of the situation through third parties, and that (two other) cattle ranchers, Atilio Calcutta and Marino Mimica, who claimed having lost 22 and 4 animals respectively, had asked him to investigate."
"In Julio Gomez's opinion, the surprising sheep deaths were exclusively due to the actions of wild dog packs which wander around Porvenir in large numbers and stray from the urban perimeter in search of food."
(Editor's Comment: If this sounds familiar, read last month's issues of UFO Roundup and the government of Chile's explanation of the animal deaths in Calama and Chuquicamata.)
Two weeks later, on Friday, June 23, 2000, five cats were found dead under very mysterious circumstances in the town of Maria Elena, south of Santiago del Estero, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires.
"All of the felines presented the same traces-- a large hole above the heart through which all of the blood had been estracted."
"The residents (of Maria Elena) are frightened and would rather keep quiet about the information in their possession than have 'others think that we're cracy,' they said, turning around to avoid the cold breeze."
(Editor's Note: (Right now it's mid-winter in Argentina and the other countries of the southern hemisphere.)
"When they saw the carcass of the (first) dead cat, they were amazed."
"'This cat is different, but it has the same hole-- it's entrails are exposed. It's as if the Chupacabra was about to eat it and took off,' suggested one resident who didn't want to give his name."
"As the day progressed, more dead cats turned up== all of them with the same orifice."
'It's a supernatural creature because there isn't such an animal--much less a human being--able to inflict such a wound,' one resident said."
"An examination provided shocking details--the cat had an orifice 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter through which the right lung had been extracted along with a portion of the left lung. Furthermore, all of the blood had been drained."
On Saturday night, June 24, 2000, people at a disco in Maria Elena "heard strange sounds coming from outside the building," which they attributed to the Chupacabra.
In the nearby town of Las Piscinas, "one of the witnesses who decided to come forward was Jorge Cariaga Gonzales. According to Cariaga, "last Saturday night (June 24), he got out of his car after having seen something strange. He was then able to confirm, as corroborated by his companions, that a large animal was climbing over a nearby fence 'like a monkey'. The troubled laborer also began smelling a nauseating odor which has become characteristic among those who claim to have seen the Chupacabra."
"'It's something similar to a decomposing animal,' he said, indicating that he had had an overpowering urge to flee when at a diatance of 8 meters (25 feet) it uttered a horrifying scream."
"A veterinarian performed an autopsy on one of the dead cats, and his analysis proved that the deaths of these animals was caused by no human phenomenon or animal attack." (See the newspapers La Prensa Austral of Punta Arenas, Chile for June 9, 2000 and La Estrella de Loa for June 29, 2000. Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales, auto de los libros Chupacabras and Other Mysteries y Forbidden Mexico y Gloria Coluchi para eses articulos de diario.)
*Editor's Comment: Welcome to Creatures on the Loose Week at UFO Roundup. Chupacabra, Lobizon, Imps from Hell, Bigfoot--this week we've got them all!)
LOBIZON BLOOD SAMPLE IS "NOT HUMAN," OFFICIALS SAY
Elsewhere in Argentina, the town of Concepcion del Bermejo is still reeling from the appearance of the Lobizon (Spanish for werewolf--J.T.) two weeks ago.
On Thursday, June 22, 2000, a strange creature described as half-wolf and half-human chased Marcelito Gomex, 11, who escaped from it by hopping onto a flatbed truck. Immediately his relatives, members of the Ovejero and Gomex families, rushed to his rescue. They cornered the creature in the house and beat it senseles with sticks, bricks and garden hoes.
Thinking it dead, they left it tied to a tree. But the creature recovered consciousness and escaped. An hour later, it was seen at a local gas station by the attendant, Odilio Ponce.
Since then, other residents of Concepcion del Bermejo claim to have seen the Lobizon.
On Thursday, June 29, 2000, the Argentinian newspaper Norte suggested that residents may have seen a wild canine of the Pampas called the Aguera Guazu, noting that this animal "makes no noise whatsoever, has cinnamon and black streaked fur, soft footfalls, and moves in a very peculiar way, its hind legs larger than the rest of its body. It primarily feeds of fruit, supplemented by small rodents and birds, which it consumes whole."
The following day, Friday, June 30, 2000, the results of the laboratory tests conducted on hair and blood samples taken from the scene by Deputy Sheriff de la Cruz were announced. However, these lab findings merely complicated the whole situation.
According to Norte, laboatory technicians in an interview by telephone stated that the blood samples were "not corresponding to any human group" but added that there was "a lack of sufficient elements of elements to determine the type of animal to which the said sample might correspond."
"Locl police" in Concepcion del Bermejo "are still in possession of 'several large yellow hairs' taken from whjere the animal was left for dead and tied to a tree." (See the newspaper Norte for June 29 and June 30, 2000. Tambien, gracias a Scott y Gloria para esa historia.)
"IMPS FROM HELL" STALK TWO SMALL TOWNS IN ARGENTINA
Two towns in north-central Argentina have reported apparitions of El Diablillo, an Imp from Hell. And in the most recent case, authorities closed a police substation as a result.
On Wednesday, July 5, 2000, Argentinian police "closed the deputy sheriff's office" in Dande de Varela "and placed two agents on guard" after the police officer on duty reportedly saw an Imp appear.
"Cabo (Corporal) Miguel Angel Aguero was hospitalized yesterday morning (July 5) in a state of shock, having been given a nervous breakdown by zan apparition of an Imp or dwarf which allegedly appeared in the substation."
"Corp. Aguero, 37, being ten years in the service and a champion marathon runner in the province, was found unconscious and seated in a chair, with his eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling. When his colleagues tried to bring him around, he started screaming, 'There! There it is! It's come to get me!' pointing into the air."
Corp. Aguero was alone in the station at about 1 a.m. After performing a routine walk-through of the vacant cellblock, he returned to his office. Then he heard something come through the double doors behind him.
"'What do you want?' the agent said, petrified with fear."
"'I have come for thee on Satan's behalf,' it replied."
Later, at the hospital, Aguero described the entity in detail, saying, "It was a person; I don't know if it was a man, with red eyes, very red eyes. Its face was deformed and horrible with warts. It was about as tall as my waistline and wore filthy black pants and a green shirt. Its eyes were red and bulging. Horrible!"
According to the police report, at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 5, 2000, following three unsuccessful attempts to establish radio contact by means of the Centrex system with the substation in Dande de Carela, a police cruiser, Unit Alfa-3, was dispatched "to ascertain Corporal Aguero's situation."
The investigating officers found Aguero and then summoned an ambulance. After being apprised of the situation, police chief Domingo Celestino Martell ordered the substation closed and posted two armed guards on the premises.
The other Diablillo sighting took place on Saturday night, April 17, 2000, in the town of Frias, 270 kilometers (162 miles) north of Cordoba.. "A police officer was traveling home along the Plazoleta Alfonso de la Vega. Then he saw a petiso (little person--J.T.) he took for a child. The policeman reprimanded the youngster for being outdoors at such a late hour, but in response received a menacing look from its fiery red eyes, which were described by others persons in the same city. Gripped by fear, the policemen lowered his gaze and continued walking."
El Diablillo "is one of the most widely-believed mythological figures in Argentinian folklore. Its apparitions are common and it is always described the same way--dark clothes and penetrating red eyes." (See the newspaper El Ancasti for July 6, 2000. Tambien, muchas gracias a Scott y Gloria para esas noticias.)
BIGFOOT TRACKS FOUND NEAR PORT ANGELES, WASHINGTON
Several Bigfoot tracks were found on the Lower Hoh Indian Reservation, near Port Angeles (population 18,000) in Washington state. The tracks were discovered by two local men, Gene Sampson and Steven Penn.
Port Angeles is on the Strait of Jaun de Fuca about 85 miles (136 kilometers) west of Seattle.
The discovery brought two leading Bigfoot researchers into the area: Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum of Idaho State University and Cliff Crook, a longtime tracker of the legendary man-beast and editor of the journal Bigfoot Trails.
Dr. Meldrum, assistant professor of anatomy and biology at Idaho State University, "concluded that there was not enough factual evidence to continue an investigation."
"'Our general take was that there was something going on on their properties but it was not attributable to research of Bigfoot that we have done in the past,' Dr. Meldrum said."
"Meldrum's crew did a thorough search of the land, looking for any physical signs of Bigfoot such as hair and footprints."
Cliff Crook, however, believes that the tracks are genuine. "Crook, who was on the scene a day before Meldrum, said he found many clues leading him to believe the tracks were creeated by a Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, a large hairy creature that has been reported around the world but is most closely identified with the (USA's) Pacific Northwest."
"'I was expecting to find bear tracks, but on June 30, my initial investigation led me to believe that this was not a bear or a human prankster. This was for sure a Bigfoot,' Crook told the Peninsula Daily News."
"On (Friday) June 30 (2000), he added one more track from the Lower Hoh reservation along the Pacific coast in the extreme northwest of Washington state."
"'This year we already have 19 reports from the Pacific Northwest alone. Of them, we have thoroughly investigated nine of them and learned a lot,' Crook said."
"Crook estimated that the animal on the Hoh Indian Reservation stood eight feet (2.4 meters tall), with feet 17 inches (42.5 centimeters) long and 7 inches (17.5 centimeters) wide. With the imprint that was left in the ground, he estimated the weight to be about 600 pounds."
"Crook, 59, is editor of the journal Bigfoot Trails. He is a Bigfoot tracker, a Sasquatch detective, an assembler of 400 plaster footprints. He and his wife Carol teamed as technical advisors for the Bigfoot film Harry and the Hendersons." (See the Peninsula Daily News of Port Angeles, Wash. for July 6, 2000, "Biologist and Bigfoot researcher disagree on strength of Bigfoot Evidence." Many thanks to Steve Wilson Sr. for this newspaper article.)
UFOs APPEAR AGAIN OVER TROUT LAKE, WASHINGTON
Twice last week UFOs appeared over the ranch owned by James Gilliland in Trout Lake, Washington (population 400), a small town on Highway 141 about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Portland, Oregon.
According to eyewitness John M. Novak, on Monday, June 26, 2000, at 11:30 p.m., "I caught sight out of the corner of my eye a bright white flash almost directly above me and four other people present. Several seconds later I saw another flash at the same spot at what appeared to be a very high altitude. The flash went off another two or three times in an irregular pattern, when I saw what looked like smaller, dimmer white lights zooming back and forth (east to west and west to east--J.M.N.) at an extremely high altitude for about two to three seconds.. It actually looked like bursts of laser beams being shot back and forth, contained within a small square of stars that was just a bit larger than my fist at arm's length."
Novak's eight-year-old son also witnessed the phenomenon, he added, and "I can tell you, this event really upset him, and it took me several hours of talking to him to alleviate his fears of an 'alien invasion force.' destroying the planet. (He had been reading the book Titan A.E. before this happened--J.M.N.)"
A short while later, Novak added, "The single white flashing light lit up again and did so several times over the next minute or so. We then saw two very bright golden-white lights coming from the west at a pace of what looked like twice the speed of most satellites."
The UFO's "were seen flying right through the space where all the activity had taken place. Those two lights did not flash the whole time we watched them."
On Saturday, July 1, 2000, at 10:02 p.m., twelve witnesses at the Gilliland ranch, including Novak, "saw a bright golden-white light come from almost due south heading north. It was coming almost straight towards us. It appeared to be at an altitude of more than the passenger airliners fly (33,000 feet or 10,000 meters--J.T.) When it was nearly over the (Gilliland) ranch, it began a slow turn and headed due east. Two of the eyewitnesses were able to get it on video. One witness shot it on 35mm film. The light was very large in comparison to stars or satellites."
Later that evening, at 11:40 p.m., "approximately eight to ten of us from the group saw another golden-white light at low-altitude flying from west to east over Mount Adams. When it was just about due north of us, it flared up in size and brilliance and had a blue aura around it that lasted for about three to four seconds. It then flew off at the same speed to the east. This one was caught on two different video cameras, including the one I was using, which was able to pick up the blue color that came off of it." (Many thanks to Steve Wilson Sr. for this report.)
MYSTERY METEOR SEEN OVER HARTSVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA
On Saturday, June 24, 2000, at about 11 p.m., Heather M. and her friend "were in the pool" when "out of the corner of my eye, I saw what I thought was a shooting star. When I saw it through the corner of my eye, I believe it was heading east, then turned north, and by the time I got my head turned around, it was going east again."
"I believe it had been going for a while before I saw it over my right shoulder."
"The thing I saw ws going faster than anything I've ever seen before and was about the size of a pinpoint but shiny white. It didn't have a tail, and I can't tell if it burned out or not because it flew behind some pine trees."
Heather added that "nobody believes what I saw" except for her mother, who sighted a UFO in 1992.
Hartsville, S.C. (population 8,400) is on South Carolina Highway 15 about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Columbia, the state capital. (Email Interview)
HOVERING UFO SPOTTED IN DAIRYLAND, WISCONSIN
On Monday, July 3, 2000, at 10 p.m., eyewitness Edward P. and a small group of friends were camped out in a wooded area near the Ratigan Dam in Dairyland, Wisconsin (population 40) when they spotted a UFO hovering nearby.
"Two of the friends went for a walk a little after dark, only to come back and get me. They brought me a very short distance from our (camp) site and asked me what I saw."
"About a half-mile away, maybe further, we saw two levels of lights, one at the lower portion of the distant tree line, the other closer to the top of the trees. It didn't look like fog, and we could barely make out the trees near the lighted areas. Shortly after that, we walked back to our site."
"While talking about the lights" with their other friends, Edward added, "I noticed a very distant light in the sky, moving very quickly. I called to my friends to check this out, as there were no blinking lights like an airplane would make. We watched the circle of light move from east to west very fast, and then it stopped for just a split-second, and then sped away, either out of the atmosphere or just out of our general space."
Dairyland, Wis. is just east of the Minnesota state line and is located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) due south of the twin ports of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. (Many thanks to Jim Aho of the W-Files for this report.)
(Editor's Note: Northwestern Wisconsin has long been a UFO hotspot here in the USA.)
MAN VIDEOTAPES A UFO OVER GLOUCESTER, UK
"Gloucester resident Richard Lewis has caught an unidentified flying object on video."
"Mr. Lewis, who lives in the city, contacted (the newspaper) This Is Gloucestershire about the sighting on (Tuesday) June 27, 2000."
"He said, 'I saw two objects in the sky in a south-southwesterly direction from my home near Gloucester centre. The objects were, I estimate, 30 miles (48 kilometers) distant and at a height (altitude) of more than 10,000 feet (3,000 meters)."
At first he thought the objects were some kind of air balloons, but they began to move apart in different directions, indicating some kind of powered movement."
"Mr. Lewis said, 'Despite the apparent distance, the objects were intensely black.'"
"'I can't figure out why they disappeared from view, as there was only a single high cloud near to the objects in an otherwise clear sky. I would estimate they were above the Newnham/Forest of Dean area." (See This Is Gloucestershire for June 28, 2000. Many thanks to Louise Lowry for forwarding the newspaper article.)
from the UFO Files...
1907: WHAT THE BISHOP SAW
Forty years before Roswell, at a time when there were less than five airplanes in the USA, i.e. on July 2, 1907, a UFO exploded over the midtown area of Burlington, Vermont, a port on Lake Champlain and the largest city in the Green Mountain State.
Hundreds heard the explosion and rushed to see what it was. But only a handful of eyewitnesses actually saw the mystery object. Their 1907 testimony is reproduced below.
The testimonies were collected by William H. Alexander, Burlington's weather forecaster. He thought it was an unusual cawe of "ball lightning." He wrote, "Without doubt one of the most unusual electrical phenomena known to the writer occurred at Burlington on the (July) 2nd...The 'explosion' was so sudden, so unexpected that it startled practically the entire city and there was a general, spontaneous rush to the window or street to see what had happened."
Here are the eyewitness accounts:
Bishop John S. Michaud: "I was standing on the corner of Church and College Streets, just in front of the Howard Bank and facing east, engaged in conversation with Ex-Governor (Alexander) Woodbury and Mr. A.A. Buell, when, without the slightest indication or warning we were startled by what sounded like a most unusual and terrific explosion, evidently very near by."
"Raising my eyes and looking eastward along College Street, I observed a torpedo-shaped body some 300 feet away, stationary in appearance and suspended in the air about 50 feet above the tops of the buildings. In size it was about six feet long by eight inches in diameter, the shell cover having a dark appearance, with here and there tongues of fire issuing from spots on the surface resembling red-hot unburnished copper."
"Although stationary when first noticed, this object soon began to move, rather slowly, and disappeared over Dolan Brothers' store (corner of College and Mechanic Streets--J.T.), southward. As it moved, the covering seemed rupturing in places and through these the intensely red flames issued."
"My first impression was that it was some explosive shot from the upper portion of the Hall Furniture Store (corner of College and Center Streets--J.T.) When first seen, it was surrounded by a halo of dim light, some 20 feet in diameter. There was no odor that I am aware of perceptible after the dis appearance of the phenomenon, nor was there any damage done so far as was known to me."
"Although the sky was entirely clear overhead, there was an angry-looking cumulo-nimbus cloud approaching from the norhwest; otherwise there was absolutely nothing to lead us to expect anything so remarkable."
"And, strange to say, although the downpour of rain following this phenomenon, perhaps twenty minutes later, lasted at least half an hour, there was no indication of any other flash of lightning or sound of thunder."
"Four weeks have passed since the occurrence of this event, but the picture of that scene and the terrific concussion caused by it, are vividly before me, while the crashing sound still rings in my ears. I hope I may never hear or see a similar phenomenon, at least at such "close range."
Alvaro Adsit: "I was standing in my store (Ferguson and Adsit's Store, on the corner of College and Mechanic Streets across from Dolan Brothers--J.T.) facing the north. My attention was attracted by this 'ball of fire' apparently descending toward a point on the opposite side of the street in front of the Hall Furniture Store, when within 18 or 20 feet of the ground, the ball exploded with a deafening sound. The ball, before the explosion, was apparently 8 or 10 inches in diameter; the halo of light resulting from the explosion was was 8 or 10 feet in diameter; the light had a yellowish tinge, somewhat like a candle light; no noise or sound was heard before or after the explosion; no damage was done so far as is known to me."
W.P. Dodds: "I saw the 'ball' just before the explosion. It was moving apparently from the northwest (over the Howard Bank Building--W.P.D.) and gradually descending. I did not see it at the moment of the explosion of afterward; no damage resulted so far as known to me."
(Editor's Note: Dodds was at work at the Equitable Life Insurance Building on the south side of College Street when the explosion occurred.)
So what really happened in downtown Burlington, Vermont just before noontime on July 2, 1907? Did a hovering UFO destroy a malfunctioning probe? Did hostile aliens fire a photon torpedo at the Hall Furniture Store?
The Burlington "UFO explosion" of 1907 remains one of the strangest cases in the annals of ufology. (See the Monthly Weather Review for July 1907, "A Possible Czse of Ball Lightning," page 310.)
That's it for this week. Join us in seven days for more UFO and paranormal news from around the planet Earth, brought to you by "the paper that goes home--UFO Roundup." See you then.
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 2000 by Masinaigan Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news items from UFO Roundup on their websites or in newsgroups provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue in which the item first appeared.
