UFO ROUNDUP Volume 8 Number 47
Volume 8
Number 47
December 10, 2003
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
KENTUCKY UFO SIGHTING MAY HAVE INCLUDED AN ABDUCTION
Mysterious screams heard at the site of a UFO landing in eastern Kentucky have researchers wondering if an abduction was involved.
According to Ohio ufologist Kenny Young, an eyewitness, Dr. Virgil Davis "was driving toward his home" in Morehead, Kentucky (population 5,914) on Friday, November 21 (2003) between 9 and 10 p.m., with his two sons, aged 15 and 18 respectively. He recalls the specific date, knowing that one son was in college and would not have been home any day but Friday."
"While driving, they all spotted a soundless aerial object over a nearby open field," Young reported. The UFO "was described as an oval-shaped, white-colored light source as big as a pea held at arm's length, which moved 'like a hummingbird would move.'"
"The object, seen in the dark and clear night skies, was relatively high when first seen and was 'coming down, moving in increments as if an elevator (that) would stop and stay there awhile, then drop and stay there awhile.' Dr. Davis said."
"After the first three or four minutes of visual observation, the object began moving around to different parts of the sky. They got out of the car to see if they could identify the object to their satisfaction that the object was not a plane, a helicopter or the Aurora borealis."
"'My first inclination was to rationalize what the object could have been,' Dr. Davis said, 'rather than jumping to conclusions. After we ruled out the various possible explanations, we assumed that this was a UFO. I know for a fact that there was no explanation for this object, and I'm just glad I had my two sons with me to see it.'"
"After observing the object for a few minutes, Dr. Davis and his sons got back in the car and drove on to their home under a certain sense of apprehension." The doctor reportedly said, "I did not know what it was we were looking at and had some concern that it might or could have spotted us."
"After driving a short distance to their house, they went to a second-floor bedroom and looked out the window toward the northeast," continuing to observe the sky. "'It descended lower towards the ground and seemed to be settling in a nearby field when its color had shifted from a white to an orange. As the object got lower and lower to the ground, it became bigger, and its color changed to a reddish light.'"
Dr. Davis "said the object's size increased from a pea at arm's length to a dime (USA 10-cent coin--J.T.) at arm's length."
"'There was like a vacuum of silence while we watched this,' Dr. Davis said, 'It was like everything was real quiet, at a standstill, and then, when it became a red color, everything went crazy.'"
"Dr. Davis said the animals in the area erupted in a frenzy. His neighbor's dog was barking crazily, and his German Shepherd dog tried to break its chain."
"'At this point, after the object got red, it just shot off like a dart, some kind of acceleration, and it took off to the west. We just stood there, dumbfounded.'"
"He said the sighting lasted for an estimated 10 to 15 minutes."
"'Right after that, my two sons went back outside and heard the screaming. It was a female voice. They got in the car and within minutes had called from their cell phone to say they had been hearing screaming sounds in the field when the thing came down,' he said."
"'Approximately 20 minutes after the sighting, the police were at my door. There were about 20 officers and a rescue squad over in the field where I spotted the UFO. They were combing the area and asked me what I knew about someone screaming. Apparently, others had heard the screaming sounds.'"
According to Dr. Davis's son, the female voice kept saying, "Help me, oh my God, help me!"
"'Apparently, several people had heard the screaming. I don't know how long it lasted,' Dr. Davis said."
Kenny Young pointed out that Morehead, Ky. "is 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Flemingsburg, where a crop formation appeared in a rye field" in May 2003.
Morehead is on Interstate Highway I-64, approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Lexington.
Young added that ufologist Don Blessing investigated a case in southern Ohio earlier this year in which an amnesiac woman was found in a farmer's field in the middle of the night. The woman had no idea how she had gotten into the field. Young wondered if the Morehead incident might be a similar case of an abductee being "returned."
However, the incident report by Rowan County police states only that an officer responded to the call and determined that the witnesses had seen the Aurora borealis. (Many thanks to Kenny Young for this news story.)
SPHERICAL RED UFO SEEN IN SWITZERLAND
"A 'flying rugby ball' was seen by three people Friday night, November 28, 2003 at Froideville" in western Switzerland.
Eyewitnesses described the object as "a spherical red UFO."
"Among the Cantonal police, despite the presence of specialist investigators, no one knows any more about the UFO seen that night in Froideville."
"The two policemen dispatched to the scene did not notice anything other than a power failure that affected the entire village at the time of the sighting. They saw residents moving about in confusion on the darkened streets."
"Several inhabitants told police that they heard a suspicious humming. Three of them asserted that they had seen 'a flying rugby ball.' The witnesses telephoned the police at midday on Saturday, November 29, 2003, to report their sighting."
"'Something occurred in Froideville,' one witness asserted."
"The UFO reportedly moved vertically in front of the witnesses' windows."
"Ufologist Pierre Blanchoud of Vaudois said, 'The size of this object is rare. The observed machines are usually balls like small suns. As for the humming, this is completely normal in the UFO world. As well as the fact that domestic appliances went out or lit up spontaneously. This means the appliance lost a lot of energy.'"
"One witness, Philippe Michou, said he had seen a similar UFO twenty years ago on two occasions, once in January and again in August of 1983. He described these UFOs as 'egg-shaped' and 'red-orange coloured.'" (See the Swiss newspaper Vingt-quatre Heures for November 30, 2003. Merci beaucoup a Robert Fischer pour cette article de journal.)
YELLOW-ORANGE UFO SEEN IN JORDAN, MONTANA
On Wednesday, December 3, 2003, during a light rain, Laura M. was outdoors near her home in Jordan, Montana (population 364) when a UFO approached from the south.
"I saw a yellowish-orange glowing globe to the south just above the horizon," Laura reported, "Slowly flashing, glow that disappears like a (traffic) caution light but slower. It reappeared closer, then disappeared, then reappeared again and hovered above a mobile home. It was some 250 yards (225 meters) away from me. It looked as though it clearly had intentions."
"I left this area as fast as I could. It did not have any lights. It just pulsed light. I could estimate its size as a Volkswagen (car) or smaller compared to the 14 by 70 foot mobile home."
"It was a lot slower than a flashing light and it made me feel very uncomfortable, as if it had intentions. It was never as high as an airplane. I would say it was 100 feet (30 meters) off the ground, higher than (street) light poles."
Jordan, Montana is in Garfield County at the intersection of Highways 59 and 200, located approximately 84 miles (134 kilometers) northwest of Miles City. (Email Form Report)
ROUNDUP VAN SIGHTED REPEATEDLY IN ARIZONA
The mysterious gray UFO Roundup van was seen four times in the Phoenix, Arizona area last week.
The van, which is filled with satellite dishes, high- gain antennae and other scientific equipment, has been seen at various times and places around the USA since 1998. However, although it carries the Web site logos of UFO INFO and UFO Roundup, the vehicle does not belong to either webmaster John Hayes or newsletter editor Joseph Trainor.
Eyewitness Kristopher Robinson reported, "I was in Chandler, Arizona (population 176,581), near Phoenix," on Monday, December 1, 2003, "and I noticed a gray van with several instruments and your Web address posted all over it. I was at a work function when I saw the van, and most of my colleagues laughed, but I was intrigued. I noticed the van had Georgia (license) plates. The time I saw the van was about 4 p.m. Arizona time."
Interviewed by UFO Roundup editor Joseph Trainor, Kris provided more details about the sighting.
"The van was parked in the large parking lot of a shopping center, near the rear of the lot but not all the way to the back," he reported, "I saw no driver or operator. I saw nothing in the front seats, and the rear window was a dark tint. My guess is that it was a Chevy, but I'm not sure. Parking lot was at the corner of Ray Road and 48th Street," which Kris said was in Phoenix but only a half-mile from the Chandler city limits.
"Most of the responses of my co-workers was laughter. Mostly joking about how the van was chasing/tracking UFOs. However, despite their joking, they were all curious to see if I would find out anything about the van on the UFO INFO Web site."
"That is absolutely fascinating, that there is a mystery van driving around, advertising your site on it, and it has no affiliation. What an interesting world we live in."
Two days later, on Wednesday, December 3, 2003, Alex Ashley reported, "I saw a well-antennaed van at Borders Bookstore on Alma School Road in Mesa," (population 396,375) between Southern Avenue and U.S. Highway 60. "Do you think there may be a UFO flap around these parts? I think so."
In an interview with Joseph Trainor, Ashley added, "It seemed to be an early 90s van. It looked like flat silver. The rear windows and a window on the right side were darkly tinted. The driver, passenger (side windows) and windshield were not."
"There was a Nevada plate on the front labeled Area 51 and a Georgia plate on the rear. The Georgia plate number is 4730-AEY."
Ashley had the vehicle in view for 20 minutes, adding, "There was a lot of electrical equipment visible in the cabin. There was a pair of gimbaled 'travel' compasses with a heavy-gauged copper wiring wrapped around a bar mounted over them on the passenger dash (dashboard-- J.T.). Both compasses were pointed at the wrong poles-- north aiming south."
"Whoever drove must have eaten at McDonald's that morning, judging from the wrappers."
(Editor's Comment: Okay, Arizona readers, here's your BOLO. Be on the lookout for a light gray or flat silver early 1990s Chevrolet van, with Georgia license plate 4730-AEY in the rear. You stand a good chance of spotting it mornings between 6 and 10 a.m. at a McDonald's drive-in restaurant.)
On Thursday, December 4, 2003, at 3 p.m., a male Vietnam veteran reported, "I saw your van at the Cliff Castle Casino in Arizona. Nice touch to the satellite antenna--Area 51. I may have info that will interest you."
Arizona reader Greg Fabrie reported, "I saw your van in Prescott Valley, Arizona on Friday, December 5, 2003 and was wondering where it was headed. This was the first time in my life that I saw your vehicle. You caught my interest."
Prior to last week, the most recent sighting of the mystery van was in Prescott Valley, Arizona. (For details, see UFO Roundup, volume 8, number 40 for October 22, 2003, "Strange happenings reported in Arizona," page 1. Email Form Reports and Interviews)
(Editor's Comment: As to what the mystery van is doing in Arizona, maybe it has something to do with the next story.)
BLUE ALIEN TERRIFIES GIRL IN PHOENIX
A girl in Phoenix, Arizona says she was awakened in the middle of the night and frightened by a blue alien.
Jenna R. reported, "I was sleeping in my bed on (Friday) November 21 (2003). It was about 2:30 a.m. I always wake up in the middle of the night, but this night was different. I woke up very frightened."
"I opened my eyes and turned over and, at the edge of my bed, was a little man or woman three to four feet (0.9 to 1.3 meters) tall" and "a grayish-blue color. I remember his piercing black eyes the most."
"He slowly started moving towards me. I tried to scream but was unable to."
"He kept moving closer to me from the side of the bed."
"I immediately hid under my covers. I slowly came out from under my covers, and he was still there. So I quickly sat up. He flung open my bedroom door and ran out."
While approaching the bed, the entity "moved at about two miles per hour," Jenna added, "kinda like he was creeping towards me." (Email Form Report)
(Editor's Comment: I find it interesting that Jenna's encounter took place on Friday, November 21, 2003--the same night as the Davis family's sighting in Morehead, Kentucky. See the lead story in this issue.)
MOORS PANTHER GOES ON RAMPAGE NEAR OLDHAM, UK
A phantom panther has been sighted repeatedly between Huddersfield and Oldham, northeast of Manchester in UK, and sheep were slain in the nearby village of Thurstonland.
"A farmer is appealing for information about an animal which terrorised his sheep at Thurstonland."
"David Brown, a part-time farmer, keeps his sheep on hill tops near Oakes Avenue, between Thurstonland and Brockholes. At about 4:30 p.m. last Wednesday (November 26, 2003) some people walking their dogs contacted Mr. Brown at his home on Town Moor Lane after they sighted some injured sheep in a field."
"Mr. Brown and three friends went up to the field and discovered 12 sheep missing. The group scoured the countryside until dusk, rounding up injured sheep."
"They continued on Thursday and Friday (November 27 and 28, 2003), and on Saturday morning (November 29, 2003), they found the last sheep dead in woodland on Oakes Avenue. Three of the sheep recovered had to be put down and eight are still badly injured."
"Mr. Brown said, 'It looked like a dog attack. There are a lot of dogs on the footpath to Brockholes. Someone must have noticed if it was their dog. It would have been out a long time as the sheep were found over an area of a mile.'"
Meanwhile, "a mystery big cat spotted near Holmfirth last month (November 2003) could have made its way up into the Saddleworth moors."
"Three weeks ago, an Alsatian-sized black cat, thought to be a panther by experts, was spotted in remote fields near Hade Edge."
"Residents of Dunford Road saw the muscular feline, with a swishing tail, stalking through a field."
"Other sightings have occurred in the past six months on Dunford Road, Winscar, and on the South Yorkshire border. Now there have been several sightings near Dovestone, Greenfield and Saddleworth."
"A Greenfield farmer spotted the animal and tried to shoot it when it attacked his sheep."
"He said the creature was dark with large orange eyes, and he thought he might have hit it with gunshot."
"The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals --J.T.) alerted police in Oldham last week after receiving reports of sightings while filming for a BBC programme was taking place above Dovestone, near Intake Lane."
"Police in Oldham are concerned that the animal may be more dangerous if it is injured."
"Their fears were prompted after an anonymous phone call by a woman to a big-cat monitoring society, claiming her son had shot the animal while out poaching."
"A shooting magazine has now offered a 1,000 pounds sterling reward for evidence that the cat exists."
"Oldham police are warning people not to roam the moors looking for the cat."
"Oldham police wildlife officer Sgt. Julie Bailey said; 'The last thing we want is people roaming the moors above Dovestone taking shots at a big cat which, if it is there, will be even more dangerous because it is wounded. If we have got a big cat above Greenfield, we don't want people wandering around, hunting it.'" (See the Huddersfield Daily Examiner for December 2, 2003 and two articles in the Examiner for December 4, 2003, "Mystery cat spotted near Saddleworth" and "Moors panther 'may have been wounded.'" Many thanks to Robert Fischer, UFO Roundup's phantom panther expert, for these newspaper articles. For more on the Moors Panther, see UFO Roundup, volume 8, number 45 for November 26, 2003, "Phantom panther seen in Huddersfield, England," page 7.)
STATUE OF PADRE PIO WEEPS BLOOD IN ITALY
"News that a statue of Padre Pio--proclaimed a saint by Pope John Paul II last year at the Vatican in a major ceremony--is 'weeping blood' has spread like wildfire through the Calabrese" region of southern Italy, "and hundreds of persons have flocked to it, praying and claiming that the event is a miracle."
"According to Mayor Domenico Malara, a Gypsy (Romani) girl living in the town square" of Brancaleone "noticed that a red liquid descended from the eyes of the life- sized bronze statue of Padre Pio (birth name: Francisco Forginone--J.T.), streaming down the statue and puddling at the base of the pedestal."
"Numerous locals approached the site, among them the mayor, who ordered that the statue be surrounded with fencing."
"According to deputy mayor Gentile Scaramozzino, initial tests performed have shown that (the liquid--S.C.) is indeed blood, although whether human or animal has yet to be ascertained."
"Father Leone Stilliteno, the (Roman Catholic) parish priest of Brancaleone, advised locals to be prudent and to wait for the analyses."
"A similar phenomenon occurred last year to another statue of Padre Pio, which was later decided to be prank, at Castel di Judica, in the Sicilian (port) city of Catania."
"Aside from weeping statues, there are many who claim having seen Padre Pio's face on houses in San Giovanni Rotondo, where he is buried, as well as on (house) facades in the towns of Monte San Biagio and Cagnano Varano."
"Capuchin friar Padre Pio de Pietralcina was proclaimed a saint on June 16, 2002, eighteen years after the start of the canonization process and three (years) following his beatification." (See the Spanish newspaper Hoy for December 4, 2003. Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales y Gloria Coluchi para esto articulo de diario.)
(Editor's Comment: And here's a lexilink for paranormal researcher Loren Coleman, which may or may not have something to do with our current panther flap. Brancaleone is Italian for White Lion.)
BACK TO THE MOON, SAYS DUBYA
"President Bush's aides are considering a new lunar exploration program and other unifying national goals, such as a campaign to promote longevity or to fight childhood illness or hunger, as they sift ideas for a fresh agenda for the final year of his term, administration officials said Thursday," December 4, 2003.
"Agencies and task forces in several parts of the (USA) government have been assigned to determine the cost and feasibility of a variety of such major ideas, which could cost billions of dollars at a time when the nation is running a substantial budget deficit."
"An interagency group led by the White House has been working since August (2003) on a blueprint for interplanetary human flight over the next 20 to 30 years to give NASA a new mission after the Feb. 1 disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia."
"Plans call for Bush to issue an ambitious new national vision for space travel by early next year, and officials said the initiative is likely to involve cooperation between NASA and the military."
"One person who has been consulted by the White House said some aides appear to relish the idea of a 'Kennedy moment' for Bush, referring to the 1962 call by President Kennedy for the nation to land a man on the moon, and return him safely to Earth, by the end of the decade."
"Bush aides are wary, however, of repeating what they consider the mistakes of Bush's father. Then-President (George H.W.) Bush issued a call for a sustained commitment to human exploration of the solar system, with a return to the moon as a stepping-stone to the main destination--Mars."
"NASA responded with a budget-shattering $400 billion plan to fulfill" the proposed 1992 Bush space mission "that swiftly sank under its own weight." (See the Duluth, Minn. News-Tribune for December 5, 2003, "White House reaches for the stars," page 8A.)
NEPTUNE-SIZED PLANET FOUND ORBITING VEGA
"A dust disk surrounding the nearby star Vega hides a Neptune-sized planet, astronomers say."
"Vega is one of the brightest stars in the sky and is relatively close at 25 light-years away (one light-year equals about 5.9 trillion miles). Astronomers from the United Kingdom's Royal Observatory in Edinburgh suggest that clumbs of frozen dust circling the star can best be explained by a Neptune-sized planet orbiting it."
"This is significant because scientists are hoping to find another Earth-like planet are always search for solar systems around nearby stars that resemble our own."
"Neptune is 17 times has heavy as Earth and almost four times wider. Astronomers have detected about 120 planets" outside of our solar system, "Mostly Jupiter- sized (gas) giants, in the past decade. The analysis" of the Vegan planet "appears in The Astrophysical Journal." (See USA Today for December 2, 2003, "Neptune-sized planet orbits nearby star," page 5D.)
PREHISTORIC SCULPTURE CAUSES A STIR IN ITALY
"An Italian archaeologist has found a sculpture which could be 200,000 years old."
"Pietro Gaietto has identified a rock in the Borzonasca district of Italy which appears to be carved with two faces looking in opposite directions, one of which is wearing a beard."
(Editor's Note: Similar to the Roman god Janus for whom the month of January is named.)
"The discovery is no surprise to the locals who say such sculptures are nothing new. In fact, they point to a nearby rock cliff which they believe has been carved with an image which they call the Face of Borzone."
"If the find proves genuine, it would have to be the work of an extinct species of human called Homo erectus. That, at least, is what the experts say." (See Atlantis Rising for January-February 2004, "Ancient faces make mystery," page 14)
(Editor's Comment: The problem here is that the "Face of Borzone," although badly eroded, clearly shows a middle- aged Homo sapiens, a species that supposedly wasn't around in 200,000 B.C. In fact, the sculpture reminded your editor of the eroded stone heads he saw at the Temple of Kalasasaya at Tiahuanaco in Bolivia back in 1978. Prehistory is still pretty much a mystery, I guess.)
From the UFO Files...
1909: PANTHER TERROR IN TEMPLETON
(Our Story So Far: On November 26, 1909, Joseph Chandler of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire took his dog rabbit-hunting in the woods of Winchendon, Massachusetts. He was a helpless witness as his dog was mauled by a creature resembling a black panther. The second sighting took place on December 14, 1909 when Mrs. George Wheeler spotted the animal crouching in the grass at the intersection of Otter River Road and Baptist Common Road in Templeton, Mass., 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Winchendon. What's curious about this particular "panther flap" is that it ran concurrently with a major UFO flap that covered three New England states--Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, a flap known to UFO history as "the great airship invasion of 1909.")
Following Mrs. Wheeler's sighting, the panther flap swung into high gear.
"Hunters in the Templeton area cleaned their rifles and shotguns and turned loose their dogs, but it was all in vain. The panther struck with impunity on December 17 (1909) in downtown Templeton itself."
"'It was about 6 o'clock Friday night (December 17, 1909) when one of the employees of the Brown-Hadley Company was driving home from his work in that factory when he heard some indescribable bloodcurdling scream issuing from a swamp beside the road. He hastily held up his horse for a moment, but soon plied the whip as a large, dark-bodied animal crept stealthily toward his wagon.'"
"'Later in the evening, the animal was chased by an unterrified employee of Eugene Griffith, just south of the village.'"
"'Saturday forenoon (December 18, 1909) tracks which were not made by any known human habitants of the vicinity were found back of the houses on the South Road'" in Templeton.
"'All day yesterday (Sunday, December 19, 1909) various veterans of the chase were in pursuit of the animal but to date his pelt does not adorn the side of any barn in the vicinity.'"
With no more sightings, the Templeton panther was soon forgotten, overshadowed by the bizarre headlines coming out of Fitchburg and Leominster, Mass., 18 miles (30 kilometers) to the east--stories of strange lighted objects in the night skies. (See Fortean Studies - Volume 1, John Brown Publishing Ltd., London, 1994, "The New England Airship Invasion of 1909" by Joseph Trainor, pages 60 and 61. See also the Gardner, Mass. News for December 20, 1909.)
(Editor's Note: Fitchburg has long been the "UFO capital" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.)
Well, that's it for this week. Join us in seven days for more UFO, Fortean and paranormal news from around the planet Earth, brought to you by "the paper that goes home- -UFO Roundup." See you next time!
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 2003 by Masinaigan Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news items from UFO Roundup on their Web sites or in news groups provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue in which the item first appeared.
