In honor of the 57th Anniversary of a really “basic” case, I’m posting an evaluation from my ebook UFO Sightings (Prometheus Books, 1998). This evaluation was first printed in my 1981 ebook The UFO Verdict (additionally Prometheus, which can be “borrowed” online from the Internet Archive library), and was republished with solely minor additions and updates.
Within the late Nineteen Seventies I made a really Deep Dive into this case, which was being promoted big-time. Right here is the end result.
A Flying Saucer Named Floyd
We now flip to the story of a well-known flying saucer whose identify
is Floyd. Only a few alien craft can boast of correct names,
however that’s not the one motive that Floyd is legendary. Floyd reportedly
was chased by two sheriffs policemen for eighty-six miles by means of
Ohio and Pennsylvania simply earlier than dawn on the morning of Sunday,
April 17, 1966 . They are saying it performed cat-and-mouse with their
automobile whilst they traveled at speeds of as much as 103 miles per hour. A number of
different Ohio and Pennsylvania officers say that they noticed the article too.
The late Dr. James E. McDonald, an atmospheric physicist who
launched a campaign for scientific recognition of UFOs, thought of this
case to be some of the spectacular on file and he has endorsed
the Floyd papers as “an impressive contribution to current data of the UFO phenomenon.” [1]. Allen Hynek (dubbed by a number of nationwide magazines the “Galileo” of UFOlogy [2]), cited this case in his ebook The UFO Expertise because the prime instance of a “shut encounter of the primary variety.”
Floyd obtained his identify from Deputy Sheriff Dale F. Spaur, 34, of
the Portage County, Ohio, Sheriffs Police. He bored with referring to the
object he reportedly sighted as “?” and commenced calling it by his personal
center identify. Coining this identify for the UFO doubtlessly proved to be
fairly a time-saver, as a result of Deputy Spaur needed to repeat his story many
occasions within the weeks following the morning that he and Deputy Sheriff
Wilbur Neff, 26, reportedly chased an unknown object.
The variety of semi-independent witnesses to this incident
(linked solely by radio) is really spectacular. If all of those “reported”
observations may be verified as precise observations, constant in time,velocity, and course, then the UFO chase that started in Portage County, Ohio, have to be considered one of many strongest doable proofs for the truth of the UFO phenomenon.
Within the weeks and months main as much as the “Nice UFO Chase of
April 1966,” the nation was within the grip of a wave of mounting UFO
pleasure. Sightings had begun in the summertime of the earlier yr,
and the momentum was slowly constructing. The information media had been
stuffed with studies of UFO sightings, steadily main as much as the “Incident at Exeter” wave within the fall of 1965 (chapter 10).
Throughout the winter sporadic sightings continued, solely to blow up in
March of 1966 with a rash of sightings in Michigan. Almost 100
folks, together with law enforcement officials and school college students, reported seeing
glowing objects hovering over fields and marshes. Hynek hastened to
Michigan, the place he reported that “the complete area was gripped with
close to hysteria” about UFOs. Making the rounds with some law enforcement officials, Hynek confessed that “often even I assumed I glimpsed
‘it,'” so closely UFO-laden was the ambiance. Cops excitedly radioed “I see it” forwards and backwards from automobile to automobile. Stopping at an
intersection, they frantically gestured skyward, indicating a “shifting” object, solely to have their multiply-witnessed UFO shot clown by
astronomer Hynek as the brilliant star Arcturus. [3]
On March 25, simply three weeks earlier than the Floyd incident, Hynek created a nationwide sensation by proposing “swamp gasoline” as an evidence for lots of the Michigan sightings. Michigan Congressmen
Gerald R. Ford and Weston Vivian, outraged by the Air Pressure’s dealing with of the sightings, demanded a congressional investigation into
the matter, a requirement that was extensively echoed by journalists and radio-TV commentators. It’s towards this turbulent background that the
stage was set in April 1966 for the Ohio UFO chase.
The most important investigative position on this case was performed by William B.
Weitzel, a philosophy teacher on the College of Pittsburgh. On the
time he was chairman of NICAP’s Pennsylvania Unit No. l. The earlier yr Weitzel had obtained a lot consideration for his investigation of
the well-known Beaver County, Pennsylvania, UFO {photograph}, taken by
the Lucci brothers, which Weitzel pronounced to be “some of the
legitimate of the UFOs on file.” (Nevertheless, three years later, the chief
photograph analyst for the Condon Report, Dr. William Ok. Hartmann, had
no hassle duplicating these images by holding a plate on his hand,
and illuminating it with a flashlight. Subsequent investigation has left
little doubt that the Beaver County images are in reality a hoax. However there
is not any file of Weitzel withdrawing his endorsement of them. Shortly after the well-known Ohio chase, when Weitzel confirmed Spaur the as but
unrefuted Beaver County images, Spaur pronounced the hoax
UFO within the images to be “nearly an identical to the one we noticed.” [5] )
Sadly, Weitzel’s enthusiasm for the UFO phenomenon
brought on him to miss some apparent inconsistencies within the proof
and, worse nonetheless, to be blind to important adjustments within the witnesses’ tales as time handed. Nonetheless, Weitzel’s interpretation of the Ohio
UFO chase is universally accepted amongst critical UFO investigators as
being the definitive account. But earlier than I made my very own evaluation, no
one seems to have taken the difficulty to critically study Weitzel’s
account of the incident, for if one had one couldn’t presumably have
missed the extremely important inconsistencies it comprises.
On Sunday morning, April 17, 1966, at 4:50 A.M., Portage County
Deputy Sheriffs Dale Spaur and Wilbur Neff have been on the scene of a
site visitors accident alongside Route 183 close to Atwater Heart, Ohio, the place an
vehicle had smashed right into a utility pole. The motive force had been
injured. Spaur and Neff had referred to as in an ambulance and a tow truck,
and when these had departed the policemen had remained for a brief
whereas to speak with the repairman who was engaged on the broken
traces. Dawn was slightly below an hour away and, though it was nonetheless
fairly darkish, the purple glow of daybreak was steadily brightening within the
east. The sky that morning was fairly clear, and the sensible planet
Venus was shining like a searchlight within the east-southeast. Close to its
most elongation from the solar, the brilliant morning star was a
lovely and putting sight to early risers.
About 4:50 a report got here in over the police radio {that a} lady in
Summitt County, to the west, had reported seeing an odd shiny
object, “greater than a streetlight however decrease than an airplane,” reportedly headed east, towards Portage County. (The sheriff’s police of the
varied counties function a statewide radio linkup, and therefore can pay attention
in on studies that don’t originate in their very own county.)
From the outline of the article and from its supposed course
of “journey,” it appears fairly probably that the UFO the lady reported
seeing was merely the planet Venus. Misidentifications of this sort are
fairly widespread, as UFO proponents readily admit, particularly throughout
durations of intense UFO pleasure. The three males good-naturedly
joked in regards to the reported UFO sighting; the “bizarre ones” are actually out
tonight, Spaur noticed.
Officers Spaur and Neff then acquired into their automobile, Cruiser P-13, and
drove off. They began “east” on Route 224, or so Spaur mentioned in his testimony to the Air Pressure. [6] However he should have meant to say west, as a result of he by no means would have reached the start line of the chase had he
really gone east from the scene of the accident. Spaur confuses east
with west a second time when he tells of encountering an previous automobile by the
facet of the highway two miles “east” (really west) of Route 183. This may increasingly
appear to some to be nit-picking, however the accuracy of Spaur’s potential to
recall instructions is of essential significance to his later testimony, when he
describes the UFO as showing at almost each level on the compass.
This east-west mix-up, made twice and never corrected till a transcript
of the interview had been ready (“I used to be somewhat mad at this level” is
how Spaur later defined the error; Neff was current, however didn’t right him), demonstrates that we should permit room for error in Spaur’s
recollection of the reported habits and journey of the UFO.
Touring west (not east) on U.S. Route 224, the the law enforcement officials
noticed a automobile parked on the opposite facet of the highway. They made a U-turn.
and pulled up behind it. Cruiser P-13 was now dealing with east. Deputy
Spaur walked as much as the automobile whereas Neff remained behind, standing subsequent
to their cruiser-standard police process.
Scouting the world, Spaur regarded behind him – to the west – and
reportedly noticed a shiny object within the sky coming as if from the wooded
space on the facet of the highway. Spaur referred to as out to Neff, who additionally noticed
the article. It seemed to be coming towards them. It reportedly handed
overhead, making a noise like an “overloaded transformer.” In Spaur’s
earliest written UFO testimony, signed simply hours after the chase, he means that the buzzing that was attributed to the UFO “may need
come from an influence line.” However in later variations of his story, all doubt regarding the origin of the sound seems to have vanished. Throughout the
chase itself, the article reportedly made no sound by any means.
Upon first sighting the article, Spaur was “mildly stunned,”
in line with Weitzel. He mused that this have to be the UFO that he had
heard a lot about. However when the article appeared to come back towards
them, the 2 officers grew to become frightened and scrambled again into the
automobile. They reported that the article, massive and glowing, had stopped in
the east, straight forward of them.
There may be good motive to doubt that the article shifting from west to east was as low and as shut because the deputies reported, for it was sighted
by one other witness greater than 100 miles away. The declassified
Venture Blue Guide data comprise a report filed by a girl in Vandalia, Ohio, to the southwest of Ravenna, describing a starlike object
that “swiftly” crossed the sky, touring from west to northeast. A doable discrepancy exists within the time of the report, which is given as 5:30
A.M., some twenty-five minutes later than the time of the deputies’
sighting. However due to the good similarity of the 2 studies, and
their proximity in location and time, it appears probably that each describe
the identical occasion.
Apparently a superb meteor streaked throughout the predawn sky, seen over a large area. It didn’t go simply over their heads, as Spaur
and Neff believed, however was many miles up. Expertise has proven that
it’s unimaginable for anybody to be correct in judging the space from
such an object. Witnesses will usually report “shut encounters” with
objects that later end up to have been many miles away. Klass cites
a number of incidents of this tvpe. Considered one of them entails an skilled airline flight crew that reported a near-collision with an object that
turned out to have been a superb daylight meteor, at the very least 125 miles
north of their place. [7]
So shiny was the article, Spaur says, that the complete space round
their automobile was lit up. Because it was now 5:07A.M., lower than forty minutes
earlier than dawn, there is no such thing as a doubt by any means that the world round
their automobile was certainly lit up, although not essentially by any UFO. Solely
the brightest stars, these of the primary (and presumably second) magnitude,
remained seen at the moment. Venus, nevertheless, almost 5 magnitudes
(ninety occasions) brighter than a first-magnitude star, was nonetheless shining
like a beacon within the east. By a exceptional coincidence, that is precisely
the place Spaur reported the UFO was hovering. If a real UFO had
certainly been current, the deputies ought to have seen two shiny objects within the east
at this level, Floyd and Vénus. However they noticed just one. It’s exhausting to keep away from
the conclusion that Floyd was Venus, at the very least at this level. The planet
Venus doesn’t, in fact, zip quickly from west to east, however there is no such thing as a
compelling motive to imagine {that a} single object was accountable for
each facet of this advanced UFO sighting. (Actually, there are some
glorious causes to not imagine this, as we will see.)
The officers had been alerted a couple of minutes earlier {that a} UFO was
supposedly within the neighborhood. Add to this the nationwide hysteria that had
prevailed for the previous few weeks, and you’ve got the optimum psychological circumstances for sighting UFOs. Each planet and each airplane
is scrutinized as a possible interloper. The 2 males should have taken
their eyes off the article that moved from west to east as they scrambled
into their automobile. After they regarded up and noticed Venus forward of them,
they mistakenly concluded that it was the identical object they’d simply
sighted. From the time they entered the automobile, till after they crossed
the Pennsylvania line, their consideration was riveted to a superb object
within the east-southeast: unquestionably the planet Venus.
Spaur hit the button on his microphone and radioed again to headquarters
that the unidentified object, “the one that everyone says is
going over,” seemed to be hovering in entrance of their automobile. The radio
operator requested Spaur if he was carrying his service revolver. He was.
“Take a shot at it” was the useful suggestion. (The radio operator later
defined that he thought the article is perhaps a climate balloon, and
{that a} bullet may deliver it down.) Spaur determined towards that course of
motion, as a result of he believed the article to be “as huge as a home,” and he
did not wish to danger angering it. After ascertaining that they didn’t have
a digital camera with them, the 2 deputies have been ordered to maintain the article
in sight till a digital camera automobile could possibly be dispatched to {photograph} it.
Spaur put the cruiser in gear, inched ahead somewhat, after which a
humorous factor occurred. Floyd appeared to inch ahead too. This
shouldn’t surp1ise us if we keep in mind that celestial our bodies seem to
“tempo” a shifting automobile. Each youngster in some unspecified time in the future asks his father or mother why
the moon appears to be “following” their automobile, and it’s a smart father or mother who
can clarify, in easy phrases, {that a} distant physique just like the moon or
Venus exhibits no noticeable displacement because of the movement of the
automobile, as close by objects do, and therefore seems to comply with the observer.
(This clarification, nevertheless, seems to be past the comprehension
of a few of the well-known “scientific” UFO investigators, who naively
interpret each reported following of a automobile by a shiny celestial bodv
as a “shut encounter of the primary variety.”) Regardless of how briskly Cruiser P-13 approached the article, Floyd appeared to maneuver away at precisely the
similar velocity. Spaur, a former race-car driver, shortly picked up velocity
and roared after the article. The Nice UFO Chase was on.
 |
| This is the route taken on the morning of April 17, 1966 by two Portage County, Ohio law enforcement officials, who chased a supposed UFO into Pennsylvania at speeds of as much as 103 MPH. The course of journey of the officers nearly exactly matches the obvious course of Venus, suggesting that they have been in reality chasing that sensible morning star. |
The 2 policemen raced eastward on U.S. Route 224 (which later merges with Ohio Route 14) at speeds as much as 103 miles per hour. Floyd,
ever obliging, appeared to comply with this highway precisely, reportedly only a
few hundred toes in entrance of their automobile. For over twenty miles the•
reportedly chased the article due east, over an nearly completely straight
highway. But nowhere alongside Route 14-224 did they report seeing Venus.
This was actually a exceptional feat of non-observation.
Deputy Neff reported that between Atwater Heart and Deerfield
Floyd saved a bearing considerably south of east. This precisely describes
Venus’s place, which was then at an azimuth of about 115°. In the meantime, a really comprehensible confusion between Route 14 and Route
14A despatched the digital camera automobile down 14A, miles away from the place of
Cruiser P-13. Had the 2 police vehicles really met, one suspects that
the chase may need ended an ideal deal ahead of it did.
Shortly after passing Atwater Heart, Spaur noticed that the UFO
dangerous “gained altitude,” which is precisely what Venus was steadily
doing. From the preliminary sighting at 5:07 to the time they reached
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, at about 5:45, Venus rose from an elevation
of 12″ to 19″. Anybody watching Venus throughout this interval would have
seen it rise slowly and steadily. That is precisely what Floyd is alleged to have
finished throughout that interval.
At Deerfield Circle, Spaur says that he needed to go between two huge
vans: “between a tractor and a trailer” is how he describes it. But neither of these drivers appears to have seen a large UFO, “as huge as a
home,” which reportedly handed only a few hundred toes over their
heads. The 2 deputies likewise encountered “occasional site visitors” (in
Weitzel’s phrase) between Canfield and Columbiana, round which
they needed to maneuver at very excessive speeds. However once more now we have no indication that any of those different drivers noticed something in any respect uncommon.
Crossing from Portage to Mahoning County, on the bridge over
the Berlin Reservoir, the UFO reportedly “picked up in all probability one other
150 toes.” (Venus had risen somewhat too.) Floyd allegedly wavered from
the south facet of the highway to the north facet, after which again once more as
they entered Mahoning County. Nevertheless, a cautious examination of a
map reveals that the highway curves to the south, then north once more, at this
level. This can trigger an object protecting a hard and fast bearing to behave
precisely as was described. Certainly, each change in course attributed
to Floyd seems to correspond to a flip made by the UFO chasers.
At Canfield, because the deputies turned south-southeast on Ohio Route 14-46, the UFO was reported by Neff to “come throughout in entrance of us”
over to the left facet of the cruiser, then afterwards return to the appropriate
facet. This once more suggests to anybody who examines the map that the article saved a relentless bearing. After turning south on Route 183,
Spaur studies that the article seemed to be due north. Venus can’t,
in fact, seem within the north, any greater than a policeman driving
south at breakneck velocity can presumably see an airborne object straight
behind him (which, by the way in which, would then be chasing him, inflicting
one to surprise why, if this account is right, Spaur didn’t cease and set
up a roadblock). Spaur’s mixup of his instructions, and his later
“enhancements” to his authentic UFO narrative, serve to warning us
towards taking such reported particulars too actually. As quickly as they made
the following flip, and headed east, Floyd promptly returned to his favourite
place within the southeast, precisely the place Venus should have been seen.
It’s well-known that UFOs are imagined to cease vehicle
engines, quick out headlights, and trigger radio gear to fail, however
Floyd displayed none of those unpleasant traits. Not solely
did cruiser P-13 carry out like a tiger, cruising easily at 103 m.p.h.
regardless of the UFO’s alleged nearness, however its radio operated completely, so
properly, in reality, that officers all through Ohio listened to each element of
the chase. Not surprisingly, a lot of them regarded for the article, and
some imagined that they noticed it too.
Police Chief Gerald Buchert of Mantua, Ohio, was twenty miles
north of the place Floyd was reported to be. However when he went exterior.
he thought he noticed it too, and he even managed to acquire {a photograph}. Afterward, Weitzel was keenly disillusioned to find that
Buchert’s supposed UFO photograph turned out to be nothing greater than
a processing defect. Buchert described the place of his UFO with
respect to the moon (which was then a skinny crescent, low within the sky).
It matches completely with the recognized place of Venus. However Weitzel
hesitates at concluding that Police Chief Buchert’s UFO was in reality
Venus, as a result of the UFO was reported to wobble round somewhat. Floyd.
in the meantime, if it actually have been the place Spaur claims it was, would have been
extra almost due south and would have appeared to Chief Buchert to
be simply skirting the horizon if it have been seen in any respect. It will not haw
been on the 10°-plus altitude he studies.
To the south, in Salem, three law enforcement officials drove to the highest of a
hill within the hope of seeing the UFO, which was reportedly heading
straight into their city. They, too, incorrectly believed P-13 to be
approaching on Route 14A, when it was in reality almost ten miles to the
north on Route 14-224. However it doesn’t matter that the Nice UFO
Chase by no means reached Salem, for these officers claimed that they noticed
the article too. They reported seeing three jet airplanes, coming from
the north, chasing the article at a terrific velocity.
Weitzel ignores the plain absurdity of equating an object supposedly hundreds off toes in altitude touring south at jet-airplane velocity, with one thing
reportedly simply above the bottom, touring east no sooner than an vehicle.
As an alternative, he cites the Salem report as additional affirmation of Spaur’s
observations. Much more unbelievable is the report coming from police
headquarters in Salem, telling of an airplane pilot’s voice, loud and
expensive, which reportedly burst in over the police radio, saying, “l’m
happening for a better look… it is about forty-five toes throughout.” [8] The
Salem incidents show the depth of the UFO hysteria that
exploded right into a fever pitch in Ohio that morning.
As Spaur and Neff handed Canfield, the UFO reportedly gained
altitude as soon as once more (as did Venus, the article they’ve nonetheless didn’t
discover). Exterior East Palestine, Ohio, close to the Pennsylvania line.
Patrolman Wayne Huston was listening to the chase on his radio. He
realized that P-13 was not removed from his current place and was closing
in quick. Spaur advised Huston the place to look to see the UFO, and Huston
duly acknowledged seeing it. Huston reportedly watched the article
strategy from the northwest – which Venus may by no means have finished – however Weitzel makes this similar declare about Pennsylvania Officer Frank
Panzanella, a declare I subsequently discovered to be fairly incorrect.
It may be proven, nevertheless, that Huston’s account of the article’s
strategy is internally inconsistent. Huston claims that he first sighted
the article when cruiser P-13 was about 5 miles away. However he advised
Weitzel that the UFO appeared to go overhead in a matter of seconds, leaving him little alternative to watch the article. If Huston
really did spot Floyd when it and its pursuers have been reportedly 5
miles away and if the article’s velocity did in reality match P-13’s 80-85
m.p.h. velocity at this level, Huston would have had the article in view
for at the very least three and a half minutes. This might give him loads of
time to watch the article rigorously and to explain its look
over the radio, for he was standing exterior his police cruiser, extension
microphone in hand. However since he studies that the article approached
in ‘”seconds,” leaving no time to check its look, both Huston’s
account of the article’s strategy is critically in error or else he may
not have been observing the identical “Floyd” that Spaur and Neff have been
reportedly chasing. Weitzel ignores this contradiction in his seek for
affirmation, as does Hynek, who considers Huston’s account of the
object’s strategy to be probably the most vital a part of the case.
Huston, alone in his cruiser OV-1, joined within the chase as Spaur and
Neff roared by. He mentioned that he in all probability by no means would have caught as much as
them if they’d not been delayed in site visitors on the slender, winding highway.
Not one of the occupants of the vehicles that slowed them down (who have been of
course unaware {that a} wild UFO chase was in progress within the subsequent lane)
has ever come ahead to verify the allegation {that a} large UFO flew
simply over their heads, being adopted by two dashing police vehicles.
Coming into Chippewa, Pennsylvania, close to Beaver Falls, Huston
studies that the chasers have been once more pressured to decelerate in site visitors,
due to a 6:00 church service that was about to start. Not certainly one of
these high quality and sober early-rising residents subsequently reported having
seen a large flying saucer, as huge as a home, buzzing the highest of their
church steeple. [9]
Approaching Brady’s Run Park, close to Beaver, the UFO chasers
encountered a lot site visitors that they have been pressured to cease. Huston
turned on his siren. A Volkswagen had exited from the park, triggering a site visitors sign. Three vans have been approaching the site visitors mild,
now crimson, from the east, and two extra vans waited on the mild, forward
of the 2 cruisers, forcing them to immediately screech to a halt. (Floyd,
ever obliging, was reported to decelerate and wait at any time when his pursuers have been delayed in site visitors.) None of those different six drivers appeared
to take the slightest discover of the enormous UFO which, if the officers’
account is to be believed, flew not far over their heads. [10]
Shortly after the three officers crossed the state line, the UFO was
reported to have elevated somewhat extra, attaining its biggest altitude
of the en tire chase. It additionally grew to become tough to see. This isn’t exhausting to
perceive. As Venus rises greater within the sh, the solar additionally rises, making
the planet tougher to see towards the brightening sky. After they
crossed the state line, the dawn was solely 5 to 10 minutes away.
Venus is shiny sufficient to be seen even after dawn, however round
dawn the planet turns into far more tough to see. Not conspicuous, one should seek for a second so as to discover it. Thus at
this level within the chase they overlooked Floyd. Spaur expressed the
worry that it had eluded them for good. Spaur was driving in unfamiliar
territory. He needed to depend on Huston’s directions, telling him the place to
flip and when to decelerate. This left him little time to look at the
UFO. “We thought we would misplaced it,” Spaur later reported. “This will likely be it,
we will lose it proper right here,” they thought. The Nice CFO Chase
may weil have ended right here. However Floyd (or Destiny) had different plans.
A half-hour earlier, round 5:20 A.M., Conway, Pennsvlvania,
Patrolman Frank Panzanella left a restaurant the place he had stopped
for a cup of espresso after ending an evening’s obligation. As he drove up the hill
on eleventh Road in Conway, heading northeast, he reportedly noticed an
object to his proper (within the east) which regarded like a “reflection [of sunlight off a plane.” He stopped upon reaching the top of the hill (he
was still inside the town) and noted that the object was not moving.
Panzanella then turned around, came back down the hill, and parked
his cruiser at the Atlantic service station on 10th Street and Route 65,
where there were fewer nearby buildings. He watched the object for
about thirty minutes. From this position, the rooftop of a nearby
house provided an excellent reference that has enabled later investigators to pinpoint the apparent position of the object. lts elevation
when first sighted was only about 11 degrees, and it remained just a few
degrees south of due east.
Panzanella’s testimony is also touted bv UFO proponents as an
independent confirmation of the observations of the other
policemen. After all, he had not been listening to the frenzied UFO
chatter over the Ohio police radio channels. But they ignore the fact
that the object sighted by Panzanella was reportedly observed to the
east of Conway, Pennsvlvania, at the same time that Floyd was reportedly
hovering above the hood of Cruiser P-13, which was still in Ohio to the west.
Even the staunchest UFO enthusiast would find it difficult to explain
how an object supposedly in Ohio might be seen to the east by
someone in Pennsylvania.
Whatever it was that Panzanella saw (a high-altitude balloon is a
good possibility), it could not possibly have been Floyd, if Spaur’s
account of the object’s position is correct. This irreconcilable discrepancy poses an obvious difficulty to those who wish to prove that a UFO
was actually being chased. How to resolve it? An erroneous statement
will do nicely. Weitzel asserts that Panzanella first sighted the object in the
southwest [11] (he later modified this to “west” [12]), though the map in
his personal report back to NICAP plainly exhibits in any other case – east.
Weitzel additionally claims that Panzanella drove daybreak the hill to keep away from a
“collision.” This appears unbelievable in mild of that officer’s April 17
interview with reporter Tom Schley, during which Panzanella mentioned that,
when he sighted the UFO from the highest of the hill, he “hadn’t thought
a lot about it on the time.” [13] Weitzel’s statements flatly contradict the
signed testimony that Panzanella gave to NICAP, which unambiguously signifies the article as being within the east, and makes no point out
by any means of any near-collision. That an individual driving northeast
(which is certainly “uphill,” precisely as described) may hardly worry a collision with an object supposedly coming from the southwest appears
by no means to have been seen. Even when we settle for the declare that the article
did certainly arrive from the west, it reportedly arrived far too quickly for
it to have conceivably been Floyd, as a result of Panzanella’s sighting started
when the UFO chasers have been nonetheless dozens of miles to the west.
That Panzanella’s account of the reported course of the article’s
arrival needs to be so grossly distorted in a means that simply occurs to
higher slot in with Spaur’s account casts sturdy doubt upon the same
testimonv – arrival from the northwest – attributed to Huston. It additionally
raises some very attention-grabbing questions: Who’s accountable for these
misrepresentations, the investigators or the witnesses? Did the witnesses really change their tales, or have been they altered with out their
data or consent? Did Panzanella maybe steadily change his
story with every retelling, subconsciously wishing to please these individuals who have been conferring superstar standing upon him? Or was it intentionally misrepresented to make it match higher with the “recognized” info?
This incident gives a wonderful instance of how the accounts of
UFO sightings to be present in even probably the most revered and supposedly
dependable UFO sources are sometimes grossly in error. When all the info
seem to suit collectively so properly, it could be as a result of a few of them have
been reshaped.
Close to Rochester, Pennsylvania, UFO chaser Dale Spaur had lastly overlooked the article. The solar had simply risen, and Venus pale meekly
into the sunlit sky. However after rising from a sequence of bridges and tunnels, first Huston, then Spaur declare to have seen Floyd as soon as once more. However
it wasn’t the identical Floyd: “it had misplaced in all probability half its altitude,” Spaur
reported. [14] That is most vital. When Venus pale to near-invisibility, the UFO chasers transferred their consideration to another object, nearly
actually to the identical object that Panzanella, now solely about 5 miles
away, was watching. Right now Venus had an obvious altitude of
about 20 levels. If Floyd-Venus have been to lose “half its altitude,” that might put
it close to the 11 diploma obvious altitude of the article reported by Panzanella.
The Nice UFO Chase handed by means of Freedom, Pennsylvania.
and entered Conway. Spaur’s cruiser was operating low on gasoline. They
noticed Panzanella sitting in his cruiser, parked at a gasoline station on the
different facet of the highway. The 2 cars made U-turns, parked
behind Panzanella, and the three males acquired out. Panzanella at first was
hesitant to confess that he’d been watching one thing uncommon, till
Huston exclaimed, “We have been with all of it the way in which from Ohio!”
The 4 policemen watched the article, and later sketched its
place with respect to a close-by rooftop TV-antenna, the skinny crescent moon, and Venus, which was nonetheless faintly seen. Hynek and different
UFO proponents make a lot of the truth that Floyd was reportedly seen concurrently Venus, implying that the article being chased
couldn’t presumably have been that sensible planet. However they neglect to
point out that the simultaneous sighting of the 2 objects didn’t
happen till the very finish of the chase, after the UFO had reportedly
“misplaced half its altitude.” Previous to this time, Venus was supposedly not
seen in any respect; solely Floyd was seen. This, in fact, is absurd. Why
ought to Venus solely be noticed after it had pale to near-invisibility after
the dawn and be completely ignored at the start of the chase, when
it was probably the most conspicuous object within the heavens?
One other compelling motive for believing that the deputies have been
chasing Venus is seen when the trail thev selected is plotted on a map. Because of the UFO chase, Spaur’s cruiser P-13 ended up
forty-nine miles east and twenty-five miles south of its authentic place.
This corresponds to a median course of journey of 117 levels (to the east-southeast). The typical obvious azimuth of Venus was 115 levels throughout
this similar interval. Thus we see that the UFO chasers adopted a route
precisely as in the event that they have been chasing Venus; approaching an intersection, they
would flip onto no matter highway took them closest to the obvious
course of that sensible planet.
What was the article to which the UFO chasers transferred their
consideration after Venus pale from prominence? The overwhelming
chance is that the article was a high-altitude analysis balloon
launched by some college or analysis company. Such balloons can
journey many tons of of miles, and they are often nearly unimaginable to
hint. The accounts of the article nearly completely describe the looks of such a balloon. Upon first seeing it, Panzanella mentioned he
thought the article was a mirrored image of the rising solar off an airplane;
reflections from a balloon look fairly the identical. The interval of most visibility of such a balloon is, in fact, simply earlier than dawn or
simply after sundown, when the balloon is in direct daylight due to its
altitude however when the solar is under the horizon for ground-based
observers. On a number of events I’ve seen high-altitude balloons
beneath these circumstances, and their look is nothing in need of
dramatic: a dazzlingly sensible star, shining by mirrored daylight in a
shiny twilight sky. Panzanella’s remark that the article slowly
elevated in altitude precisely describes the acquainted habits of a balloon being warmed by the rays of the rising solar; the gases inside steadily develop, inflicting the balloon to rise slowly.
Deputy Spaur later advised the Air Pressure investigators that, as they
stood watching Floyd from the gasoline station in Conway, Panzanella
reached the radio operator in close by Rochester. He requested that
the airport be contacted to see if a jet interceptor have been obtainable to
take a better have a look at the article. When the response got here again that two
planes have been supposedly going to be despatched up (they by no means have been), the
UFO reportedly accelerated straight upward-as if it had heard what
had been said-and shortly disappeared. “After they began speaking
about fighter planes, simply as if that factor heard each phrase that
was mentioned, it went (psshew) straight up. And I imply it did not play no
video games, it went straight up,” Spaur reported. [15] This in fact strongly
means that the article was beneath clever management and didn’t want
to be carefully examined.
Weitzel, Hynek, and Blum have accepted as reality the declare that the
object shot “straight up” on this method. [16] If that is true, it might
seem to rule out any pure clarification for the article. However this declare
straight contradicts the testimony given by all three of the officers obtainable for
interview instantly after the sighting, Neff having gone “into seclusion.”
This contradiction has been ignored by all the “scientific” UFO
investigators, though this info is available within the
NICAP information. Certainly, certainly one of these interviews was performed by certainly one of
Weitzel’s key UFO collaborators, Tom Schley of the Beaver Count_,
Instances. In three separate newspaper interviews, which should have taken
place inside hours of the top of the chase:
(1) Spaur mentioned that they watched the article at Conway for about twenty minutes. It was nonetheless seen when he and the others went inside to make a phone name.
After they got here again exterior, they have been unable to seek out it [17]
(2)Huston mentioned that when the law enforcement officials left, “the article was nonetheless hovering.” [18]
(3) Panzanella mentioned that the 4 of them stood watching the
object till it was “barely seen” after it had risen greater within the sky [19].
Moreover, Spaur and Neff, in filling out a UFO sighting report.
have been requested, “Did the article disappear whilst you have been watching it?”
Each males answered no.[20]
Thus we see that this extraordinarily important authentic testimony
strongly suggesting that the article was a balloon, has been rigorously
ignored by UFO proponents. They like to have us assume that the
object behaved as if it have been beneath clever management and contained a
refined propulsion system, when in reality it pale into invisibility
precisely as a balloon does when the solar rises greater.
Right here we see a second main occasion during which a witness on this case
seems to have altered his authentic testimony, or has had it altered for
him. It’s important that the testimony is all the time modified in such a means
as to extend the strangeness of the article. This incident ought to function a
warning towards accepting any UFO testimony too uncritically, particularly after it has been repeated many occasions. Tales advised by UFO witnesses, like high quality wines, have a tendency to enhance with age.
After the UFO had pale from view, the 4 officers stopped at
the police station in Rochester, the place they spoke briefly with an Air
Pressure officer by phone. Spaur, Neff, and Huston then returned to
Ravenna, the Portage County seat.
The stationhouse was bombarded with cellphone calls and reporters.
Though no announcement of the chase had been made, apparently
some reporters who cowl police beats had been listening on the
radio, and the story was shortly picked up by the wire companies. William
Weitzel arrived later that very same day, as did a lot of different UFO
investigators and newspaper reporters. Interviews have been obtained with
every of the principal witnesses besides Neff. (Neff was quoted in a Pittsburgh newspaper article, nevertheless, which additionally acknowledged that the article
“significantly Deputy Neff, who reportedly believes in flying
saucers.” [21] ) Spaur was clearly exhausted, but he was anxious to cooperate with the investigation. There may be little doubt that Spaur and
the opposite witnesses at this section have been fairly honest of their account of
the sighting. They plainly believed that they’d certainly been chasing
a large UFO.
In 1966 the Air Pressure was on the UFO scorching seat. There was nothing
they might have favored higher than to disregard the Nice UFO Chase and
certainly overlook about the entire UFO enterprise, however this was unimaginable.
The good public clamor for solutions to the UFO enigma caught the
Air Pressure squarely within the center. Many individuals had accused the Air
Pressure of protecting up the supposed fact in regards to the actuality of UFOs.
The demand for a congressional investigation into UFOs-and the Air
Pressure’s dealing with of them – grew each day. Hardly anybody had phrase
for the Air Pressure with regards to UFOs (and maybe deservedly so).
They have been criticized by some for being too adverse about UFOs and
by others for even bothering with such issues within the first place. And
criticism is the one factor {that a} bureaucracy-whether army, authorities, or otherwise-simply can’t dwell with.
It’s the very nature of the bureaucratic animal to do its utmost to
preserve common dissatisfaction with it to an absolute minimal. It is aware of
that when the scenario will get too “scorching” anyone have to be sacrificed, a
scapegoat to be provided up in an try to placate the general public furor.
Criticism jeopardizes not solely promotions however subsequent yr’s price range as
properly. Thus all controversies should seem like resolved, all questions
should seem like answered, whatever the precise info. That is the
actual motive for the Air Pressure’s usually hasty investigations of UFOs, for
its apply of grabbing on the first clarification for a UFO sighting to
come alongside, no matter whether or not it matches the info. The U.S. Air Pressure
was not trying to elucidate UFOs, to cowl them up, or to do something besides to get out of the highlight.
The day after the sighting, Spaur obtained a quick, low-keyed phone name from Main Hector Quintanella Jr., head of the Air Pressure’s
Venture Blue Guide. In keeping with Spaur, the dialog started with
Quintanella requesting him to “inform me about this mirage you noticed.” [22]
Quintanella seemed to be unfamiliar with lots of the important
particulars regarding the incident, though the story of the chase had
been extensively reported within the papers and on radio and TV; actually one
would count on the Air Pressure’s chief UFO investigator to maintain himself at
least fairly properly knowledgeable on such important developments.
Spaur was disillusioned at what he felt was the brevity and superficiality of Quintanella’s phone interview.
A number of days later, after an nearly negligible investigative effort, the
Air Pressure launched its conclusion: the deputies had seen the Echo satellite tv for pc and had then transferred their consideration to Venus, which they then
“chased” into Pennsylvania.[23] Whereas this speculation seems to be at
least partially right, as the current evaluation exhibits, Quintanella had
based mostly his conclusion upon a superficial evaluation of a really advanced UFO
sighting, and he was unable to defend his evaluation when it was challenged. Actually, the Blue Guide file on this case really comprises a
“Memo for the File” that states, “Undoubtedly not Echo 1 or Echo II.
They have been over the southern hemisphere on the time of the sighting.”
Blue Guide was unable to ascertain the presence of any shiny satellite tv for pc
over Ohio at the moment. The superficiality of the Blue Guide investigation is additional revealed by their half-hearted try to find out the
place of the Pegasus satellites. They gave up after two cellphone calls,
satisfied that the knowledge was not obtainable. [24] But James Oberg was
in a position to find these data for me with out problem some ten years
later. Neither Pegasus nor every other shiny satellites had been seen.
Weitzel and the opposite UFO proponents accurately jumped throughout
Quintanella for the numerous facets of the sighting he had ignored, for
instance, the alleged adjustments within the object’s course and the simultaneous sighting of Floyd and Venus. There was in precept no motive
that Quintanella couldn’t have launched an in-depth investigation
into the sighting, and after a interval of weeks or months he may need
produced a wholly passable clarification for each main facet of
the sighting. However the information media strain was on. The Air Pressure did not
want the right reply in six months, when all of the headlines would
have been forgotten and the disaster could be previous. They wanted an
reply in a rush, any reply: Congress was starting to stir!
After chatting with Spaur for a couple of minutes on the phone, the
Air Pressure would have been completely comfortable to let the incident die proper
there: superficial investigation, superficial conclusion. However the pro-UFO forces, led by William Weitzel, have been stirring up a storm. Ohio
Congressman William Stanton started to strain the Air Pressure for a
reevaluation of the incident, and he was joined by a lot of different
outstanding native residents. Political clout, the one pressure able to prevailing towards bureaucratic inertia, started to work its magic: Quintanella would journey to Ravenna to interview the witnesses.
It appears that evidently either side meant to play foolish video games with this interview. Quintanella got here solely as a result of he needed to, out of concern for the
Air Pressure’s public picture. He did his greatest to “snow” Spaur and the
different deputies with spectacular scientific info and figures that sounded
none the much less convincing for being absurd and incorrect. Spaur, in the meantime,
had evidently been rigorously “coached” by the pro-UFO forces.
(Weitzel and a number of other of his UFO colleagues have been within the constructing on the
time, however they weren’t permitted to be current on the interview.)
Another person clearly should have ready little speeches for Spaur,
which he recited in singsong vogue, and never very efficiently at that.
The following interview, recorded by Weitzel, reveals the depth to which
the “science” of UFOlogy can sink when it degenerates right into a sport
and is performed by partisans who’re extra excited about scoring factors
than to find the reality.
“Venus, Venus,” muttered Quintanella as he rattled some papers,
“Venus at the moment rises at 02:49 within the morning, and it rises at 110 levels azimuth
and 25 levels elevation.” That is absurd. On the morning of the chase, Venus
rose at about 4:00 A.M., at 100° azimuth; the figures he cites aren’t
right for the day of the interview both. The Main additionally appears to
have forgotten that, by definition, all the pieces all the time rises at precisely
zero levels elevation! Quintanella was clearly placing on a present to
impress the deputies. “It does not should rise low on the horizon,” he
added knowledgeably, “it could possibly rise excessive. However it’s on the ecliptic, sure, it is
all the time on the ecliptic.” Spaur was snowed. “Okay, so it is on the
ecliptic,” he meekly conceded. (I’m wondering if both of the 2 males
may have outlined the ward ecliptic.) Rating one for Quintanella.
However Deputy Spaur was not ready to surrender with out a battle. He
had been offered the ammunition that (it was hoped) would allow
him to demolish the satellite-Venus speculation, if he may solely ship
it with out slipping up. “Initially,” Spaur boldly started, “as I perceive it, a satellite tv for pc orbits at about seven thousand, 300 and
sorne miles an hour, to seven thousand, 5 hundred. I could also be unsuitable.”
He’s. Spaur had rattled off the numbers admirably, however he had by accident unnoticed a syllable all through his recitation: satellites orbit at
seventeen thousand miles an hour not seven thousand. However regardless of,
as a result of Quintanella did not know the distinction. Rating one for Spaur.
“Second of all,” Spaur continued, any satellite tv for pc that got here as little as
Floyd reportedly did would shortly dissipate within the ambiance. That is
true, however completely irrelevant, since UFOlogical expertise clearly signifies that there’s little relationship between the estimated altitude of
an unidentified object and its precise altitude.
“Second of all,” continued Spaur (he meant “third of all”), “our
satellite tv for pc does not cease and go, and go up and daybreak.” “No, they zig-zag,”
Quintanella soberly acknowledged. The Main paused for a second and realized what an idiotic factor he had simply mentioned. A correction: they solely seem
to zig-zag, he considerably sheepishly restated. Rating one other for Spaur.
“Second of all” (by now Spaur ought to have reached “fourth of
all”), ‘Tm beneath the impression that Venus rises out of the east because the
morning star. Now that is in all probability one other factor that is unsuitable, I am not
positive.” Spaur is sort of right, however he ought to have caught to his weapons: he
who equivocates is misplaced. “Relies upon … relies upon,” Quintanella slyly asserted, “typically it will rise proper over you.” That’s ridiculous, of
course, however Spaur was defeated; his pro-UFO allies weren’t current to
come to his rescue. “Oh, okay,” he reluctantly conceded. Rating
one other for Quintanella.
In the long run, the interview counted for nothing. No minds have been
modified as a result of none have been open for an neutral examination of the
proof. Each NICAP and Quintanella stubbornly held to their beforehand acknowledged positions, every of them refusing to be aware of the
critical inconsistencies in their very own analyses. We’re lucky, nevertheless, that the Nice UFO Chase has afforded us an unparalleled
alternative to watch each the Air Pressure’s Venture Blue Guide and the
pro-UFO forces in motion and to notice the shortcomings of every.
Though the Air Pressure occurred upon a considerably (although not
fully) right speculation to elucidate the sighting, they didn’t
assemble sufficient info to justify their conclusions. Therefore they
have been incapable of defending them when challenged. It have to be conceded that though the NICAP forces led by William Weitzel had
reached an inaccurate conclusion and defended it vehemently, there’s
no query that the thoroughness of their investigation was extra
spectacular than the slipshod work finished by the Air Pressure on this case.
Even the aftermath of the Nice UFO Chase was suitably dramatic.
Six months after the incident, on October 9, 1966, the Related
Press issued a narrative by John De Groot that was extensively carried in newspapers from coast to coast. It alleged that the flying-saucer incident
had modified Spaur’s life right into a “nightmare.” In it we learn that his private life was shattered by the publicity and mock that descended
upon him within the wake of the Nice UFO Chase. “He’s now not a
deputy sheriff. His marriage is shattered. He has misplaced forty kilos. He
lives on a bowl of cereal and a sandwich every day.” Spaur was depicted
as dwelling in a lonely motel room, estranged from his spouse and kids,
having actually no cash left from his meager paycheck as a painter
after he paid for his motel room and court-ordered youngster assist.
And he blames all the pieces on Floyd: “Saucer… ##@@!’ Spaur
mentioned bitterly. If he may change all or any of his previous life, he mirrored.
just one factor would should be modified: “the evening we chased that
damned factor.”
 |
| The scene in “Shut Encounters” the place police vehicles chase UFOs was clearly impressed by this case. |
I don’t declare to have any inside info regarding the personal lifetime of Dale F. Spaur, both earlier than or after the UFO chase.
Nonetheless, it does appear to me that it’s all too handy for a lonely and bitter man responsible all the troubles in his life on a flying
saucer. It can’t be denied that the publicity following within the wake of
such a well-known UFO incident might properly show to be tough and upsetting. However to counsel that such an incident alone could possibly be accountable
for turning an in any other case wholesome household life topsy-turvy is precisely the
form of psychological crutch to which an individual in a tough scenario
may properly cling. There are too many situations during which studies of
well-known UFO sightings don’t trigger such disastrous upheavals within the
witnesses’ lives to steer one to imagine that the UFO incident was the
solely motive for this sad end result. (Spaur’s private difficulties in
the wake of his UFO sighting seem like the inspiration behind
UFO-buff Steven Spielberg’s portrayal of the Neary household breakup
after the daddy’s UFO sighting within the film Shut Encounters of the
Third Variety. Another scene in this movie, where several police cars
chase a UFO across a state line, is an obvious dramatization of Spaur’s
experience.)
Daniese Spaur filed expenses of assault and battery towards Dale on
August 2, however when the case got here to trial on October 17, it was dismissed by the prosecutor, with the prices to be paid by the complainant:
Daniese wound up paying $14.90 in court docket prices. The outcomes of the
“divorce” proceedings are much more curious. Daniese Evonne Spaur
vs. Dale Floyd Spaur, Court docket of Widespread Pleas, Ravenna, Ohio,
October 21, 1966: “The court docket finds that no common-law marriage
existed between the events. Subsequently it’s adjudged and decreed that
this case be dismissed at plaintiff’s solid.” Apparently Dale and Daniese
had by no means really been married! [25]
Following publication of the De Groot story, Spaur seems to have
fully vanished. In 1972 the Dayton Day by day Information tried to find
him for a follow-up story, with out success.[26] Spaur reportedly turned
up at a gathering of a UFO group in Cleveland in February of
1975. He claimed to be incomes a dwelling as knowledgeable race-car
driver in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was nonetheless hoping for a reevaluation of
his UFO chase. [27] The newest accounts say that Spaur is now dwelling in a
small city in West Virginia. (Weitzel had earlier famous Spaur’s racing
expertise, which reportedly “paid off” throughout the chase. Spaur’s
enthusiasm for vehicle racing may go a good distance towards
explaining the zest with which he pursued a supposed UFO at speeds
of greater than 100 miles an hour.)
Such is the story of the flying saucer named Floyd. It’s a basic
sighting. It’s also stuffed with holes. Dr. J. Allen Hynek rated this case as a
“sturdy unidentified.” Hynek writes, “I’ve offered facets of this
case in sorne element as a result of though it is only one of an ideal many comparable instances, it’s a high quality instance … of a Shut Encounter of the First
Variety.” [28] Hynek’s analysis of this case is very perplexing.
Throughout March of 1966 he witnessed firsthand the “close to hysteria” (his
personal phrases) over UFOs in Michigan, as law enforcement officials imagined celestial objects to be sensible “shifting” UFOs. However when the identical situation
was repeated a month later in Ohio, Hynek, who was not current this
time, reached the conclusion that the policemen should certainly have
sighted a real UFO!
The late Dr. McDonald thought of the proof assembled in assist of this case to be “excellent.” But none of those acknowledged UFO
authorities appeared to take the slightest discover that Spaur was revealed
within the De Groot piece to be a UFO “repeater,” a transparent signal {that a}
individual’s UFO testimony had greatest be taken with a grain of salt. It’s
exceptional how readily such well-known UFO “consultants” may be misled
by inaccurate information, inaccurate reporting, and a strong will to imagine.
In UFOs and the Limits of Science, Ronald Storv examines and rejects
an abbreviated prepublication model of this evaluation, sustaining
that the Spaur case “stands as one of many ‘high ten,’ a humiliation
to the Air Pressure and to the UFO debunkers.” [29] If this tattered and torn
case is held forth as one of many ten most convincing of all time, it demonstrates dramatically how flimsy the numerous hundreds of weaker ones have to be. After studying The UFO Verdict, nevertheless, Story wrote me that he has misplaced confidence in a number of of his “high ten” instances, and deliberate to
say so publicly.
NOTES
1. James E. McDonald's endorsement was given to NICAP, October 30,1966.
2. J. Allen Hynek was referred to as the “Galileo of UFOlogv" by Newsweek, November 21, 1977, p. 97;
the "Galileo of UFO Research" bv Oui, April 1977, cowl.
3. Hynek, "Are Flying Saucers Actual?" Saturday Night Publish, December 17, 1966, p. 20.
4. Flying Saucers (New York: Look Particular Publication, Cowles Communications, 1967), p. 39.
5. Edward U. Condon, Scientific Research of Unidentified Objects, Case 53;
complement to Ravenna File Courier, April 18, 1966.
6. Spaur and Neff's interview with the Air Pressure's Venture Blue Guide was
taped by William Weitzel, and copies have been extensively distributed.
7. Philip]. Klass, UFOs Defined (New York: Random Home, 1974), p. 42.
8. William Weitzel, "Into the Center of Hell," UFO Stories, October
1967, p. 45.
9. East Liverpool (Ohio) Evaluation, April 18, 1966. Interview with Huston.
10. Weitzel, Report of NICAP Pennsylvania Unit No. 1, April 8, 1967.
11. Weitzel, Report back to NICAP, June 23, 1966.
12. Weitzel, UFO Stories, October 1967, p. 41.
13. Tom Schley, Beaver County Instances, April 18, 1966.
14. Venture Blue Guide interview, Could 10, 1966.
15. Venture Blue Guide interview, Could 10, 1966.
16. Hynek, The UFO Expertise, chapter 8; Blum, Past Earth, chapter 9.
17. Cleveland Plain Seller, April18, 1966.
18. East Liverpool Evaluation, April18, 1966.
19. Beaver County Instances, April18, 1966.
20. U.S. Air Pressure Venture Blue Guide information.
21. Pittsburgh Publish Gazette, April 18, 1966.
22. Weitzel, UFO Stories, October 1967, p. 44.
23. Weitzel, UFO Stories, p. 45.
24. Memo for the file, Venture Blue Guide information.
25. State of Ohio vs. Dale Spaur, State Case No. 62775; Court docket of Widespread Pleas, Case no. 34849.
26. Dayton (Ohio) Day by day Information, Could 26, 1972.
27. Joseph Wittemer, private Correspondence.
28. Hynek, The UFO Expertise, chapter 8.
29. Ronald Story, UFOs and the Limits of Science (New York: William Morrow and Firm, 1981),
p. 173.
30. Private correspondence from Ronald Story, August 6, 1981.
