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From: Masinaigan@aol.com
Date: Sun, 1 Jun 1997 12:55:26 -0400 (EDT)
Fwd Date: Sun, 01 Jun 1997 22:49:54 -0400
Subject: UFO ROUNDUP, Volume 2, Number 22
UFO ROUNDUP
Volume 2, Number 22
June 1, 1997
Editor: Joseph Trainor
SAUCER LANDS SOUTH OF
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA
A week-long UFO flap in Bloomington, Indiana
(population 51,646) culminated in a saucer landing
the night of Sunday, May 18, 1997.
Just after 11 p.m., local ufologist John Tosti
and two co-workers "were witness to a UFO hovering
over an area behind the plant...He then drove to
Snoddy Road on the southeast side of Bloomington
and pulled over to the (road's) shoulder. It was 12:15
a.m. (Monday, May 19, 1997) when, one by one, eight
UFOs 'blinked on.' John decided to elicit a response
from one of these by flashing his headlights from bright
to dim, on and off. Two ships began to approach his
position. Not a sound could be heard as the craft
moved in. The car's electrical system went dead as
the object hovered overhead."
Tosti was able to "make out a disc-shaped metallic
surface, with a round, smaller-section dome, and an
even smaller but dome-shaped object at the very top.
Emanating from the whole underneath of the object was
a blue glow, which was so intense that it illuminated
the roadway below. A shimmering, sparkling effect 'like
shiny silver particles' could be seen in the air between
the bottom of the ship and the ground. All the while, a
bright white strobe light at the very top was flashing
rapidly. Around the middle of section of craft was a
row of square windows" showing a "'yellow to amber'
ambient light within."
"With the craft now tilted slightly, John could see
through some of the windows the silhouettes of several
individuals with disproportionately large heads." Tosti
reportedly attempted to communicate with the occupants
by waving his arms, but they gave no sign of having
noticed him. After deploying "two smaller illuminated
spherical objects, one red, the other blue, which were
'doing figure eights'...some of the occupants stepped away
from the windows, and the ship levelled itself and flew off
into the sky."
Three days earlier, on Thursday, May 15, 1997, at
around 11 p.m., John Tosti and fellow ufologist Lynn
Taylor drove to the Morgan-Monroe State Forest, located
15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of Bloomington to do
some skywatching. "Across a field, situated on top of a
ridge, was a bright yellow object. For a moment, it
remained motionless above an outcrop of trees, before
it rose straight up and moved out of the area."
The previous night, Wednesday, May 14, Lynn Taylor
and his wife, Linda, "were returning home from town when
we caught sight of another amber glowing object rising in
a northerly direction between new and old Highway 37
West."
The flap began on Saturday, May 10, 1997, at 11:40
p.m., when ufologist Jim Bailey phoned Taylor and
reportedly said, "Sorry for calling you so late, Lynn.
We're standing outside watching three UFOs, and they're
heading right towards you."
Pulling on his clothes, Taylor ran downstairs and out
the back door. "There it was. I could see it through the
trees as it tried to sneak by undetected. I was staring
at the most brilliant UFO I've ever seen. It flickered and
shimmered like a road flare. Most (UFOs) that I've
witnessed have been yellow or amber in color, but this
one was red/orange--actually more red than orange. It
was a half-mile distant and moving at a leisurely pace."
(See the detailed report "Recent UFO Sightings in
Bloomington, Indiana," copyright 1997 by Lynn Taylor,
all rights reserved. Many thanks to Lynn Taylor for
letting UFO ROUNDUP quote from the report.)
GLOWING BLUE UFO SEEN IN
NORTHERN PORTUGAL
On Friday, May 23, 1997, at 10 p.m., a glowing blue
UFO was seen by twenty people in the village of Quintas,
just outside the city of Mirabela in northern Portugal.
Mirabela is located in the Tras-os-Montes, about 360
kilometers (225 miles) north of Lisbon and 35 kilometers
(18 miles) west of the Spanish border.
According to a local newspaper, "about twenty people
say they've seen something huge, which they consider to
be a UFO...in the beginning (it) had a round shape and
(then) began to 'blossom like a marigold.'"
"It wasn't steady," said one witness. "It got closer,
then went away around a hill, disappearing behind the
hill, then appearing again."
"The locals say they were not frightened, actually
describing the phenomenon as 'wonderful,' similar to
'a strong blue flash but one which did not illuminate.'
According to the witnesses, the phenomenon was seen
from several places in the village 'at a height of 60 to 70
meters (178 to 231 feet) and (had) a diameter of about
20 meters (67 feet)."
"The elderly explained the phenomenon from a
religious viewpoint, comparing 'the light in the sky to the
ceiling of a church.' Others called it 'a sign of the Lord.'
Francisco Azevedo, 82 years old, claimed that he had
'never seen anything like it.'" (See the local newspaper
for Coimbra, Portugal for May 23, 1997. Muito obrigado
a Bruno Miguel Lopes e Luis Ribeiro para eso caso.)
UFOs SIGHTED IN AND NEAR
SEDONA, ARIZONA
On Sunday, May 25, 1997, at 8:10 p.m., a woman
and two friends videotaped "a pulsating round light" in
the sky about eight miles (13 kilometers) northwest
of Sedona, Arizona (population 6,500). Sedona is
located 105 miles (168 kilometers) north of Phoenix.
The woman, Ms. J.J.P., lives in Oak Creek. a village
just north of Sedona. She videotaped the UFO over
the rooftop of the house across the street. She said
the UFO's diameter "was approximately half the width
of the stack on top of the neighbor's chimney...Through
binoculars, it looked like a flat oval. It was blue on top,
yellow in the middle, and red on the bottom."
Two other people in Sedona reported seeing the UFO
hovering over Coffee Pot Mountain.
At 8:46 p.m., another report came in from Oak Creek
Canyon. The witness reported, "It has different colored
lights on it--blue, red, yellow. It is hovering and spinning."
The UFO also reportedly emitted "beams of light" aimed
at the ground. (Many thanks to Errol Bruce-Knapp for
forwarding this report. For more on Arizona, see the
next story.)
FEMALE USAF PILOT KILLED
IN ARIZONA A-10 CRASH
On Tuesday night, May 27, 1997, at about 9:30
p.m., a U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter-
bomber crashed in southwestern Arizona. The cause
of the mishap is presently unknown.
Killed in the crash was Capt. Amy Lynn Svoboda,
29, of the 355th Fighter Wing, based at Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base, near Tucson, Arizona.
According to USA Today for May 29, 1997, Capt.
Svoboda "graduated from the Air Force Academy in
1989. She trained other pilots at Reese Air Force Base
in Lubbock, Texas before moving to Arizona for A-10
training. She had more than 1,400 hours flying jets."
"Svoboda is the second pilot from Davis-Monthan
to die in two months. Capt. Craig D. Button, 32, left
the training area April 2 and flew 800 miles off course
before crashing in the Colorado mountains near Vail."
The human remains found in the crashed A-10
were positively identified on April 28 as those of Capt.
Button. (See USA TODAY for April 29, 1997) He
was laid to rest in a private ceremony on May 2 and
buried on Long Island at a military cemetery in
Farmingdale, N.Y. (See New York Post for May 3,
1997, page 4)
The crash was the fifth of an A-10 in nine months.
Sgt. Rita Clawson, spokesperson for the 355th Wing,
told USA TODAY that "the spate of crashes is
'definitely unusual.'" (See USA TODAY for May 29,
1997, page 3A)
Capt. Svoboda's A-10 was loaded with live rockets
and GP (General Purpose) 82 bombs.
"'Since the first time she expressed her desire to
fly for the Air Force, we have been excited for her and
proud of her accomplishments,' her parents, James and
Sharon Svoboda, said in a statement, 'She was a
beautiful girl who loved life and flying and was very proud
to serve her country as one of the Air Force's first women
fighter pilots.'"
(Editor's Comment: The night before the A-10 crash,
Monday, May 26, 1997, there were two reports of UFO
activity in southern Arizona.)
TWO MORE SIGHTINGS IN THE
EASTERN UNITED STATES
On Thursday, May 22, 1997, at 10:30 p.m., Julio
Jimenez, who resides at a senior housing complex in
Newark, New Jersey (population 329,248) was looking
toward the western horizon when he saw "a round
bright pencil shape (cylinder) moving in and out of the
clouds. The craft had multi bright-colored lights on
the leading edge all the way around with a light on top."
Jimenez watched the UFO for 25 minutes as "it moved
slowly" through the sky. (USENET Report)
On Saturday, May 24, 1997, at 10 p.m., while
watching the Memorial Day weekend fireworks display at
Doreny Park in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (population
70,419), B.J. Makwah noticed "a bright red light in the
sky" about one mile (1.6 kilometers) behind the exploding
skyrockets. "Crowds of people began watching the red
light. The light got smaller, but you could still see it.
Then it sped off really fast. This was no airplane."
(USENET Report)
THE REAL IRISH UFO
A report circulated on the Web last weekend, telling
of three giant UFOs entering Sligo Bay on the northwest
cost of Eire. The report was soon proven a hoax by
Irish Fortean researcher Daev Walsh and a resident of
Sligo Bay.
The hoaxer apparently based the story on a recent
genuine UFO report. On May 10, 1997, at about 2 p.m.,
a British camera crew videotaped "a round luminous UFO"
in the town of Bantry, County Cork, Eire. The film will
be shown as part of an ITV documentary entitled
"We Are Not Alone." The two-part show will air in
Britain on June 24 and June 26 at 10:45 p.m. (See the
newspaper The Examiner of Cork, Eire for May 11, 1997.
Many thanks to Daev Walsh for this news story.)
BLACK HELICOPTERS SEEN
TWICE IN CALIFORNIA
On Monday, May 19, 1997, ufologists Autumn
Sheppard and Robert Williams spotted a black
helicopter flying over the desert near the town of
Anza, California (population 75). They described
the helicopter as an "oval black one, no markings,
flying over at an altitude of 500 feet (152 meters)."
Anza is on Highway 371 just north of the Cahuilla
Indian Reservation, about 120 miles (252 kilometers)
southeast of Los Angeles.
The following day, Tuesday, May 20, the couple
saw "one black helicopter and one gray one" fly over,
followed by a third helicopter an hour later.
On Tuesday, May 26, 1997, at 4:30 p.m., Larry
Jenkins spotted a black helicopter alternately flying
and hovering over a wooded area of the Nantahala
National Forest, about 12 miles (18 kilometers)
northwest of his hometown of Franklin, North
Carolina (population 2,640). The Nantahala range
is near the western border of North Carolina 297 miles
(457 kilometers) west of Raleigh. Larry described it
as "all black" and identified the model as a Boeing
Vertol CH-47 Chinook.
On Wednesday, May 28, 1997, witnesses in San
Luis Obispo, California (population 34,252) saw "a huge
dull black helicopter land in broad daylight a few miles
east" of the city, at the county airport. San Luis
Obispo is on Highway 101 approximately 182 miles
(291 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.
At least one "black helicopter" overflight has been
identified as a United Nations mission.
"Around sunset a week ago (March 24, 1997),
a squadron of black helicopters--the kind conspiracy
buffs say are favored by U.N. generals bent on world
domination--flew along the East River (in New York
City) past the Tower of Babble (the UN Building)."
"At least one surprised New Yorker called U.N.
headquarters to find out why, as spokesman Juan
Carlos Brandt put it, a squadron of black helicopters,
maybe with U.N. insignia, was flying in formation down
the East River toward the U.N."
"The helicopters were assigned by Canada to the
U.N.'s peacekeeping office and were enroute from
Montreal to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on an overland flight
plan." (See the Washington Times for March 31, 1997.)
(Many thanks to Autumn, Bob, Larry and Gerard for
these reports. Your email input is appreciated.)
(Editor's Comment: Stuart Bailey of Chicago pointed
out this week that the black helicopter seen recently
in Fresno, California may have been a Eurocopter AS365,
"which has retractable landing gear and a 'shrouded' tail
rotor, which means it is set in the actual tail rotor. A
'shrouded tail rotor' might appear to be 'no tail rotor' to
the untrained eye.")
from the UFO Files...
1974: THE BEIT BRIDGE ENCOUNTER
or "Check the Oil, Please."
One of the strangest UFO encounters in Africa took
place on May 31, 1974 and involved a couple, Peter
and Frances MacNorman, who were driving from
Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) to
South Africa.
About 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Umvuma,
Peter thought he saw a man on the side of the road.
The entity vanished. Then, "at 2:30 in the morning
(May 31, 1974), Frances saw a light off to the left
side of the vehicle apparently keeping pace with
them. The car lights began to fade. Other electrical
equipment, such as the radio, was unaffected; all
around them there was a light bright enough to cast
shadows. Both Peter and Frances felt remarkably cold
and wrapped in coats and blankets while they were
driving."
"Peter was again driving fast, between 87-93 miles
per hour (140-150 kmh) and he eased his foot off the
accelerator. Nothing happened! The car continued to
move at full speed, without headlights and completely
out of Peter's control. He could not stop, brake, steer
or in any way control the car."
Just north of Port Victoria, Peter regained control
of the Peugeot 404 and stopped at a gas station at
4:30 a.m. After topping off the tank, they resumed
their journey, heading for the Beit Bridge over the
Limpopo River.
"During this next leg of the drive, the couple
thought they might be off course because of the
strange landscape around them, low bushes,
high grasses, marshes and swamps...Yet again,
Peter completely lost control of the car now at
a speed of something like 125 miles per hour
(200 kmh)...The road from Fort Victoria to Beit
Bridge is very curved and twisted, but that night
it was absolutely straight!"
Reaching the South African border, Peter
and Frances were stunned to learn that it was
8:30 a.m. Their watches and the Peugeot's
dashboard clock both read 7:30 a.m. They had
experienced an hour of "missing time."
The drive from Fort Victoria to the South
African border station at Beit Bridge is 179
miles (228 kilometers). After a drive like that,
the Peugeot's gas tank should have been nearly
empty. Peter was stunned to find it still full.
Even more amazing were the tires. Back in
Salisbury (Harare), Peter had mounted four worn
retread Michelins on the car, figuring to buy four
new tires at a bargain price in South Africa. When
he checked the tires at Beit Bridge, the retreads
were gone, replaced by four brand-new Michelin
steel-belted radial tires. Peter had no recollection
of stopping and changing the tires along the way.
Later, the couple underwent hypnotic regression
and told an incredible story of an alien "beaming into"
the Peugeot's back seat, and then the car being
levitated into a large silver-gray saucer. Under
hypnosis, Peter claimed that he was "taken to
Sickbay" aboard the saucer "for a medical exam"
and saw his wife and several other humans, both
black and white, who appeared to be in a trance.
As he was led out of Sickbay, he saw the Peugeot
in the saucer's "on-board hangar," parked between
two small silver discs. The car's bonnet (hood) was
up, and three or four large-headed occupants were
giving the engine a tune-up. (See WORLD ATLAS
OF UFOs by John Spencer, Smithmark Publishers
Inc., New York, N.Y. 1991, pages 149-150)
FUN UFO WEBSITES:
Germany's UFONet has a page up and running.
Check them out at http://www.ufo.ch/ufo-net/
The UFO site for Canada's Northwest Territories
is now being updated. You'll find them at
http://www.ssimicro.com/~ufoinfo
Dr. Ricardo D. Arca's photo of the UFO spotted
at Rancho Aurora near Salto, Uruguay back in
September 1996 can be downloaded at this page:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/3184/aurora.html
Don't miss our parent site, UFO INFO. They're
very easy to find at:
http://www.digiserve.com/ufoinfo/
For a peek at past issues of UFO ROUNDUP,
check us out at:
http://www.digiserve.com/ufoinfo/roundup/index.shtml
If you see a UFO story in your local newspaper,
clip it out and snail-mail it to us at UFO ROUNDUP,
Box 16, 126 Toll Gate Road, Warwick, Rhode Island,
USA 02886.
If you have a UFO to report, email us at this
address: Masinaigan@aol.com.
That's it for this week. Here's wishing our readers
in Western Australia a happy Foundation Day for
tomorrow. We'll be back next Sunday with more saucer
news from "the paper that goes home--UFO ROUNDUP."
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 1991 by Masinaigan
Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news
items from UFO ROUNDUP on their Websites or in news
groups provided that they credit the newsletter and its
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