UFO UpDates Mailing List
From: legion@werple.net.au
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 08:38:55 +1000 (EST)
Fwd Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 01:02:55 -0400
Subject: More Roswell Hi-Jinks - SUN #45
>From _Skeptics' UFO Newsletter_ by Philip J. Klass. #45, May, 1997
404 "N" Street, SW, Washington DC 20024 (C) 1997
[SIX ISSUES $15 for US/CANADA, OVERSEAS AIR MAIL IS $20/YEAR]
==============================================================
_New Witness Debunks Randle/Schmitt/Kaufmann "UFO Impact Site"_
The "crashed-saucer impact site" 35 miles north of Roswell, first
revealed by _Kevin Randle_ and Don Schmitt_ in early 1994 in their
second book, "The Truth About The UFO Crash At Roswell," based
primarily on claims made by their star witness -- _Frank. J.
Kaufmann_ -- has been disavowed by _Jim McKnight_, whose family owned
the land and lived nearby in mid-1947. The recent disclosure, in a
sworn statement by McKnight, further erodes the credibility of
Kaufmann's wild claims (SUN #27/May 1994). In the second R/S book
(R/S#2), Kaufmann's wilder claims were attributed to _Steve
MacKenzie_, pseudonym. (MacKenzie's true identity was revealed in
_SUN_ #27.)
In a sworn statement made on Feb. 3, 1997, McKnight notes that the
"alleged impact site is located on a part of the ranch that belonged
to my aunt and is a little over a mile west of my grandfather's
original ranch house....I do not believe that a UFO or anything else
crashed at the alleged crash site in 1947 for several reasons. _No
one in my family had any knowledge of such crash or military
retrieval. If a coyote crossed that ranch, my dad or uncle would
likely see his tracks...I cannot believe that a convoy of Army trucks
and cars could have come and gone without them noticing_. If they had
seen it, they would have told us about it." (Emphasis added) McKnight
was four years old at the time.
If an Army convoy had been dispatched from Roswell, it would have
headed north on highway #285, turned left (west) on what is now
Bitterroot Road, and would have passed to within about 200 yards of
the McKnight ranch house. This was the route taken by news media (and
_SUN's_ editor) on March 25, 1994, when Randle/Schmitt "unveiled" the
then-new impact site following a press conference for their new book.
At that point, the media transferred to four-wheel-drive vehicles for
a very rough, rocky drive to the impact site.
_NO ROAD TO (ALLEGED) IMPACT SITE IN 1947_
McKnight's affidavit states that "during the 1950s I rode horseback
all over both pastures around the alleged crash site on a number of
different occasions." McKnight said he emphasized that he rode
horseback "because there _were not any roads west from the ranch house
[to the alleged impact site]. It was not until the early 1960s that
my aunt hired a bulldozer to build a crossing on the Macho_ [a dry
creek that becomes flooded after heavy rains]. (Emphasis added.) In a
telephone interview with McKnight, he told _SUN_ that "to get to the
alleged impact site a convoy would have to get across the Macho which
was all but impossible in 1947."
In McKnight's affidavit he said: "In addition to our own ranch, it
was customary to exchange labor with our neighbors. We had many
discussions and some included the military, their practice bombing
ranges and crashed airplanes. We had a practice bombing range on the
ranch about 10 miles west of the alleged crash site and one airplane
crashed on the ranch. Never, never did the subject of such an event
as the Roswell [crashed-saucer] incident come up for discussion. I
know the people who settled in that harsh environment....No amount of
military threats would have silenced them, especially when they talked
among themselves. McKnight's affidavit concluded that while "the
entire Roswell Incident has been of great interest to me and I hope to
find the truth some day, I do not have an axe to grind nor a profit to
be made from this incident.
_TIT FOR TAT_
McKnight's affidavit, which was obtained by the Roswell
International UFO Museum, might be viewed as the museum's response to
Randle's charge that it used "financial inducements" to get _Jim
Ragsdale_ to change his location of the (alleged) impact site from the
Randle/Schmitt/Kaufmann location 35 miles north of Roswell to another
location roughly 55 miles west of Roswell, as first reported in _SUN_
#31 (Jan 1995). Randle/Schmitt had expressed great confidence in the
location of the Randle/Schmitt/Kaufmann (R/S/K) impact site because it
seemingly was corroborated by Ragsdale.
In an R/S article in the Jan./Feb. 1994 issue _International UFO
Reporter_ published by the Hynek Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), they
wrote "Skeptics of UFO crash stories have clamored for one, firsthand
witness to the crash of a nonterrestrial object, with bodies, who
would sign an affidavit and whose story checks out. There is now such
a witness in the person of Jim Ragsdale, who has lived in Roswell for
many years and has been telling his crash story, completely at odds
with the [original] press release and Brazel story, since soon after
the event. Ragsdale has, indeed, signed an affidavit, and with his
public accounting of what he witnessed, the case for Roswell becomes
that much stronger." This affidavit, dated Jan. 27, 1993, had been
prepared by Schmitt, based on a tape-recorded interview with Ragsdale.
It had been executed by Max Littell, a notary public and Secretary
Treasurer of the Roswell International UFO Museum who had accompanied
Schmitt on the Ragsdale interview.
R/S could never have imagined that little more than two years later
-- on April 15, 1995 -- Ragsdale would sign another affidavit in which
he made significant changes from his first affidavit, beyond changing
the location of the impact site. For example, in the 1993 affidavit
Ragsdale claimed that he and his girl-friend, who were camping out for
the night, did not investigate the (alleged) crash of the bright
object until the following morning. In the 1995 affidavit, Ragsdale
claimed they had gone to investigate the crash in darkness and also
returned the next morning. In the 1993 affidavit, Ragsdale said they
saw "a number of smaller bodied beings _outside_ the craft." But in
the 1995 affidavit, Ragsdale reported: "When we looked into the craft,
we saw four bodies of a type we had never seen before." In the 1993
affidavit, Ragsdale said: "While observing the scene, I and my
companion watched as a military convoy arrived and secured the scene.
As a result of the convoy's appearance, we quickly fled the area." But
in the 1995 affidavit, Ragsdale said: "...we heard what we believed
was trucks and heavy equipment coming our way, so we left and were not
there when whatever it was arrived."
Highlights of Ragsdale's financial deal with the Roswell
International UFO Museum were revealed in the July 1995 issue of _SUN_
(#34). Under the terms of the memorandum of agreement, written by
Littell and dated Sept. 10, 1994, the Roswell museum gained exclusive
rights to produce and sell a booklet and video on Ragsdale's tale as
well as souvenirs such as T-shirts with 25% of the gross income going
to Ragsdale and 75% to the museum. Under the agreement, "any
designation of the impact site, and all material relating thereto will
be designated as 'The Jim Ragsdale incident and site.'"
_FRIEDMAN ENDORSES NEW RAGSDALE SITE WITHOUT ANY INVESTIGATION_
Stanton T. Friedman, who boasts of his scientific approach to
investigating UFO claims, interviewed Ragsdale once on Sept. 3, 1994,
and in July of 1995 watched a recent brief video-taped interview made
shortly before Ragsdale's death. Based on this, Friedman offered the
following assessment when interviewed for "The Jim Ragsdale Story"
videotape sold by the museum: "Over the years I have developed a kind
of approach to things. I learned the hard way that you need to
verify. I was impressed with his story....I have no reason to doubt
it and certainly there wasn't a profit motive here." Friedman's views
may stem from his animosity toward Randle who has characterized the
Friedman-endorsed MJ-12 papers as counterfeit.
_BUT JOURNALIST BILL BARRETT INVESTIGATES AND FINDS SERIOUS FLAWS_
Albuquerque journalist _William P. Barrett_ spent some time
researching the Roswell Incident for an article for the July 15, 1996,
issue of _Forbes_ magazine (which was headlined: Unidentified Flying
Dollars") and an article for the Albuquerque newspaper _Crosswinds_.
Barrett decided to interview persons who had lived near the Ragsdale
impact site. Following are representative comments as reported by
Barrett in his August 1996 article in _Crosswinds_:
* _Dorothy Epps_, whose family owned land only one-half mile from
the Ragsdale site: "I'm quite sure we would have heard about it if it
were true. It's all a hoax."
* _Bill Edgar_, who worked as a farm hand near the Ragsdale site in
1947: 'It never happened. I never heard about saucers or soldiers
moving around."
* _Kenny Schear_, manager of the nearby Armstrong ranch who arrived
in 1955: I've talked to all the oldtimers over the years. I think
it's the biggest damned joke I've ever heard."
Barrett learned that none of the above have been interviewed by
museum officials. Barrett also interviewed Ragsdale's former wife.
Vennie Scott, who divorced him after 40 years of marriage. Although
they were married in 1953 -- only six years after the alleged incident
-- she said that he had never told her about a crashed saucer, but she
said she once heard her husband, while drunk, tell the tale to a
friend. Ragsdale's daughter _Judy Lott_, who is featured in the video
and booklet sold by the Roswell museum and whose children will benefit
from the royalties, endorses her father's tale.
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