UFO ROUNDUP Volume 10 Number 39 September 28, 2005 Editor: Joseph Trainor
HURRICANE RITA HAMMERS THE USA’s GULF COAST
“Hurricane Rita carved a new path of destruction along the (USA’s) Gulf Coast on Saturday,” September 24, 2005, “crushing buildings and flooding vast regions but falling short of the calamity inflicted by Hurricane Katrina.
“‘It could cause a catastrophic flooding event,’ said Jack Colley, Texas’ emergency-management coordinator. He expressed concern about an 80-county area covering 64,000 square miles and home to 11.3 million residents (about half the population of Texas–J.T.).”
What was Tropical Storm Rita “became a hurricane and slammed the Florida Keys on Monday,” September 19, 2005…”On Monday, thousands of people jammed the one highway (U.S. Route 1–J.T.) leading out of the Keys, a string of low-lying islands that were under a mandatory evacuation order.”
“Jennifer Prago, a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center, said New Orleans isn’t the likely target but isn’t in the clear. The city, hit by Hurricane Katrina” on Monday, August 29, 2005, “could still get heavy rain and high winds.”
“‘Everybody on the Gulf Coast should pay attention to this,’ she said, ‘They’re like ping-pong balls in the Gulf. They can bounce around, but they’re going to land.'”
Prago’s prediction proved to be right on the money.
“Hurricane Rita brushed by the low-lying Florida Keys with 100 mile per hour winds and was gaining strength Tuesday,” September 20, 2005. “Its advance westward prompted evacuations in Texas and a push in Louisiana to shore up levees.”
“Just as Katrina did last month, Rita gained strength Tuesday afternoon as it skirted south along the Florida Keys and reached the ‘abnormally warm’ Gulf of Mexico waters, National Hurricane Center meteorologist Chris Sisko said. Rita’s winds are expected to strengthen to a major Category 4 storm.”
“A massive evacuation of coastal Texas began Wednesday,” September 21, 2005, “as the state braced for Hurricane Rita, which intensified into a Category 5 storm and pressed toward landfall.”
“The Pentagon’s Northern Command established a task force and said it would be ready to move within 12 hours of Rita’s landfall, a step that wasn’t taken until 48 hours after Katrina came ashore.”
“Texas Gov. Rick Perry, urging residents up and down the Gulf Coast to make evacuation plans, said he wanted to avoid a repeat of the confusion that ensued when Katrina flooded New Orleans.”
“‘The most important thing is for us to save lives,’ Perry said.”
“More than one million people were ordered to leave their homes.”
“By midday, a 20-mile line of cars snaked up Interstate (Highway) 45 out of Galveston–scene of the deadliest (pre-Katrina) hurricane in U.S. history when an unnamed storm claimed 8,000 to 10,000 lives in 1900.”
“Steve Booker, 46, of Texas City, near Galveston, was one of those going north but was worried he wouldn’t get out. ‘You may have to tie yourself to the beams to keep from getting blown away, but it’s better than sitting in the car getting blown off the highway,’ he said.”
Gov. Perry “opened all eight lanes of I-45 out of Houston, the (USA’s) fourth-largest city, to outgoing traffic, but people were still left idling bumper-to- bumper for hours. Fuel trucks were driven alongside the highway to fill up the tanks of drivers who ran out of gas. Hotels filled up to the Oklahoma and Arkansas state lines.”
“At Houston’s two commercial airports, 200 security screeners failed to show up for work. Passengers waited in lines of up to 5 hours at security checkpoints.”
Editor’s Note: The Transportation Security Administration is a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.)
“Meanwhile, 10 Navy vessels that included a hospital ship and 800 Marines were trailing Rita toward land. Vice Admiral Thad Allen, who is handling the federal response to Katrina, said he had on hand three days’ supply of food and water for 500,000 people.”
“About 17,000 National Guard troops were activated in Texas and Louisiana. (President George W.) Bush promised 300,000 more if needed.”
“As Texans fled the coast and the metropolis of Houston–and as gasoline supplies evaporated along the way–a 100-mile traffic jam blocked I-45 from Houston to points north. The domino effect: Motorists idling in the jam also ran out of fuel, making it worse.”
“‘This is unprecedented,’ said Mark Cross of the Texas Department of Transportation.”
“The core of the storm crashed into the (Gulf) coast at 2:30 a.m.” Saturday, September 24, 2005, “at the mouth of the Sabine River, which sits on the border between Texas and Louisiana. Its sustained winds of 120 miles per hour qualified it as a Category 3 hurricane on the five- category Saffir-Simpson scale.”
“More than 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain fell over some areas of the region. The storm surge of seawater that accompanies the (hurricane’s) eye wall swamped coastal areas. Winds demolished some buildings, ripped roofs off many others and brought down trees and power lines.”
“A tornado spawned from the hurricane killed at least one person in Humphrey County in northern Mississippi.”
“Some 1.5 million homes and businesses were without power, including 700,000 in Louisiana, where more than 200,000 customers still lack electricity because of Hurricane Katrina.”
“A 6-to-7 foot (2-meter) tidal surge swamped low- lying Jefferson Parish south of New Orleans. The flood- prone cities of Houston and Galveston escaped a direct hit.”
In New Orleans, the repaired levees gave way under the new flooding. “The lower Ninth Ward had 4 to 12 feet (1.3 to 3.7 meters) of water, Mayor Ray Nagin said. Water was up to the rooftops of some houses and continued to seep from the Industrial Canal into the neighborhood.”
“While the Army Corps of Engineers tried to stem new flooding, it was the small remote communities of southwestern Louisiana that appeared to bear the brunt of Rita’s fury.”
“Some coastal towns flooded to the roofs. Residents spoke of seeing armadillos and coffins float by. Cattle stood in neck-deep water.”
“Power and phone-line outages were suffered in all 64 parishes, leaving 500,000 customers without electricity.”
“In Vermilion Parish, Rita pushed floodwater as much as 12 miles (20 kilometers) inland, said Robert LeBlanc, emergency management director.”
“LeBlanc said the storm surge reached 8 feet (2.4 meters) in some spots of the parish, which was home to about 55,000 people.”
“Late Saturday, water managers in eastern Texas said they had to release water from an overburdened dam at Lake Livingston. They ordered people in several counties to ‘immediately move to higher ground’ and warned that hundreds of homes along the Trinity River will be flooded later this week.”
“Still, authorities expressed a measure of relief.”
“‘It could have been worse in terms of flooding and people dying,’ Charles Kelly said as he inspected damage to his downtown dance club in Beaumont, Texas. ‘But we’ve got a lot of cleanup to do before we can say it is over.'” (See USA Today for September 20, 2005, “Rita rages toward Florida Keys,” page 3A; for September 21, 2005, “Rita picks up strength,” page 1A, and “Rita evacuees from Keys play it safe,” page 3A; for September 23, 2005, “Rita closes in on coast,” page 1A; and for September 26, 2005, “Louisiana coast takes second hit,” page 3A; the Duluth, Minn. News-Tribune for September 21, 2005, “Hurricane Rita picks up steam,” page 1A; for September 22, 2005, “Texans flee monster storm,” page 1A; for September 24, 2005, “Weaker Rita is still a killer,” page 1A; and for September 35, 2005, “Rita leaves floods, relief,” page 1A.)
HURRICANE OPHELIA HITS NORTH CAROLINA SHORE
Following an erratic path that had it hovering near the coast of Florida for days, Hurricane Ophelia, “moving a 4 miles per hour Tuesday night,” September 13, 2005, threatened “to inundate coastal communities and lash them with gusts of up to 92 miles per hour.”
“Ophelia, the first hurricane to reach U.S. shores since Katrina hit the Gulf Coast (Monday) August 29 (2005)” moved “along the northeast coast of North Carolina, dumping heavy rain, producing high wind and possibly spawning tornadoes.”
“Terry Slaughter swayed in the mounting wind on Wednesday,” September 14, 2005, “watching a crew struggle with a utility pole snapped by one of Hurricane Ophelia’s first blasts.”
Slaughter “has lived there for 40 of his 47 years, endured hurricanes from Bertha to Isabel, and had no plans to leave for a storm whose winds don’t top 100 miles per hour, much less the ferocity of Katrina.”
“Up and down Bogue Banks, a slender, sandy barrier island, residents were mindful of the destruction Katrina wrought on the Gulf Coast but not worried about a repeat here.”
“At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Ophelia was about 35 miles (58 kilometers) southwest of Cape Lookout, N.C., according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour, making it a Category 1 hurricane on the 5-point scale. Katrina was a Category 4 storm with 145 mile per hour winds when it landed August 29.”
“North Carolina Governor Mike Easley warned people not to be complacent. Tourists were told to leave the popular beaches of the Outer Banks, and residents of some low-lying areas were evacuated.”
“‘Let me be clear: Ophelia is a dangerous storm that is already causing flooding, power outages and property damage,’ Easley said.”
“Still dealing with Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it had stockpiled food, water and ice at locations surrounding North Carolina. It had 250 workers on the ground.”
“The governor said that he had spoken to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and that National Guard teams were prepared to evacuate sick, frail and elderly residents.”
“Ophelia’s pace of 8 miles per hour” meant that some coastal areas “received hour after hour of pounding rain. Some spots in North Carolina” reported being “doused with 15 inches (37 centimeters)” of rain.
“Up Highway 58, in the town of Salter Path, emertency crews hunkered down at the firehouse. Gusts of wind keened as they were sliced by power lines, and rain plopped and smacked against windshields.”
“Emergency medical technician Megan Kinnaman, 24, ticked off hurricanes she has weathered on North Carolina’s coast: Isabel, Fran, Dennis, Bertha, Floyd.”
“‘This is just the usual for us,’ she said, ‘Most of us will spend the night here. We’ll cook and eat and wait it out.'”
“They’ve already urged the elderly and ill to leave, she said. When winds top 45 miles per hour, it’s unsafe for even the rescue crews to venture out.”
“‘People think they can just punch 911 and everybody’ll come running,’ said Crystal Mizelle, 24, another EMT. ‘We have to be concerned for our own safety.'”
“The two say they never thought about evacuating for Ophelia. ‘You live here, you deal with hurricanes,’ Kinnaman said.” (See USA Today for September 14, 2005, “Ophelia poised to swamp coastal N.C.,” page 3A; and for September 15, 2005, “Locals take it in stride as Ophelia batters N.C. coast,” page 3A.)
HURRICANE BLITZ, PART TWO
The story surfaced in New Orleans within hours of the breach of the levees Friday, September 23, 2005, by the heavy rains of Hurricane Rita.
National Guardsmen cruising in a powerboat on the flooded streets of the city’s Ninth Ward had come across at least four floating, waterlogged Bibles. Each was open to the Book of Revelation, the pages showing Chapters 9, 10 and 11.
(Editor’s Comment: A kind of 9/11 symbolism?)
Revelation 10 and 11 speak of “a great storm that lasts three days..bodies in the streets and a city destroyed by a flood.”
Revelation 9 says, “But the men left alive after the plagues…would not denounce their demon worship…neither did they change their minds and attracted about them all their murders and witchcraft, their immorality and theft.”
“Some really strange shit is going on in New Orleans,” one Guardsmen, who fished out a waterlogged Bible, said.
For the second year in a row, a “hurricane blitz” is hitting the USA, and the widespread damage has really shaken the American people’s faith in George W. Bush as their president. And nowhere more so than in the evangelical Christian community.
“People are starting to talk of ‘The Judgement of New Orleans,'” Bob Liggett explained. “New Orleans was a city steeped in sin, crime and homosexuality. It was destroyed in a single day, just as several evangelicals warned. Then the gays went out after Katrina and had their ‘Southern Decadence’ parade, anyway. And look what happened–God sent Hurricane Rita to show he means business.”
“The Bible says the east wind is reserved for God’s punishment, as seen during the destruction of the Egyptians in Exodus 14:21, ‘And God swept the sea with a strong east wind.’ Also, during the downfall of Tyre in Ezekiel 27:26.”
Many evangelicals are troubled by the fact that these twin disasters occurred on President Bush’s watch, since the president is reputed to be a born-again Christian.
But others see no contradiction.
“The answer is obvious,” said Hollis McFarland, “Mr. Bush is not a born-again Christian. Or if he was, he has since fallen away. The hurricanes are a judgement on America.”
“Mr. Bush has to realize that he needs to come to Jesus on Jesus’ terms, not on his terms,” he added, “You can’t walk the edge like Mr. Bush is doing. You can’t say ‘Lord, Lord’ and then turn around and labor in Lucifer’s vineyard. The New World Order, global governance, whatever you want to call it–‘the United Nations as envisioned by its founders,’ yeah, devil-worshippers like Adam Weishaupt–it’s the work of the Devil. No man can have two masters. You can’t walk with Jesus and run with the Illuminati. God just isn’t going to let you do it.”
“You’ll always have a choice, Mr. Bush. Jesus is waiting. Turn to Him before it’s too late.”
McFarland cited a story from 14 years ago, revealing that the president’s father, the 41st USA president, George Herbert Walker Bush, saw his mansion in Kennebunkport, Maine severely damaged by a hurricane storm surge.
“On September 11, 1991, the elder Bush made his speech about ‘a big idea, a New World Order,'” McFarland said, “Just six weeks later, the Walker Mansion was nearly destroyed. According to USA Today for November 1, 1991, President Bush’s compound in Kennebunkport was ‘hit by 28- foot waves. The Bushes will survey the damage later today. An ex-tropical storm lashed the (Maine) coast. On Tuesday, the system sucked up what was left of Hurricane Grace and moved toward the west. The storm is rare because it formed out at sea and then turned about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) in a westerly direction. ‘That’s very unusual because storms in the northern hemisphere travel from west to east,’ (meteorologist) Barnes said, ‘It was quite far north and traveled from east to west.'”
“In 1991, the east wind brought God’s punishment to Kennebunkport because the elder Bush supported the Satanic plan for a New World Order. Billy Brim Ministries explained this in their 2005 book, Why George H.W. Bush Lost the 1992 Election.”
It sure looked like the Illuminati were going public in New York City last week when Mr. Bush’s predecessor in the White House, William Jefferson Clinton, held a Global Initiative conference in New York City on Saturday, September 17, 2005.
According to columnist DeWayne Wickham, writing in USA Today, “It had the look of a revival meeting. At the closing session of his Global Initiative conference last week, Bill Clinton stood atop a circular stage surrounded by rows of his faithful–people who had come from around the world to pay homage to his notion of the global village. The former president walked about the stage for more than an hour speaking without the aid of notes about the things that should be done to wipe out poverty, end religious conflicts, control climate change and encourage good governance.”
“In fact, Clinton seems to have found a new calling. His work for a better planet is part crusade, part shadow world government. His call for a global initiative–a partnership among politicians, religious leaders, entrepreneurs and activists–to do what the world’s nations haven’t been able to do drew an eclectic mix of people to his inaugural global conference.”
“British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams were there. So were actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Barbra Streisand; Democrat John Glenn and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Also Republicans Paul Wolfowitz and (U.S. Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice; the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jordanian King Abdullah.”
(Editor’s Comment: This event must be what Condi’s new shoes were for.)
Also at the Sheraton Hotel event were actress and UN ambassador Angelina Jolie and actor Brad Pitt.
(Editor’s Comment: That’s a nice full-page picture of Angelina with the UN flag for a background on page 22 of Life & Style Weekly. I’m sure that photo page will show up on many a target range at militia camps in the USA.)
“Last year we speculated that the ‘hurricane blitz’ might be the work of Shambhala, the hidden city of mystics in Afghanistan,” UFO Roundup editor Joseph Trainor said, “Using the technology of ancient Atlantis, the Shambhalans might be hitting the USA by steering existing hurricanes toward our shore. The erratic behavior of Hurricane Ophelia off Florida last month could be cited as an example of that. Shambhala might be trying to ‘persuade’ the USA to get its troops out of Southwest Asia. Or maybe these are spoiling attacks are designed to prevent an American attack on Iran.”
“Remember the strange TV broadcast that was seen in northern Pakistan several months ago? The speakers claimed that the Himalayas region was now under alien protection. As if to underscore that, a lake overflowed and the flooding prevented a Chinese armored division from entering the Himalayas from the north.”
“I have no way of knowing if the Sages of Shambhala read the Roundup, so I’m asking our readers in India to get the word up north. I know Shambhala, for whatever reason, is off-limits to Americans, but we are not your enemies. The people of the USA are no threat to you. If Osama Bin Laden says we are, then he is a liar. Try to look at all of the facts before you take action.”
Meanwhile, the scientific community continues to debate whether the ‘hurricane blitzes’ are the result of global warming. Ross Gelbspan, author of The Heat Is On and Boiling Point, thinks they are.
“The wrenching tragedies that killed more than 1,000 people and uprooted more than 2 million from Alabama to the Texas coast are not only heartbreaking. They are also frightening–omens of some very destructive consequences of global warming.”
“Katrina and Rita began as relatively small storms off South Florida with wind speeds about 70 miles per hour. As they moved over the superheated waters of the Gulf of Mexico, they intensified to categories 4 and 5 with wind speeds exceeding 160 miles per hour.”
“A week before Rita hit Texas, researchers writing in Science found no rise in the number of hurricanes since 1970. But they found ‘a large increase…in the proportion of hurricanes reaching categories 4 and 5.'”
“In July (2005) a Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist reported that tropical storms globally have become 50 percent more powerful since the ’70s.” (See USA Today for September 26, 2005, “Our denial is at Category 5,” page 16A; and for September 20, 2005, “Clinton carves out global role,” page 11A; Star for October 3, 2005, page 53; Life & Style Weekly for October 3, 2005, page 22. For more on Shambhala and the 2004 hurricane blitz, see UFO Roundup, volume 9, number 38 for September 22, 2004, “USA hurricane blitz: Attacks from Osama?” page 1.)
MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS AT CAPE MEARES, OREGON
On Saturday, September 17, 2005, around 9 p.m., eyewitness A.C. reported, “Shortly after sunset, we were watching the western sky. The sky was clear of clouds except for the distant (western) horizon, which had clouds only at the base of the sky, and behind us (in the east) there was a small band of clouds through which the nearly- full moon had just risen.”
“As we scanned the western horizon above the remnants of the sunset, two of us saw 4, perhaps 5, repetitions of a light show. We saw a row of very bright yellow-orange lights, large ‘panels’ of light, perhaps four times as tall as they were wide, in a regular horizontal row.”
“One of these phenomena included two rows of lights next to each other but not in the same-dimensional plane– as if there were two objects going off together but were not level with each other. The number of ‘light panels’ that we saw at any given time varied from three to seven. At the time we saw seven, there was a gap or space of darkness, and we could see that the lights were slowly rotating out of sight on the right-hand edge.”
“The lights were out over the (Pacific) ocean, perhaps 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8 kilometers) away, about 15 to 20 degrees above the horizon from our vantage point. There were no other lights visible before, during or after we saw these lights (no moving lights–A.C.) No sound we could hear above the surf.”
“The lights were very, very bright, like looking through ports into a blast furnace for 20 to 30 seconds. And they did not move, remained stationary in the sky, and then they all took off.”
“The second set of lights was west-northwest; then the two sets of lights next to each other were approximately due west; then west-northwest again; and finally one light due west.”
“As they appeared again in a different part of the sky, it was only after a 30-second to one-minute pause. All of this happened within a span of 5 to 7 minutes.”
Cape Meares N.W.R. is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Tillamook, Ore. and 80 miles (128 kilometers) west of Portland, the state’s largest city. (Email Form Report)
KANSAS WOMAN SNAPS PHOTOS OF DAYLIGHT DISK
On Monday, September 19, 2005, at 7:09 p.m., Naomi Sweet was outdoors at her home in Galena, Kansas (population 3,287) when she spotted an unusual object in the sky–a gray disk. Quickly she grabbed her digital camera and began shooting.
“I live in Galena, Kansas and was facing west photographing the sunset,” Naomi reported, “As I was photographing, I noticed small bursts of tracer or something going towards the direction of the craft. At one point, there were three of the things. The disk was in the same position in all of the photos.”
“After taking more than 50 photos of the object, I am sending them to you for your expert opinion. I lightened and clarified very little in the photo. Other than that, the photo is unedited.”
Galena, Kan. is on Highway 66 about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Joplin, Missouri. (Email Form Report)
SEVEN SPHERICAL UFOs SEEN IN PEORIA, ARIZONA
On Saturday, September 17, 2005, eyewitness D.W. was at his home on 31st Avenue in Peoria, Arizona (population 108,634) when he saw something strange approaching from the east.
“I was looking from my balcony at 10:30 a.m.,” he reported, “Looking east, I could see a bright object in the sky. The orb was shiny. Seven other objects appeared around it. They stayed in the same spot for about 15 minutes and then moved to the left quickly, to face north. They moved left to right and right to left, almost hitting each other, and then got higher until they were all out of sight.”
“One of the objects appeared to collide with another at one point. They floated left to right and back and forth until they jumped from one spot to the next. There was no sound at all, and they were above the (other conventional) aircraft.”
“31st Avenue, Peoria is about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the (Phoenix) airport. We see planes fly over all the time, but these were not planes. They were too high in the sky. Also, there were seven of them floating around from left to right. They were all orb- shaped. Me, my wife and my parents could all see them.” (Many thanks to Canadian ufologist Brian Vike for this report.)
MYSTERY FIREBALL SEEN OVER FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA
“Dozens of people from Jacksonville (population 735,617) to Fort Pierce (population 37,516) flooded the U.S. Coast Guard late Tuesday,” September 20, 2005, “with calls about a mysterious ball of fire seen flying in the sky,” according to the newspaper Florida Today.
“‘Starting at about 7:30 last night, we started receiving calls here in the newsroom,’ Florida Today Online news editor Dave Larimer said, ‘In fact, the Coast Guard station at Port Canaveral got more than two dozen reports from people seeing a bright light in the sky over the (Atlantic) ocean.'”
“From Fort Pierce to about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of Jacksonville, reports came in to Coast Guard offices starting at about 7:30 p.m., a Coast Guard petty officer in Port Canaveral said.”
Petty Officer Yates “said callers to the Coast Guard station said a boater might have been in trouble. ‘A lot of people thought it might have been a flare that might have gone up,’ Yates said of other callers.”
“‘One person thought the fireball went into the ocean,’ Larimer said.”
“‘The Coast Guard said it probably didn’t and was just his perspective. We know it was not a rocket launch, and we know the Air Force was not doing anything.'”
“Experts said it could be a piece of space junk or a large meteor burning up in the atmosphere.”
“The Coast Guard station near Jacksonville also received calls.”
“Babs Angel, a public affiars spokeswoman for Patrick Air Force Base, said no local military activity was taking place Tuesday night.” (See Florida Today for September 21, 2005, “Mysterious ‘ball of fire’ seen in Florida skies.” Many thanks to Robert Fischer for this newspaper article.)
LUMINOUS UFO SEEN BY PAIR IN McKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA
On Sunday, September 18, 2005, at 6:15 a.m., Edwin Heck reported, “Me and my life partner were taking my dog out for a walk. A bright light in the sky flew right above us. It had about six colored lights on it.”
“It looked like it was watching us, then it took off.”
“It was about 100 feet (30 meters) above us. It approached from the northeast, and it had red, blue, green lights on it.”
McKeesport, Pa. (population 24,040) is on Routes 48 and 148 approximately 7 miles (11 kilometers) southeast of Pittsburgh. (Email Form Report)
UFO STARTLES FAMILY IN SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO
On Friday, September 16, 2005, at 10 p.m., eyewitness J.R. reported, “While watching TV” at their apartment in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, “first my daughter, 15, noticed an orange glowing object in the north through our balcony windows. We’re on the fifth floor. There is a Hydro field between our apartment and (Provincial Highway) 401, about one mile north. That area is quite dark. You can see light towers of the 401 as the only source of light when looking north. You cannot see any car lights from our vantage point. It (the UFO) appeared to zigzag across the sky. It appeared that the object was rather large and probably flew a few hundred feet off the ground.”
“We noticed her expression, somewhat puzzled, and we asked her what was going on, and she said, ‘Nothing.'”
“Then, within a few minutes, my wife yelled out, ‘Did you see that!?’ She described what she saw.” The UFO was “a few hundred feet up, moving quite fast, especially when it zoomed out of her line of sight.”
“Then my daughter said she had just seen that a few minutes prior. My wife also noticed that the orange object had a ‘trail’ like when using a (fireworks) sparkler. In both cases, they got a quick glimpse of an orange light zigzagging and then skipping out of view.”
“We kept looking for another hour, but nothing reappeared.” (Email Form Report)
SIX GOATS KILLED BY CHUPACABRAS IN MEXICO
“Six goats were found dead last night (Wednesday, September 21, 2005) at Rancho El Cadillo in the municipality of Juarez,” in Mexico’s northern state of Nuevo Leon.
“The report came from Jesus Gel Gonzalez, the ranch owner, at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night (September 22, 2005) when he told the municipal police that six of his animals had been found dead with many strange wounds on their bodies.”
“Police officers and Dr. Oscar Sanchez, director of the Department of Health for Juarez, responded to the scene and found the carcasses of six goats, which presented very deep cuts to their necks. The injuries appeared to be the bite of some predatory animal, although what most surprised officials was the fact that there wasn’t a drop of blood to be found in any of the remains.”
“The rancher stated that he had seen a creature standing 1.2 meters (just under 4 feet–J.T.) tall and with a 1.3-meter (4-foot) wingspan, which he suggests was the culprit in the goat slayings.”
“He added that this was not the first time had been killed this way on his property, and that even some of his dogs have disappeared.”
“Police responding to the scene have found some prints resembling long four-fingered claws but were unable to determine the type of beast that corresponded to it. Dr. Sanchez said that the injuries are not normal, given that a predator such as a puma (cougar or mountain lion in the USA–J.T.) would have ripped into the goat’s abdomen to feed on the organs. The creature responsible for the goats’ deaths only sucked their blood, and what kind of animal could have caused this remains a mystery.” (See Mundo Misterioso for September 22, 2005. Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales para estas noticias.)
CRAZY CROCS RUN WILD IN THE BRIDGEWATER TRIANGLE
“Reports that a 5-foot (1.5-meter) alligator was spotted in Island Grove in Abington, Massachusetts (population 14,605) Thursday,” September 22, 2005, “brought wildlife handlers, state environmental agents and a crowd of onlookers to the Centre Avenue bridge at midday.”
“It was the fourth gator found in the area since one was captured at Waldo Pond at D.W. Field Park in Brockton in July (2005).”
“Environmentalists said the gator may have been enjoying the bright morning sun along the shore and near the heavily-traveled road before moving about the pond in search of food.”
“Island Grove is a small pond bordered by residential property and a separate man-made swimming area that draws summer crowds.” Located on Route 123 about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Boston, Abington is the northern nexus of “the Bridgewater Triangle,” an area of “high strangeness” in the Commonwealth that has seen repeated weird phenomena over the past four centuries. The other two “corners” of the Triangle are Rehoboth and Berkley. Phenomena include UFOs, Bigfoot sightings, ghosts, giant birds, frogs falling from the sky, phantom panthers and “the crazy crocs.”
(Editor’s Note: In Forteana, the crazy crocs or the crazy croc syndrome refers to the unexplainable appearance of out-of-place crocodilians in areas far from their native habitat. Two weeks ago, there was a crazy croc case in Harbor City, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.)
Two crazy croc incidents were reported in Massachusetts the previous Sunday, September 18, 2005.
“Someone dumped a 4-foot (1.3-meter) alligator into a pond on East Grove Street in Middleboro, Mass. (population 6,913) over the weekend, prompting plenty of calls to police before specialists were able to apprehend the green guy Sunday afternoon.”
“‘They lured the alligator out with a piece of chicken and raw hamburger,’ Middleboro Police Sgt. Corey Mills said” Monday, September 19, 2005.
“The alligator, which was in a pond near The Cabin restaurant, was duct-taped on the mouth for safety and then taken away in a dog carrier, Mills said.”
“It is not clear why the alligator was in the pond, but police are guessing that someone kept it as a pet. Eventually it got too big and was released. State police environmental specialists are investigating.”
Stumps Pond in Middleboro is “right in the heart of the Bridgewater Triangle,” UFO Roundup editor Joseph Trainor added, “It’s about 10 miles (16 kilometers) due south of Abington.”
“Two alligators were captured by police” in Eastham, Mass. (population 1,250) “over the weekend. A 7-year-old boy from Eastham found a small alligator outside the family house. The boy’s stepfather used a broom to shove the reptile into a plastic tub before calling police.”
“Officer Lorne Estabrook says police think they know who set the animal free. Both gators were taken to Rainforest Reptile Show in Beverly, Mass.”
“Eastham is out on Cape Cod, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Middleboro and well outside the limits of the Triangle,” Trainor added, “Still, it’s very strange to have this many ‘crazy crocs’ pop up all in the same week in a state as small as Massachusetts. One thing is for certain. Our nationwide ‘crazy croc’ flap is by no means over.” (See the Taunton, Mass. Daily Gazette for September 20, 2005, “Gator pulled from pond;” and the Brockton, Mass. Enterprise for September 22, 2005, “Abington gator sighting draws crowd.” Many thanks to Mary Lou Jones-Drown, UFO Roundup’s crazy croc expert, for these newspaper articles.)
CRAZY CROC APPEARS IN PHILADELPHIA SUBURB
“While they haven’t had to call in help from alligator wrestler Steve Irwin, or from Crocodile Dundee, police were able to capture an alligator swimming in Crum Creek” in Nether Providence, Pa. Sunday, September 18, 2005.
“Swarthmore police assisted police from Nether Providence to investigate a report of an alligator in the creek around noon.”
“An alligator-like reptile called a caiman, which is native to Central America and South America, was located” in the pond at the intersection of “Beatty Road and Crum Creek Road.”
“‘The animal was about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long. It wasn’t too difficult for the officers to capture the reptile,’ Swarthmore Police Chief Brian H. Craig said yesterday,” Monday, September 19, 2005.
“Like recurring sightings of the Loch Ness Monster, there have been several sightings of the said animal around the creek for the past few weeks.”
“With help from Delaware County animal control officer Allen Strickler, the reptile was turned over to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.”
“Police speculate that the alligator is an abandoned pet, though the age and sex of the alligator has yet to be determined.”
Swarthmore, Pa. (population 6,170) is on Route 320 about 15 miles (25 kilometers) west-southwest of Philadelphia. (See News of Delaware County, Pa. for september 23, 2005, “An alligator, you say?” Many thanks to Loren Coleman for this newspaper article.)
OUT-OF-PLACE KANGAROO NEAR SPRINGFIELD, OHIO
“Despite what several citizens claim they’ve seen, Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly said he’s pretty sure there aren’t any kangaroos in western Ohio.”
“But Cindy Knisley of South Charleston, Ohio (population 1,850) said the four-legged creature that blocked her driveway and then hopped away Wednesday evening,” September 21, 2005, “sure looked like a kangaroo.”
“She said other cars stopped, and people were giving chase down the road, but the long-legged animal, which Knisley estimates was 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall and weighed 30 pounds (15 kilograms), disappeared into a soybean field.”
“Kelly and state wildlife officials say they’re uncertain of what Knisley and her neighbors saw.”
“But, after reading on the Internet on Thursday,” September 22, 2005, “Kelly said the animal may be a Patagonian cavy (pronounced like Navy–J.T.), the world’s second-largest rodent and also a native of South America. It’s related to the guinea pig.”
“He doesn’t know where it came from.”
“The local wildlife officer was stumped.”
“‘I’m used to deer and squirrels,’ replied Byron Rice, the (Ohio) Division of Wildlife officer assigned to Clark County. ‘This isn’t really my thing.'”
South Charleston is on Ohio Route 41 approximately 46 miles (74 kilometers) southwest of Columbus, the state capital. (See the NewsNet 5 broadcast of September 23, 2005, “Kangaroo loose in Ohio.” Many thanks to Loren Coleman for this news story.)
NEW OCCULT CRIME JOLTS PIKE COUNTY, KENTUCKY
Elkhorn City, Kentucky (population 1,060) “the tiny mounain town where a high school honor student sent home from school for being intoxicated, killed three family members and then died in a highway crash, already does random student drug-testing and has a drug education program.”
“But Pike County School Superintendent Frank Welch said Wednesday that the string of deaths on Tuesday afternoon,” September 20, 2005, “show it might not be enough.”
“Matthew Hackney, 17, was under the influence of drugs when he was sent home from school that morning, cited for intoxication and released to his parents’ custody, according to state police.”
“The teen told school officials he had taken five tablets of the prescription painkiller Tramadol HCL. A friend he spoke to later that day said he told her he also was caught with marijuana.”
“But Kentucky State Police Lt. Bobby Johnson, who is overseeing the investigation, stopped short of saying the drugs caused the violence.”
“‘Drugs cause a lot of different behaviors,’ Johnson said, ‘I can’t say ‘because he was on drugs he did this.’ I can’t rule it out, either.”
“The scope of the tragedy–Hackney, both his parents, his grandmother and another driver he crashed into are all dead–has grabbed attention in eastern Kentucky, a region that has seen an epidemic of prescription drug abuse.”
“‘We’re all going to have to put our heads together and try to do something about slowing it down, and putting an end to it,’ Welch said, ‘If we don’t, it’s going to destroy our country.'”
“Hackney had never been in trouble at school before, Welch said. He had a 3.8 grade point average, played in the high school band and worked after school at a grocery store.”
“But Tuesday morning East Ridge Principal Ralph Kilgore recommended Hackney be taken into custody because he felt that the teen should be monitored for health reasons, Kilgore said. He said he (Hackney–J.T.) was released to his parents by a juvenile trial commissioner, a common move in such cases, Johnson said.”
“That afternoon, a friend notified authorities of the shootings.”
“Christa Coleman, 18, called police after Hackney stopped by the pizza restaurant where she worked, Johnson said.”
“‘He just told me he killed them,’ Coleman told the Lexington, Ky. Herald-Leader. ‘He said they had caught him with drugs and weed (marijuana–J.T.) at school today. They had a drug test and he failed it, and when they tried to arrest him, he ran.'”
“She said Hackney asked her if he could hide out at her home for a few days ‘and I told him, ‘No way.'”
“The bodies of Ivan Hackney, 47, Shirley Hackney, 44, and Wilma Hackney, 63, were found outside Hackney’s home, Johnson said. All had been shot multiple times, apparently with a large caliber rifle, said Mike Maynard, a paramedic with the Elkhorn City Medical Service.”
“State troopers spotted Hackney on a highway and tried to stop him, Johnson said, but Hackney lost control and crashed head-on into a pickup truck, killing Terry A. Taylor, 41, an Elkhorn City employee.”
“Welch said the teen had told an assistant principal that morning that he had taken five Ultrams, a brand name for the prescription painkiller Tramadol HCL.”
Fortean researcher Loren Coleman pointed out that “the names Pike, Pikeville and Coleman are common ‘name game’ monickers.”
“Elkhorn City is on the Kentucky-Virginia state line, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Pikeville,” UFO Roundup editor Joseph Trainor observed, “This is the third ‘occult crime’ in Pike County this year.”
(Editor’s Note: For details on the others, see UFO Roundup, volume 10, number 12 for March 23, 2005, “Occult crime wave hits Pikeville, Kentucky,” page 18.)
Pikeville (population 6,295) is on Route 80 in eastern Kentucky, approximately 141 miles (225 kilometers) southeast of Lexington. (See the Duluth, Minn. News- Tribune for September 22, 2005, “School, police search for reasons behind student’s rampage,” page 7A. Many thanks to Loren Coleman for this newspaper article.)
SECOND BIZARRE BUS MISHAP KILLS HURRICANE EVACUEES
For the second time in a month, a bizarre jinx has destroyed a bus filled with evacuees fleeing from a Gulf Coast hurricane.
“Thirty-eight nursing home patients from Houston used Interstate (Highway) 45’s gray ribbon of pavement to leave Hurricane Rita behind on the Gulf Coast.”
“Despite advanced age and various infirmities, none of them wanted to chance drowning in Brighton Gardens, their home in the low-lying Bellaire area of Houston. They had seen that happen to Louisiana nursing home residents who stayed put during Katrina.”
According to USA Today, “Salvatore and Mabel Mangano, owners of St. Rita’s (my emphasis–J.T.) Nursing Home near New Orleans” were reportedly charged “with negligent homicide in the deaths of 34 people who were left in the home despite evacuation orders” during Hurricane Katrina.
“Along with six caregivers and a driver, they clambered onto a chartered bus at 3 p.m. Thursday,” September 22, 2005, “and headed to Dallas-area nursing homes that were to provide temporary shelter from the storm.”
“Two dozen of them never made it.”
“After more than 15 hours on the road, with the Friday morning sun rising behind them, they had come to within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of their temporary home in Dallas. Then a blowout flattened the bus’s passenger-side rear tire as it rolled through Corsicana,” Texas (population 24,485).
“The driver and caregivers changed the tire and got back on the road. Another 25 miles (40 kilometers) up the highway, some passengers noticed motorists frantically motioning to the back of their bus as if something were wrong.”
“Just as the evacuees were coming into Wilmer (population 3,393), the bus went into a skid and slid ontoa grassy embankment. Witnesses reported fire and smoke pouring from its rear.”
“Harry Wilson, 78, survivor of two paralyzing strokes last year, was the first person rescuers pulled off the burning bus. Acrid black smoke and piercing screams filled the cabin, he said.”
“‘The fire department pulled me out, literally, like a newborn baby,’ Wilson told reporters.”
“Fred Witte, who lives on the I-45 service road near Mars Road said he saw ‘five or six carloads of people’ pull off the highway and begin rescuing people and depositing them on the grass.”
“Then a series of explosions erupted, Witte said, ‘I was watching it burn and wham! I could feel it on my back.'”
“Witte said he heard at least three blasts–a big one and two smaller ones. Charred chunks of metal shot into the air like shrapnel, flying into the white metal fence surrounding the nearby Texas Star truck sales yard.”
“When Officer John Julin of the Ferris, Tex. Police Department arrived at the scene, he heard two explosions. Then the rest of the bus caught fire, he said.”
“‘That was it,’ he said, ‘There was no more trying to get everybody out or nothing. Everyone was standing away from the bus; nobody was near the bus… everyone was just standing there. We shut the highway down.'”
“Oxygen tanks used to aid some passengers’ breathing appeared to add fuel to the blaze.”
“‘I can’t remember one this bad,’ said Sgt. Don Peritz, a spokesman for the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department.”
“The bus, carrying nursing home evacuees from Hurricane Rita, caught fire and was rocked by explosions on a gridlocked highway near Dallas, killing 24 people, authorities said.”
“I thought there might be a Fayette Factor link to this case, as was the case with the Opelousas, La. bus crash during Hurricane Katrina,” UFO Roundup editor Joseph Trainor added, “Opelousas is 13 miles (21 kilometers) north of Lafayette, La. Curiously, Wilmer, Tex. is 13 miles south of Dealey Plaza in Dallas, the site of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963. Dealey Plaza was also the site of the first Masonic lodge in Texas. Two hurricanes, two different parties of evacuees, two fatal bus crashes. I think we’ve gone beyond the realm of coincidence here.” (See the Duluth, Minn. News-Tribune for September 24, 2005, “Bus accident,” page 6A. Also USA Today for September 20, 2005, “La. begins probe into 14 nursing home deaths,” page 3A.)
1886: THE EMBEDDED FROG OF McKEAN COUNTY, PA.
Another long-running phenomena in Forteana is the embedded toad syndrome, which researcher Bob Skinner calls Toad in the Hole. One of the best documented cases of this type occurred in McKean County, in northern Pennsylvania, during the summer of 1886.
“Not long ago, Mr. James Stevenson of the U.S. Geological Survey visited me for a day or two at Fort Wingate and while here invited my attention to an interesting specimen that had fallen into his possession during a recent trip he had made in the coal regions of northern Pennsylvania.”
“The specimen consists of a mummified frog taken from the coal mine of McKean County, Penn. and the following account of it from a local newspaper loaned me by Mr. Stevenson for the present purpose.”
“I quote the short notice in full; and the writer of it says, ‘One of the most curious finds unearthed lately in this region, and what may yet prove a valuable fact in the study of science and history, was singularly found by Eddie Marsh, the fourteen-year-old son of Mr. D.B. Marsh, a book-keeper for Stevenson Brothers, hardware dealers.'”
“‘Eddie, becoming impatient at the fire in the stove, which was not burning vigorously, took the poker and began punching it. A large lump of coal lay smoldering, and he determined to break it; and, after punching at it for a moment, the lump burst open as if by explosion, and a number of pieces flew out of the stove.'”
“‘One piece he caught, and he was in the act of casting it back into the stove, when its lightness (light weight–J.T.) attracted his attention. On viewing it, he saw that it was nothing less than a perfectly formed frog.'”
“‘On last evening, a large number of persons viewed the little curiosity. It had been embedded in the centre of a large lump of coal, and its bed was plainly discernible when the lump was laid open. The lump of coal came from the third vein of coal in the McKean County coalshaft, which is 541 feet (163 meters) under ground.'”
“‘The curiosity apparently was not petrified. Apparently it had been mummified instead. It was shrivelled until it was half the size of a full-grown frog, and it is light and soft. Its shape is perfect, and the warty protuberances of the skin are very plain. Its limbs are regular and properly shaped, including the finger-like toe of its feet, and its eyes and mouth are natural. There can be no doubt of its being a mummified frog, and now various and tough questions arise regarding it: How did it get that far underground? How did it become embedded in that chunk of coal, which had probably been blasted from the centre of a thick vein? How many thousands of years had it been buried? And various other queries, which we will leave for the scientist to unravel and explain.'”
“Mr. Stevenson tells me that he is personally acquainted with all of the parties concerned in the discovery of this specimen, and has carefully examined the piece of coal whence the (frog) mummy was taken, and says, further, that it came from the vault, and not from either the sides nor the floor of the mine.”
Stevenson made the mummy available to R.W. Shufeldt, who wrote up the odd discovery in the journal Science. Shufeldt wrote, “The specimen is now before me, and I at once recognized it as a species of Hyla, though I am unable to say which one. It apparently agrees in all its external characteristics with a specimen I have of Hyla versicolor, kindly diagnosed for me by Professor Cope last summer (1885), though it is rather smaller…it is in a nearly natural position; its feet, however, are somewhat drawn up under it…It is completely mummified, and in a wonderfully perfect state of preservation, being of a dark, snuff-brown color, somewhat shrunken, and, in short, reduced to a condition that, if properly excluded from the air, would keep for an indefinite length of time.”
“I am aware that these tree-frogs very often climb into some of the most unheard-of places; but it struck me that it would be interesting to have some one tell us if they ever heard of a Hyla finding its way to the vault of a coal mine 541 feet under ground, and climbing into the solid coal-bed after getting there.”
Apparently, James Stevenson was a relative of the hardware dealers and was able to interview the principal eyewitnesses during a trip home to McKean County.
But there’s another interesting Fortean link here. The coal mine in question is within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the town of Lafayette, Pennsylvania. The Fayette Factor, anyone? (See the book The Unexplained: A Sourcebook of Strange Phenomena by William R. Corliss, Bantam Books, New York, N.Y., 1976, pages 280 to 282. See also Science 8: 279-280 for September 24, 1886, “A Mummified Frog” by W.R. Schufeldt.)
Well, that’s it for this week. Join us in seven days for more UFO, Fortean and paranormal news–and, hopefully, fewer hurricanes–from around the planet Earth, brought to you by “the paper that goes home–UFO Roundup. See you next time!
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 2005 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.
