In Search Of... Strange Visitors

In Search Of... Other Voices

The Upcoming UAP Report; The NY Times; And Drones n' Trash

I said a couple years back that the photos were not UFOs as such and more recently movie special effects people have poured scorn on the footage and explained what it all likely was.

 I stated that Ufology was being taken for a ride that will build up more and more  with no ultimate disclosure and no admission that UFOs MIGHT be extra terrestrial. 

 This is perfect counter intelligence and as Greenewald points out; this is the same old same old. 

Luis Elizondo still a UFO hero?

Skinwalker Ranch: Angels & Demons, Brandon Fugal, UFOs and Mormons | The...

33 minutes with over 18 minutes "selling" Fugal. Disappointed to say the least.

Stephen Greenstreet lost credibility here. NOT a video of his experience at the Ranch but a long missionary video for the Mormons as well as showing how much money Fugal has, how he is a "big name in town" has lots of  money to spend and, of course, a "mormon buddy". 

In one fell swoop the whole independent investigation turned into nothing but showed that there could be a very biased look at events in the next video.

Up until this video I thought Greenstreet WAS independent.

Let's see how this plays out, shall we?

Sasquatch, Bigfoot, Mystery Primate -Some Thoughts

 There are First Nations legends that seem to indicate that there was some type of large unknown  hairy hominid. There are certainly many Native American names for what most people today call Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

Now when it comes to our understanding of when people actually migrated into the Americas—and also where they came from—well, our knowledge is expanding dramatically. New archaeological  finds have small but major in what we are learning from them. The emerging picture suggests that humans may have arrived in North America at least 20,000 years ago—some 5,000 years earlier than has been commonly believed. Were there other human inhabitants on the continent that we have yet to find the remains of?

A village or villages would not take long to disappear once abandoned and the forest takes back over. I've seen any number of buildings in the UK and Europe abandoned and until you make your way through the overgrowth and trees you do not see them.

How long it took family groups, moving overland together for protection from predators not afraid of man and form territories we do not know. When they first adopted a name for their particular tribe is also a moment lost in history but there are points to consider.  

There may well have been forest dwelling fauna -canids and/or felids- that we know nothing about. Die in the forest and the scavengers will move in and as has been shown a deer carcass does not last a few weeks. A skeleton or bones need to be found first and then analysed to see whether the animal in question is known or unknown. There may be future discoveries that will really change the image of North American wildlife history. 

But you have to find the bones first -as with human remains- and those could be hidden under the continents forestry and a great deal of that has never been seen by explorers or natives. 

Above: A replica of Gigantopithecus at the Museum of Man in San Diego. Photo (c)2022 Zuma https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/160106-science-evolution-apes-giant

There are a lot of possibilities. However, until bones are found it is pure speculation and fantasy.  I mention this as many have shouted out at lectures and in print (and TV of course) that the Sasquatch may be a species of Gigantopithecus.

If you check out Wikipedia you will learn that  Gigantopithecus is an extinct genus of ape from roughly 2 million to 350,000 years ago during the Early to Middle Pleistocene of southern China, represented by one species, Gigantopithecus blacki. Potential identifications have also been made in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. There is no evidence for it having existed in North America. That is not to say that there may not have been a related species but, again, the evidence needs to be found and gigantopithecus evidence is not exactly in abundance outside of North America.  

After almost 60 y6ears the "best" evidence is still considered to be the Patterson-Gimlin footage taken in 1967. Sceptics, debunkers and pro-Sasquatch researchers and lay people have written about, study and even 'analysed' the footage as well as the way "Patty" walks. Despite fake claims of being "the man in the Bigfoot suit" it has never been proven a fake or genuine.

The enlarge cell from the footage (above)  and other cells have raised claim and counter-claim. Unless new footage of irreproachable authenticity emerges showing a similar hominid is presented, and I have stated this for over a decade, the Patterson-Gimlin footage should no longer be waved as evidence as it takes the debate around in circles for even more decades.

A more sensible approach to the Sasquatch question is taken by the Small Town Monsters documentary company which is talking to and recording eye witness accounts as well as the history of these reports from around the United States. They are also attempting to gather evidence. https://www.youtube.com/c/SmallTownMonsters

The above and below art seems to be far more in keeping with observer descriptions of Sasquatch.  I have no idea who created these but in decades I have seen many "Sasquatch paintings" and these take it to a whole new level.  My first words (out loud) when I saw the image below was "Wow".  

(above and below) (c)2022 respective copyright owner

If we only accept that 2% of the observer accounts from the last 40 years (so hundreds) are true encounters or observations and that the circumstances in which they took place are accurately stated then we have to pay attention.  

I am afraid to say that the involvement of so called "cryptozoologists" in the subject does not help. They have not contributed a great deal other than self publicity and making money. What they have given us are theories and stories, some concocted to push a theory, of "dimensional portholes" that Sasquatch move out of and into. Bullet proof Sasquatch -giving us the theory that it is supernatural. Then we have the theory that Sasquatch is...of alien origin.  

These people also seem to have no idea how to take evidence for DNA testing; a long dark hair found in the forest where a Sasquatch was seen months ago -send it in for analysis. Analysis that costs thousands £/$ as well as time for...Bear DNA or Elk DNA or even deer DNA. When the analyst states "No unknown DNA" that is seen as a cover up or, somehow, the sample was tampered with. Faking Sasquatch prints and 'finding' them for a TV show just smacks down any real interest from science.  

The late wildlife biologist John Bindernagel had his work largely ignored by the Bigfoot 'community' as they did not need evidence because they knew Bigfoot was out there. It was disheartening for him as he had done the field work and gathered the data that the "We want to prove  Sasquatch is out there" crowd should have read, praised and used to take field work further. 

In 1982 I was -in the main- a naturalist specialising in wild canids and felids. One day I received a letter from a friend telling me that the Kentucky UFO Investigators League (see footnote)  was looking into reports of the "Fouke Monster"/ "The Boggy Creek Monster" (aka a local Bigfoot). The lead investigator Gary L. Webster contacted in April, 1982 -replying to a letter I had sent John Daly a good while before. Gary asked about gathering evidence and what was required.  

For me that was a chance to learn more -not about any Bigfoot type creature but the habitat itself. No internet back then so I had to resort to technical books written by biologists, botanists and wildlife experts.  After two months I had found that there was sufficient water, flora and fauna and enough habitat for a large animal to survive.  But, you may ask, wouldn't the locals know these things were out there?  Well, yes -the reports exist as did the tracks. 

I can give another example(s); there have been a number of cases in the United States where an "unknown creature" was taking or killing local dogs. Now, as soon as I heard that I did not think "Bigfoot" or some paranormal creature. I immediately thought puma/cougar. Cryptozoologists and others talked of a silent, stealthy creature able to get over high fences -there was no such creature existing in the areas. Where i did interrupt the fantasy and suggested a puma the backlash could get nasty.  

Oh. Eventually game camera took images of the "mystery killers"...pumas. Not supposed to be in the area but as populations grow they do instinctively pass through old territories now built on.  Why do I mention dogs being killed or even for that matter small livestock?  Simply because if there is a Sasquatch-like creature then you have to consider its diet and body size. This is no lowland gorilla that sits around eating fruit or other vegetation all day or else by now we would know their locations and been able to study them.

The anecdotal descriptions of Sasquatch gives an estimated  height of roughly 1.8–2.7 metres (6–9 ft), with some descriptions having the creatures standing as tall as 3.0–4.6 metres (10–15 ft) although I suspect that the extreme heights are down to the animal standing on something not seen by the observer or exaggeration. Estimates of body weight vary from 300-500+ lbs (136-226 kgs). The muscle mass would require a very good source of nutrition and that will not just come from being a "gentle vegetarian".  Meat would provide the protein needed or supplement the hominids vegetable diet.

There are reports of Sasquatch hunting, killing or seen carrying off dead deer -a dead deer may have died due to any number of causes but a free food source is nothing to turn a nose up to. The description or theory that Sasquatch may hunt in a group to catch deer and even use dogs is stretching things. Primates will act together to get a food source but speculating wildly that dogs are used -coyotes and wolves also-  to aid the hunt does not help credibility.  We know wolves became companions of early man and this led to domestication. Sasquatch is using dogs as food or to hunt with them -confusing and conflicting speculation.

That Sasquatch would require a good mixed diet seems obvious. Arnold Schwarzenegger did not get his build through eating blueberries and other fruit.  If there is sufficient fruit and root resources then that is a positive. Rodents and other small mammals not to mention frogs, toads and lizards and insects, wild honey -all able to support a small local population. Plenty of cover for resting in while travelling a territory and with few humans around then perfect. Humans building on old wildlife tracks and territory should expect wild visitors.

Everything is there that would be needed to support a small number of local Sasquatch so what is needed is the evidence.  As with UFOs and the paranormal the Sasquatch/Bigfoot field is full of fake photos and footage from the well done down to the absolutely ridiculous looking.

There are areas where there is said to be a lot of Sasquatch activity and humans scouring the area and going out "tree knocking" and calling (with no idea what the calls might mean to a real creature that uses them).  The few recordings of calls from alleged Sasquatch that have not turned out to be wildlife such as coyote, etc., sound very much like primate calls. Escaped or released primates as I believe can be found in the Florida Everglades is a possibility. The constant smell of humans would drive a fairly reclusive animal well away especially if they have experienced human hunters.

The answer to gathering visual evidence are game cams. If an area experiences constant Sasquatch activity then the solution is to place cameras well out of the reach of, say, a 10ft (3m) tall creature. If these could be place and left as solar powered and with a link to a base computer that can check feed all the better. The alternative is the same thing: as many cameras in and around an area with a power source that can last up to a week after which SD cards can be collected and new batteries installed along with new SD cards. 

It is a long process and it may make some people sick of seeing bears, deer, raccoons and cougars (valuable information for zoologists though) but just that one small clip or 2-3 quality photographs with a good chain of evidence to rule out anyone faking something and they would kick in scientific interest. 

All the cryptozoology books, all the You Tube fakery and TV series present no evidence. Evidence is and must be what leads the way and with so much inter-personality/group fighting going on the work needs to be carried out by competent naturalists or zoologists.

__________________________________________________________

Kentucky (KUFOIL)

Founded by Gary Webster and Rick Ziegler in 1981. It was based out of Covington, Kentucky. This chapter collected monthly membership dues which mostly went to the high costs of reproductions of their field manual, which was based on the UFOIL Manual and MARCEN Manual. The group also investigated ghost hauntings and Bigfoot sightings in addition to UFO's. A drop in reports and dwindling membership numbers resulted in the groups breakup in late 1982.

Notable Cases

Big Bone Lick State Park Trailer Park case in 1981. The trailer park no longer exists today, but residents there in the early 1980s reported Bigfoot sightings.

Fouke Monster (Arkansas) case in April 1982.

Donald Keyhoe and NICAP -A Counter Intelligence Operation?

 

What did Major Donald E. Keyhoe, USMC (ret) and NICAP achieve? Well, NICAP investigators brought us some very interesting reports and the grass roots members did what they could.

The same applied to APRO and its members. With APRO you saw occasional photographs of its offices and James and Coral Lorenzen at work. You see the filing cabinets, maps and more. With NICAP you saw...nothing. I and others have searched for years but where are the photos of NICAP HQ?

It is possible that they had a registered office for business -tax reasons, mail deliveries and so on but, still, it claimed secretarial staff and archives. Keyhoe we have footage ot and many photographs -he was not shy to show and promote himself but...no shots "in the office".

Keyhoe is the person who the press and media focussed on. He sat there and span a yarn. Checking many of the accounts in his books you will find that he claimed a lot but as the former head of USAF Project Blue Book, Captain Edward J. Ruppelt stated; Keyhoe got the facts and put his own spin on them. Keyhoe appears to be the main source for the claim that Captain Thomas Mantell was shot down in his aircraft or, at the very least his aircraft crashed because of close proximity to a UFO.  The actual report is very specific and the very likely reason for Mantell's fate was given.

A "source" in Air Material Command" or a senior military man gave Keyhoe information that was supposedly secret but on asking the USAF he had confirmation of the details. The whole UFO dialogue in the United States was almost dictated by Keyhoe who had access to reporters and reporters were keen to get the latest saucer news. 

Now I have read all of Keyhoe's books. They were more or less must reading back in the 1970s and he had a writing style that made things almost appear like they came about  in a detective noire world. Yes, he was said to be a racist but he came from a time and background that bred that kind of thing. No excuse but a simple statement.

Keyhoe is credited with drawing in former heads of the CIA, USAF and Naval intelligence as well as others who were, until they joined NICAP, more or less the anti-flying saucer people. They joined NICAP and it's mouthpiece, Keyhoe, carried on with the same old song. Eventually, he was kicked out. Ousted by those former anti-saucer, now pro-saucer intelligence folk.

Only thing missing here is Chris Mellen and Luis Elizondo 😕😕

Back in 2000 I was re-reading all of Keyhoe's books as well as some of his articles for something I was working on (basically, that he was a pioneer in the UFO field) and I sat back. I was confused. I had read all this stuff before, seen all the interviews with him that I could find and...I realised that he did not make any breakthroughs and at times it almost seemed that he was anti USAF while still promoting its stance.

I am a bit of an historian and interested in military as well as intelligence and counter intelligence; by the time I was in my twenties the Double Cross, Triple Cross and black and grey propaganda were no real mysteries. The triple cross with an added double cross are things to read about! I also knew about the long haul counter intelligence operations; a central figure used against a body or system while secretly being employed by it. This has been done with UFOs -racist organisations in the United States in the 1950s filtering out fake tall, blond haired and blue eyed alien encounters and more. 

The Robertson Panel in the 1950s saw to it that UFOs were ridiculed but also had people who fed Ufology false information. The same thing continued into the 1960s and all the while, after the USAF officers at Blue Book who suspected "something was going on behind the scenes" had been moved on in favour of more "workable" officers, the false information was promoted and a good deal of it through Ufologists who knew cases were hoaxes but continued to push them in print and on TV.

The 1970s and Richard Doty and how he bought William Moore and other (unnamed) Ufologists to spy on Ufology and see what was going on in research and to feed a lot of false information into the subject was nothing new.  It was standard counter intelligence and even if it led to Bennewitz being driven nuts -who cared?  Doty is still in Ufology and a "celebrity" with everyone okay with him but not Moore who was following Doty's orders!

Over the years I met various old time NICAP people and even corresponded with some. So what has this got to do with no photos of NICAP offices and staff? One old timer told me that he had been in town and phoned NICAP in order to arranger a visit to the HQ. He was told, very firmly, "No".  thinking he had breached some protocol he was unaware of he talked to some friends and they all told him that you only got into NICAP offices when they decided you could and that taking photos was a "major no-no". Another told me that "NICAP offices were off limits and no publicity shots -photos were forbidden".  So I asked why and he responded "They did not want you to photograph who might be there." By that he meant one of the people working for intelligence who "Were going through all the reports".

The opinions varied. One was that Keyhoe had thought he could play and use the intelligence and military people he drew into NICAP and that went sour on him -hence his being ousted. The other opinion was that military and conservative  Keyhoe's sudden interest in flying saucers, breaking the story in True magazine then the press conferences and TV was a long term counter intelligence operation to control the narrative.

There is no paperwork to prove this, there would not be, but it started making more sense. In fact, on a whim, assuming that this was all a counter intelligence operation I looked at Keyhoe's work again. I also looked at how some fellow Ufologists stated that he looked down at them and took opportunities to put the word out about 'bad' Ufologists. If Keyhoe was not involved in such an operation to control the narrative then he was picked on by coincidence! 

If you know of any NICAP office photos -please get in touch!

Was Keyhoe part of an anti UFO operation that ran its course and was replaced by another...and in recent years yet another?  You tell me.

In Search Of UFO Captives ... With Leonard Nimoy! (1978).