Saturday, January 19, 2008

Local UFO group has close encounter with national fame

MUFON Logo
By Kyle Clark
9news.com
1-19-08

     LITTLETON – A few years back, the Mutual UFO Network was operating out of a home basement here. Now it has an office and a little respect, according to one of its founders.

The network, known as MUFON, is leading the civilian investigation into the sighting of strange lights over Stephenville, Texas on January 9.

The incident was widely reported by dozens of eyewitnesses and has been picked up by national media outlets.

John Schuessler"I'm surprised how much it caught on, but it did," said John Schuessler.

He spoke with 9NEWS in the basement of his Littleton home, surrounded by stacks of paperwork and filing cabinets filled with reports on UFO sightings. He has spent decades collecting information on the subject.

Schuessler, a MUFON co-founder and former aerospace industry worker, once hosted the group's headquarters in his basement. No more. MUFON has moved into an office in Fort Collins and Schuessler says the UFO issue has moved toward more mainstream acceptance.

"Ten years ago, people were very, very hesitant to speak out, but they're not now. People just come out of the woodwork when these things happen," said Schuessler. "I think all of the scandals within government have caused people to be a lot more open about the subject because this subject has always been considered one where the government was covering it up."

A 2007 poll by Harris Interactive found 35 percent of Americans say they believe in UFOs.

"That's very gratifying," said Schuessler.

MUFON has hundreds of trained volunteers around the country who swarm to sites of reported UFO activity. A MUFON spokesperson said volunteers conducted 50 interviews in and around Stephenville on Saturday.

"We have people on the ground as we speak and they will continue as long as there's information to be gathered," said Schuessler.

Schuessler is quick to point out the reported sightings in Texas could turn out to be nothing more than lights in the sky. Or it could be what he's been looking for all along.

2 comments :

  1. Frank,

    Let me tell you it was a circus in Dublin, Texas on Saturday. I'm glad it's not ending there.

    We know we have more witnesses to interview since we are sure some didn't come forward because of all the media. We are going to do another follow up session where the media will not be invited or allowed to attend.

    Oddly, none of the witnesses I interviewed where witness to the recent event(s) but rather they were witnesses to events that were in December '07 They just hadn't reported mostly because they didn't know how or to whom. A Black Triangle, Neon Green Orbs, White ovoids, a repeating orange explosion and an Abduction were among some of the reports I got.

    It was very difficult to work under those conditions especially with all the background noise but the interviews did proceed very smoothly. We did have a separate room for the interviews and the press was barred from being in the room with us (with a couple of exceptions) but it was still open to view through an open double door.

    There were a couple of guys (non witnesses) that came in wearing tinfoil hats. Steve Hudgeons, our Senior Investigator, promptly made them remove them.

    All in all it has been, and will be, an experience I won't forget. On top of that I had my first Dublin Dr. Pepper. It is still made from the original 1891 DP formula which includes pure cane sugar, not corn syrup and fructose or whatever the hell they use nowadays.

    We will evaluate these and any subsequent reports and publish our findings in the MUFON Journal, probably the April '08 issue.

    Off we go.......

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Scoop,

    Long time no talk; I've been thinking of you lately as this "thing" in Stephenville has developed.

    Thanks for sharing this info with our readers (in over 130 countries).

    Cheers,
    Frank

    P.S. Will drop you a line in short order.

    ReplyDelete

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