+(45+px).png "Paul Dean") | By Paul Dean
The UFO Chronicles
12-8-15 |
America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has a long history of involvement in the UFO matter. By the 1970’s researchers already knew that they had a large body of internal records, including raw intelligence information reports, discussion papers, foreign press items, etc. In 1978 UFO research group Ground Saucer Watch (GSW) successfully forced the CIA to release some 900 pages of UFO records after lengthy Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. But was this all the CIA had? Researcher Brad Sparks ascertained that 200 more documents were directly referenced in those 900 pages, but suspiciously not included in the 1978 release. More documents of CIA origin have been released since 1978, but their contents are usually of low level significance. Of late, I have been spending some time using the CIA’s electronic search engine known as “CIA Records Search Tool”, or “CREST” and recently I discovered a hitherto classified and unseen CIA record related to the infamous and still unsolved 1975 “over flights” which intruded on myriad nuclear-armed bases across the USA. That work can be viewed
here.
But how many more records does the CIA have yet unreleased? And how many more are
released but as yet
unseen by researchers? I may have found another example of one such record – and a very early example at that – which means that unnoticed CIA records are not so rare after all. What
is rare, however, is getting any enthusiastic and competent help with projects like this, especially when that help comes from a Scottish girl who – if you can believe this – is just 17 years old. Glasgow based UFO researcher Lara Elliott, who has already aided Fran Ridge’s exemplary NICAP case chronology listings, studies the “core” UFO phenomenon, and thankfully hasn’t been sucked into the puerile theater of UFO “entertainment”.
But I digress. The newly found CIA record seems to be a copy of information supplied to them by US Air Force Intelligence. Loren E. Gross has highlighted the case in Volume 7 of his outstanding “UFOs: A HISTORY” series. I haven’t seen the Air Force material, but the CIA record I found is a 4th August, 1950 case report from the Atlantic Ocean. The first page is headed “CENTRAL INTELIGENCE AGENCY” with “INFORMATION REPORT” underneath. The subject is “Unidentified Airborne Object”. “At Sea – North Atlantic” is the location. Interestingly, a huge area of text at the top of this first page is blacked out, or, redacted. Next to that sea of ink is the familiar phrase “THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION”. Listed next to the word “SOURCE” is “Officers…”, then the names and other details are blacked out. Finally, “…..who reported the following observations at 10:00 am EDT on 4 Aug 50 at 39° 35’ North, 72° 24 ½ West”. (See image above top).
How interesting. The second page of this case report is imaged below.
Obviously this, by anyone’s measure, is a UFO case. It’s the usual story: qualified witnesses, classically unfamiliar visual description and performance, and indisputable CIA paperwork regarding the event. As stated, Loren E. Gross has detailed the same case, and provides very similar information. Starting on page 4, that work can be found
here.
Furthermore, the above example demonstrates that the CIA has more records in various states of availability. How many more, and probably more importantly, what the significance of such records will be, is anyone’s guess. As for Scottish researcher Lara Elliott, I wish to thank her for
transcribing the above document for this blog post. As far as I am aware, she is the only very young person in the field who wishes to contribute to the
serious side of UFO research. Without new and young people, we are somewhat doomed. Lara’s level-headedness is exemplified at Fran Ridge’s gigantic archive – one of the best in existence – here:
