Page last updated: March 10, 2008 12:15 PM
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NICAP, APRO &
THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER 1974
The following extract enlightens us as to what NICAP & APRO were doing
at the time of the Enquirer panel. The initial round of cases they selected to highlight
and study further was reported in 1973.
From: The UFO Investigator (NICAP Journal) . Feb. 1974 . pp 3 /4
APRO's director, Mr. Jim Lorenzen, and NICAP's President, Mr. John Acuff
met in a lengthy session at the offices of the National Enquirer newspaper in
Lantana, Florida on February 9th. The stated purpose of this meeting was to
submit for review UFO reports for possible submission to the Enquirer's UFO
panel. Quick agreement was reached on establishing guidelines and criteria for
evaluating the merits and strengths of reports as listed below:
1. Close encounter with a possible structured object is preferable to a mere
light in the sky.
2. Physical residue left behind.
3. Photographs of object or some kind of instrumental support. (J.C. i.e. radar,
etc.)
4. Behavior of the object suggests it was something other than conventional
object
Witnesses:
1. Multiple witnesses make the best sightings.
2. Should have a background which indicates reliability.
3. Competency of observation.
4. Conditions for observation.
Both organizations had gathered cases for review and these were added to information
obtained on sightings by the staff of the Enquirer. In-depth evaluation was
made on each case using the guidelines established earlier. At the close of
the meeting the following cases had been deemed worthy of submission for further
review and where necessary, further data gathering and analysis would be required:
While filming an early morning (4:00 a.m.) interview with two state patrolmen who had observed a UFO the previous night, the patrolmen and the three member news crew of channel 5 (CBS) noticed two unusual bright lights in the eastern sky. The news crew consisted of the assistant director of news, a professional cameraman with 15 years experience, and a newscaster. The cameraman started setting up a tripod to insure a stable base for filming these lights and while doing so, he and the other witnesses noticed that one of the two lights dimmed and disappeared. The other light remained stationery (while the star background changed) for the next hour and a half until sunrise. Seventy-five feet of color motion picture film (ASA 5000) was taken of the white light source which changed to blue, red and yellow during viewing. The cameraman waited 30 minutes and filmed his remaining 75 feet of film. The brightest star (Sirus) in the area was placed in the camera's view finder during this time but did not produce an image. There were no planets in that area of the sky. The much brighter light being observed did produce an image on every frame and the color change can be clearly seen. A 100-times magnification of the 16 mm frames reveals grain and loss of resolution, but also reveals what appears to be a clearly structured object. (UFO Investigator, October 1973).
Two boys, both 11, say they rapped on a dull dark gray object on the ground in a darkened field. Lights came on and the object rose up into the air and disappeared. Two young boys were the only witnesses, although there were reports of T.V. interference. Some foreign residue was found and is being analyzed
Forty-five workers in Connersville saw a round object during their break. Only one man has been interviewed so far, but he said that at 7:30 p.m. on October 15, 1973, five men from the D & M Dishwashing Manufacturing Co. saw a round object over the AVCO test area. He rushed into the plant to tell others and a total of 45 watched it. The object descended into the trees and rose up again and flew off in a northeast direction. The object had yellow and blue lights reflecting onto silver. There was no sound connected with the UFO. It was agreed that this case needs to be investigated much further.
A UFO apparently triggered a freezer alarm in this West coast city. A family
of three were awakened at 5 a.m. by intermittent ringing of an alarm bell attached
to their freezer. The witnesses reported seeing an object
emitting an elliptical glow, with a line of white light
through the middle, a reddish glow on top and a greenish glow on the bottom.
The object seemed to be approximately 5 to 8 miles off the coast. It was observed
through seven power binoculars, and rows of lights along the top and bottom
were seen. The bell on the freezer was ringing in synchronization with the flashing
of the lights on the UFO.
Two deputies from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department were called. By
then it had moved further away. They saw the object and heard the ringing of
the bell, but were not certain it was synchronized. Investigators reported that
if an alternating magnetic field from the UFO was affecting the freezer alarm
bell, it would have affected the T.V. and shorted out other switches in the
house. This did not occur.
U.S. Army helicopter crew members were buzzed by a UFO over the Ohio area. One full-time army captain and three reservists were flying the helicopter between Port Columbus and Cleveland when they were buzzed by a cigar-shaped object with a metallic gray body and a dome on the top. It became necessary to put the helicopter into a crash dive to avoid colliding with the object. The object seemed then to hover over the helicopter. At that point, the helicopter radio went dead. The UFO sucked the helicopter up more than 2,000 feet in a few seconds and then sped off northward. (UFO Investigator, November 1973)
FREEPORT, LONG ISLAND
(jc 6/4/2006: This case happened within ten miles of my home.)
Three policemen watched a small UFO link up with a larger one in Freeport,
Long Island on November 6, 1973. Two policemen were sitting in their patrol
car in a parking lot at 9 p.m. and sw a stationary ball of light in the sky
with no red and green running lights. One followed in the car and the policeman
got back on his motor cycle. The officers were in radio contact with one another
during this time, but there is no record of conversation with the dispatcher.
Officer Steinberg described the UFO as shaped like a football,
flatter at each end, glowing silvery blue with an occasional pulsating yellow
red tint. The UFO seemed to be hanging in the sky but then moved off
in a southwest direction. A smaller UFO came up from the right and joined the
larger one. Officer Brown had also witnessed this occurrence. The two men returned
to headquarters and spoke to a third officer about the incident and he too had
seen the UFO's but refused to discuss the sighting with the investigator assigned
to the case. (UFO Investigator, December 1973)
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
(jc2/29/2008: Dr. Hynek personally came to Long Island to investigate this.)
The president and vice-president of the Long Island Astronomical Society witnessed a UFO on October 21, 1973. The two men saw a ball-like red shape and at one end of the object were three blinking lights, a white light in the center and green on the left end and red on the right. They were not a plane's lights. (UFO Investigator, December 1973)
The meeting attended by decision makers of the National Enquirer, APRO and
NICAP accomplished more than the stated purpose of evaluating reports. It is
well known that data gathering and analysis can be an expensive task. In some
cases the cost of analysis is beyond the scope of the APRO or NICAP budget allocations.
Cases which are submitted for the Enquirer's UFO panel evaluation will now receive
funding from the National Enquirer to insure complete analysis. Of equal importance
is the resolve by both Mr. Lorenzen and Mr. Acuff to continue to seek means
for mutual cooperation between NICAP and APRO.
(jc: Font size adjustment, italic, and coloring for emphasis only)
