Alien Base: The Evidence for Extraterrestrial Colonization of Earth: THE DISTURBING AFTERMATH
Learning of the Air Force-sponsored UFO study at the University of Colorado, Watts decided to inform the study team about his experiences, and to show them his photographs. Reportedly, the two investigators who came to interview him were the late Robert Loftin, author of a pro-UFO book, and William Courter, a private detective.
According to Rosemary Watts, while these two men were interviewing Watts at his home, on the morning of 26 February 1968, ‘their motel room in Wellington was entered and a lot of material pertaining to this case was stolen.
On the night of 26 February, the story of Watts’s experiences hit the Associated Press (AP) newsrooms. Watts had decided to make a press statement. The following morning came the headlines: ‘Farmer Talks With UFO Occupants’; ‘Farmer Who Rode with Spacemen Wants Story Tested’; ‘Everyone Loco in Loco? Citizens Vouch for Man Who Rode in UFO‘ — and so on.
The AP story reported that a set of some of Watts’s Polaroid prints had been given to the astronomer Dr J. Allen Hynek, at the time an adviser to the Air Force’s Project Blue Book. Hynek told AP that preliminary examination showed no signs of fraud. ‘If this is a hoax, it is a very clever one,’ he said. ‘There’s no question the story is preposterous,’ he added. ‘The question is, is it true?’
In March 1968, Watts’s original Polaroid colour prints were sent by registered mail to the University of Colorado. Subsequent attempts to have the photos returned were unsuccessful. The photos, it seemed, had been lost. As Tony Kimery elaborated:
The only available prints were a set of black-and-white copies that were made by Dr Condon [head of the University of Colorado UFO study] and sent to Mr Loftin. These copies were in his possession and, presumably, lost during the motel break-in. Loftin had made copies of three of the photographs, which he distributed to the news media. These three photos are the only remaining from the original series of seven [and] are of poor quality due to the fact that they are second generation prints.
Soon after the story appeared across the United States, Watts issued an oral statement to the press to the effect that the entire story had been an elaborate fabrication. He gave the reasons to Kimery: I had full intentions of trying to prove my story to be true before anything was released, and had been working with the Associated Press for several days when the UPI heard of the case and butted in. They released a short rundown of the story that same night, and as soon as the story hit the wires, I received my first threat to forget about trying to prove it. Therefore, I decided to call it a hoax and forget the whole thing. There were several serious threats made to me and my family, and I found out that I had stumbled on to something far more serious than I had expected.
It was Dr Allen Hynek who suggested to Watts that he undergo a polygraph examination. Watts readily agreed. The test was administered by L.R. Wynne, owner of the Amarillo Security Control Company in Amarillo, Texas.
According to several delayed news reports, Watts failed the test. In spite of the examination results, however, Watts stated that Wynne believed his story to be true. After Watts’s ‘confession’, Wynne told reporters that he considered the Watts story to be a fabrication.
The night before Watts went to Amarillo, an unidentified caller advised him not to make the trip. Watts ignored the advice. The following afternoon, as he was driving to Amarillo, he noticed a blue-green Plymouth parked beside the road with the hood up. An attractive young blonde lady was trying to wave him down. Assuming she needed assistance with her car, Watts pulled over. As he stepped from the cab of his pickup, he was stunned by a blow to the back of his neck. He fell to the ground, dazed, and rolled over, though he managed to focus on his aggressors: two men, both about six feet tall, weighing 190 pounds, and in their early thirties. Wearing turtleneck sweaters underneath rather expensive-
looking suits, they were very tanned, clean-shaven, with a rather ‘Greek’ appearance. Both were holding exotic-looking rifles of an unknown make. They spoke with precise voices. The young lady, evidently the decoy, smiled as the two aggressors threatened Watts: he was to fail the polygraph examination or face ‘possible consequences’ on his return home.
That night, a large black car, with no lights, passed slowly by the Watts residence, drove up the road a short distance, then returned, opening fire with a shotgun. The shot did not hit the house. According to a report by investigator Steve McNallen, based on an interview with Police Chief Donald Nunnelly, Rosemary Watts called the police, who arrived on the scene later. Watts had apparently rushed out of the house and returned the fire with his M-1 carbine. It is not known whether any of the shots hit the car or its passengers.
Watts and his family were not the only residents of Loco to be threatened.
Investigators learned of other cases involving UFO witnesses who had been approached by unidentified authorities and told to keep quiet about anything they might have seen, ‘for reasons of national security’.