Reports of Unidentified Flying Object – Aftermath
On the evening of August 2 I arrived in Perth for another visit to the Knowleses, including Mr. Knowles, who had not accompanied them on their trip to Melbourne. Mrs. Knowles and her sons had by then-six months after their frightening ordeal-settled down to normal routines, but were still eager for more information and results of tests, so that they could have a better understanding of their experience.
All members of the family expressed appreciation for help from the VUFORS committee; the only people, other than relatives, who had shown concern for their welfare. While in Melbourne they had received independent medical and psychiatric examination and care, including hypnosis to sort out the sequence of events during the running encounter with the unknown object.
There were certain aspects which caused us some anxiety, such as the swelling of Faye’s hand and arm, the patchy loss of hair from one of the dogs, and the general reaction on the family. Our concern stemmed from knowledge of other cases where close encounters had caused similar symptoms.
During my visit, the Knowles family mentioned several instances when they had been mistreated by the media, as well as individuals interested ·only in making money out of their predicament. During the course of events following the UFO episode, their car was repossessed and sold at an auction. Mrs. Knowles had requested previously that I drive the car from Adelaide, when returning to Melbourne on February 4, where they were visiting relatives at the time. They considered the vehicle to be ‘ ‘jinxed’ ‘ after the alarming experience, and wanted to sell it be cause they needed the money. I was interested in buying the car myself, paying off the mortgage, and giving a fair price to help relieve their burden. In addition, I wanted to drive the car to Melbourne, where the Ford Motor Company was very interested in conducting tests on it.
About an hour before I was due to leave Adelaide on February 4, a man knocked on the door of my hotel room to tell me that the owner had · given him authority to keep the vehicle in Adelaide for an exhibition. When I arrived back in Melbourne, I learned that the Knowles family had been told that I did not want to drive the car to Melbourne.
During my August visit I learned additional details with regard to the transaction, that is, authorization had not been signed until February 10, six days after my return to Melbourne.
The family mentioned several other examples illustrating how they had been mistreated. Their hopes had been encouraged by promises of looking for Australian and overseas markets for television commercials, and of making a documentary dealing with the encounter. Also, the Ford Telstar was to be placed on exhibition and all expertise would be used to promote and market the vehicle to its fullest advantage. The agent stated that the venture would be costing him a considerable amount of time and money in phone calls, faxing, staff, telegrams, travel, and arrangements for transport of the vehicle. The family was to receive sixty-five percent net and the commission to the agent was to be thirty-five percent net. The promises were altogether different from the reality suffered by the family.
A loss of nearly $20,000 resulted. Most of the money was tied up in the car, plus the costs of six weeks away from home and airline tickets to fly back to Perth. The family had relied on money promised by the agent. In addition to these troubles, the Knowleses suffered from the ridicule dished out by the debunkers, reinforced by comments from individuals in the scientific community who, knowing little about other well-documented cases, were unable to ask even sensible questions, let alone knowing how to deal with the problem.
Another disappointment suffered by the Knowleses was a promise for an overseas trip to Japan, with all expenses paid. This was the incentive for a television documentary by a Japanese company. A camera crew came to the Nullarbor where the drama was re-enacted. Two of the wit nesses were put under hypnosis and were obliged to live through the ordeal again, all for the benefit of vested interests. The documentary was completed and later shown in Japan. Faye and Patrick had been looking forward to their first trip out of Australia, but at the last minute the company canceled the trip.
Meanwhile, interest among some Australian scientists began to manifest, due to the tireless efforts of John Auchettl . John submitted a set of dust samples to a Monash laboratory in Melbourne, where a scientist made further unusual discoveries. He isolated the potassium particles and noticed that they had identical straight edges, un known to occur naturally. The scientist’s conclusion was that an artificial reaction had taken place, for some un known reason.
A third laboratory is conducting follow-up analysis, but has yet to present a report on its findings. Other samples are being held in reserve for additional tests if necessary. While the scientific community, on the whole, makes one debunking attempt after another, yet a further encounter has occurred which indicates that the mysterious objects have a strong magnetic, gravitational , or similar capability. There is reason to believe that this was an ab duction attempt that failed. The Knowles incident is the fourteenth case that we know about, where cars have been lifted and dropped back to the ground. There are perhaps other cases that we do not know about.
There are also twenty known encounters involving air craft, such as the well-known case involving a four-man crew aboard a helicopter that was flying at 2,500 feet over Ohio in the United States, when the crew chief spotted a light which he at first thought was a radio-tower beacon.
To his surprise, the light was approaching on a collision course. As the UFO came closer, the pilot, Larry Coyne, saw that it was cigar-shaped and metallic. Thinking the object would collide, he put the controls into the descent position. After reaching 1,700 feet, Coyne looked up and realized that the helicopter was being pulled up to 3,500 feet in a matter of seconds, with the controls still in the descent position. At that altitude Coyne regained control and flew on to his destination.
Australia’s most outstanding case of the last decade, the Frederick Valentich encounter, when the young pilot and his aircraft disappeared without trace while being paced by an unidentified flying object, and an unexplained sound disrupted his radio transmission with Melbourne Flight Service, leads me to suspect that this could have been a successful abduction, and the helicopter incident was an other attempt that went wrong. At least Larry Coyne and his crew returned to tell the story, as did the Knowles family. Frederick Valentich did not. [Both the Coyne and Valentich cases are examined in detail in Above Top Secret-Editor.] Before we know for sure what is happening, there are more reports to check out, and much more research re mains to be done. Meanwhile, the UFOs that have terrified motorists on the Nullarbor Plain have not as yet been satisfactorily identified .