Reports of Unidentified Flying Object – The Police Report
The first police station to receive a report directly from the Knowleses was the Ceduna station in South Australia. At that time they were still in a state of fright. They had passed two police stations, one at Eucla, in Western Australia, and one at Penong in South Australia. The station at Eucla is well hidden behind small trees in that vicinity, although there is a sign on the opposite side of the road from the station. At the early stage after the experience the Knowleses did not know what to do or who to report to.
The following report was taken down by a policeman at the Ceduna station and was given to me during a visit there on July 23 :
At about 1 :00 p.m. (S.A. time) on Wednesday, January 20th, 1988, I was approached at the Ceduna Police Station by two male persons (Sean Knowles and his brother Patrick Knowles). They reported to me that while driving on the Eyre Highway at a point between Madura and Mundrabilla in Western Australia at about 5 : 30 a.m. (W .A. time) this date they were con fronted by an extremely white light about 50 to 60 feet in front of their vehicle. They described the light as being extremely bright, was white with a yellow core. They further stated that their vehicle, a Ford Telstar, had been damaged by the object when it landed on the roof of their vehicle while they were traveling at the speed of about 110 kilometers an hour. They further stated that the object while on the roof of their vehicle had showered the vehicle with a black ash-type dust.
They displayed great anxiety and were visibly shaken by the ordeal. I asked why they had not reported the incident to the Police Station at Eucla in Western Australia prior to leaving that state , and they informed me that they had not sighted a Police Station at Eucla. Neither did I receive from them a completely satisfactory explanation as to why they had not reported the matter at the Penong Police Station, being the first Police Station in South Australia which they had passed. This may have been a double-sided question therefore receiving the one answer.
The vehicle was parked in Poynton Street, Ceduna. I at tended at the vehicle in company with the two persons and made an inspection of the damage to the hood of the vehicle which they indicated to me as having been caused by the object when on the vehicle. I found that there were superficial dents to the four comers of the hood although the remainder of the hood appeared undamaged. The exterior of the vehicle was covered by a fine black/gray dust similar to a road film left on a vehicle in need of washing. That same dust was obvious on the upholstery within the vehicle. An inspection of the complete vehicle indicated that it appeared quite well looked after and did not display any noticeable damage consistent with having been involved in an accident or collision of any kind. All tires on the vehicle were in good condition and showed at least 3/4 tread.
They told me that whilst attempting to escape from the object, the rear right-hand side tire on the vehicle had blown out. I asked to see the tire which was produced from the boot of the vehicle. The tire was of the same make as the other tires on the vehicle and has the same tread wear. It was in good condition. However, the complete outer side of the tire was fractured at the base of the tread . I asked for the vehicle to be conveyed to the police station where I could speak further with the occupants of the vehicle and make further examination .
On return to the station I ·spoke with Mrs. Faye Knowles and her son Sean together in a location where we were out of earshot of the other occupants . Mrs. Knowles was visibly shaken by the ordeal and insisted her honesty in the belief that police were skeptical at the report they were making. It was stated that they had been on the Eyre Highway as before stated at about 5:30 a.m. when they were confronted by the brilliant white light in front of the vehicle. The light remained a short distance ahead of the vehicle and began to uzig-zag” from side to side across the road . They stated that the object was about 3 feet in width but were unable to estimate the height except to say that it blocked their view of the road ahead of the vehicle. At this time a second vehicle approached their position traveling in a westerly direction on the Eyre Highway. They state that the object gave chase to this vehicle and in fact they lost sight of it to the rear of their vehicle as it circled around their right-hand side in apparent pursuit of the other vehicle. At this point I asked Sean to draw a sketch of the object which he did. The sketch resembled an egg in an egg cup. The ground was indicated at the base of the cup.
They stated that the object then came from behind their vehicle and their vehicle began to shake violently on the road from side to side. Both state having been extremely scared at this time and Sean states that he increased speed to the vehicle in an attempt to escape from the object. Mrs. Knowles then stated that she wound down the rear side window and reached toward the hood of the vehicle. She stated that she felt some thing on the hood of the vehicle and made her distress known to the other persons in the vehicle. Both Sean and Mrs. Knowles could not recall any indication of light at this time from the object on the roof but Mrs. Knowles states that it felt soft, spongy and rubbery and was hot, although she did not bum her hand. On retrieving her hand however she found it was covered in black-gray dust. Both state that at this time they were aware of a high-pitched whirring or hissing noise but which was of normal intensity. Both stated that they felt disoriented and that they noticed that their voices had become slow and deep when they spoke.
They were unable to say how long the object was on the roof of the car but during the time it was there it appeared to lift the vehicle from the road and then force it back down heavily on the road . The rear right side tire on the vehicle then blew out and Sean considered that this occurred as a result of the weight of the object forcing down on the vehicle. They state that the object then vanished and they were able to stop the vehicle. They both state that the wheel was changed hurriedly and they were about to move off again when they noticed the object again glowing bright white ahead of the vehicle. The object appeared to be in the center of the road.
They were extremely concerned and scared and in fact drove the vehicle behind roadside bushes, vacated the vehicle and hid themselves separately from the vehicle. They remained hidden for a short period until they could no longer see the object and then drove from the location to the Mundrabilla Roadhouse where they spoke with persons at that establishment shortly prior to 6:00 a.m. CW .A. time) .
I then spoke with the passenger who had been indicated as sitting in the front left side of the vehicle, Patrick Knowles. I spoke with him separately from Sean and Mrs. Knowles and before he had an opportunity of conversing with them. His indication of the situation which had occurred was similar to that as told to me by the others although his description of incidents differed, He stated that his impression of the object was about similar in size to that indicated but appeared to him to have a brighter light at the top and at the bottom. He de scribed it as being bigger than the car and that the light which it gave off was brilliant white. He also stated that after the object was apparently on the hood of the vehicle and his mother had felt it and remarked, he had opened his left side front window and had been showered with black powdery dust. He was also aware of a foul smell . He stated that he began speaking with a deep voice which was obviously sluggish and he gained the impression that the object was “taking over” his body!
His impression of the object on the roof of the vehicle was that it was heavy and was pushing down on the vehicle and concurred that at that point while driving faster to escape the object the rear right tire blew out. His impression of the noise which apparently emanated from the object was a deep whir ring sound but he made no mention of any light being emitted from the object whilst on the vehicle. He stated that they had driven from the location to the Mundrabilla Roadhouse where they had spoken to persons including a semi-trailer driver who they believed had made observations of the white light as it was traveling on the Eyre Highway in the same location at that time.
I have checked with Eucla Police Station and ascertained that they received a similar report to that given by the four persons at the Ceduna Police Station. Their report had been received early on the morning of 1/20/88, apparently from the driver of the semi-trailer. Eucla Police were aware of the re port made by the four persons to the Mundrabilla Roadhouse and were looking for the Ford Telstar vehicle to obtain particulars of the incident. They have conducted inquiries in the Mundrabilla area, particulars of which I am not yet conversant.
During my visit to the Nullarbor, I learned the details about the missing jack that the Knowleses forgot after changing the damaged tire. Truck drivers and other interested motorists stopped at the spot where the Knowleses had changed the tire after the UFO flew away. These people found tracks where the terrified family had run into the bushes. In addition, dog’s tracks were found, as well as a print left in the ground by the jack. Police and other searchers had returned to the spot looking for the jack. Our contact from Norseman said that one of his employees had found the jack and had left it in Norseman for the owner to retrieve.