Podcast UFO

by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear 

This is the last of a series of blogs looking at the Gulf Breeze, Florida, UFO flap that started with the publication of a photograph of a clearly-defined, lit-up UFO in the November 19, 1986, Gulf Breeze Sentinel. More followed from the same photographer who remained anonymous for over a year and was mostly referred to as “Ed” or “Mr. Ed.” The director of the Mutual UFO Network, Walt Andrus, met with Ed, and Andrus, along with Bruce Maccabee, local MUFON investigators, and the editor of the Sentinel, Duane Cook, became staunch supporters of Ed’s claims that the photos were of real craft taken during encounters which included attempted abductions and psychic communication. Just as word got out that Ed had made a publishing deal and received a $200,000 advance, a double exposed photo alleged to have been taken by Ed as a party trick was brought to the attention of the press by a teenager, Nick Mock, who said he was there at the time. The photo showed a ghost behind another teenage guest, Jennifer Bloomfield, and she came forward and confirmed the story. This was evidence against Ed’s claim that he didn’t know how to make double exposures. In the August 6, 1988, Miami Herald there is an article (page 11 of the pdf) covering the publishing deal and the photo. It was written by Sidney Freeberg headlined “Flash! UFOs are Real!” with the subhead, “Is ‘Mr. Ed’ Giving Us the Horse Laugh?” and at the end of it, Freeberg presents Ed’s full name and aliases: “He is Edward Daniel Walters, alias Daniel Edward Walters, alias Daniel Walters, alias Daniel Hanson.”

Walters’s book, titled Gulf Breeze Sightings, cowritten with his wife, Francis, was published on March 1, 1990. As Walters and his supporters defended the case in the press, the article (the second page is here) by Craig Meyers headlined “Gulf Breeze UFO Model Found” appeared in the June 10, 1990, Pensacola News Journal. Included is a photo of Meyers’s hand holding the model and a double exposure made with it at the Journal that is remarkably similar to Walters’s photos. According to Meyers, it was found in a house that Walters used to live in by the new owner who was looking for a water line in the attic while in the midst of installing a new ice maker. Walters claimed it was planted and is quoted as saying, “The debunkers will go to any lengths to discredit me.” Read more →

by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear 

In last week’s blog, we looked at a case that started when the Sentinel out of Gulf Breeze, Florida, published three pictures of a well-defined, lit-up UFO in the November 19, 1987, edition under the headline, “UFO Sighted Over Gulf Breeze.” The caption under the top photo asks that anyone who saw the object or had information about it contact the Sentinel. Along with the photos is a letter from the photographer that begins, “To whom it may concern.” The writer explains that the pictures were taken on November 11^th and that he showed them to his wife who suggested he show them to “Ed.” According to him, “Ed, in turn said that the photos should be shown to the press.” He adds, “That is why he is presenting them to you.” While he emphasizes that he is “a prominent citizen” and needs anonymity, he says he might come forward “if these photos and story spark any interest in your readership.” The photos became the subject of a long investigation led by the Mutual UFO Network. More photos and a videotape followed from the same photographer who remained anonymous until just before the publication of his book. At around the same time, a discovery in the attic of his former house by the new owner cast serious doubt on his claims. Read more →

by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear 

On November 19, 1987, the Sentinel out of Gulf Breeze, Florida, published three pictures of a well-defined, lit-up UFO under the headline, “UFO Sighted Over Gulf Breeze.” The caption under the photo asks anyone who saw the object or had information about it to call the Sentinel. Along with the photos is a letter from the photographer that begins, “To whom it may concern.” The writer explains that the pictures were taken on November 11th and that he showed them to “Ed.” According to him, “Ed, in turn said the photos should be shown to the press.” He adds, “That is why he is showing them to you.” While he emphasizes that he is a “prominent citizen” and needs anonymity, he says he might come forward “if these photos and story spark any interest in your readership.” The photos became the subject of a long investigation led by the Mutual UFO Network. More photos and a videotape followed, and the photographer remained anonymous until just before the publication of his book. At around the same time, a discovery in the attic of his former house by the new owner cast serious doubt on his story.

The Sentinel stuck with the story for over two years due to Editor Duane Cook’s faith in the photographer’s credibility. The December 3, 1987, Sentinel has the article (page 6 of the pdf) headlined, “UFO – Follow Up – More Sightings Reported.” It begins with the background that the Sentinel has been keeping tabs on local UFO sightings since it published the photos taken on November 11th. It is reported that a photo of a “similar object” taken over a year earlier in June of 1986 had been submitted and it is printed below in the section headed “Letters to the Editor.” The November 11th photo is printed next to it for comparison, and the objects pictured in both are more identical than similar. The photographer of the 1986 photo wrote that he/she was “relieved to see the UFO photos” as they looked “just like the photos I took last June ‘86.” Even though there is only one photo from the writer published, he/she says that two photos were taken while facing south on Shoreline Drive. This photographer also wished to remain anonymous. Read more →

by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear 

In last week’s blog, we looked at a case from the Canary Islands involving thousands of people reporting that at around 10:30 p.m. on June 22, 1976, they saw a huge sphere of light in the western sky. The Spanish Air Force investigated, and included in the case file (released on July 22, 1994) are testimonies from members of the crew of the Atrevida, a Spanish Navy corvette, and Dr. Francisco Julio Padrón. The captain of the Atrevida said that a “luminous point of intense bluish-yellow” came up from the ground and reached an altitude of 15-18 degrees where it stayed for about two minutes while “generating a large halo of intense bluish-yellow light that persisted in the same position for forty minutes.” This matches almost all of the other reports. Padrón, on the other hand, said that while in a taxi on his way to see a patient in the town of Gáldar, he saw a transparent sphere 60 yards away that had two red humanoids inside. Even though Padrón’s description was unique and dismissed by the Air Force investigator, many accounts of the case focus on it, from the first reports in the press up until the present day. The cause of the sightings remained a mystery until two Spanish investigators, Vincente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Ricardo Campo Pérez, looked into the case and came up with a likely explanation.

Campo wrote the article headlined “Dos Gigantes Rojos Cabalgando un Misil” (Two Red Giants Riding a Missile) that was posted on June 22, 2016 (the 40^th anniversary of the sightings), on the Naukas website. In it, he is highly critical of the press and others who promoted Padrón’s story to the extent that what was seen by people all over the Canary Islands became known as the “Gáldar UFO.” Read more →

by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear 

On June 22, 1976, beginning at 10:15 p.m., offices of emergency responders throughout the Canary Islands were inundated with calls from citizens reporting a huge fireball in the western sky. Officials were able to see it for themselves as it remained visible for several minutes. The incident made international news and became a part of UFO lore with the main focus on a witness who claimed to have seen the cause of the reports yards away, which he described as a transparent sphere with two occupants inside.

We came across this story looking through a collection of clippings from the National Enquirer. It was covered in the August 28, 1976, edition in the article (page 62 of the pdf) by David Klein headlined ‘Transparent UFO Tall as a 3-Story Building.”

According to Klein, three astronomers from the Astrophysical Observatory on Monte Izana “watched in stunned amazement as the ‘giant brilliant sphere with a swirling center’ streaked directly toward their observatory.” One of them, Dr. Fernando Bello, is quoted saying that it paused during its approach and then made a 90-degree turn. According to him, “No flying machine made by man could have executed that maneuver.” Read more →