While many people have dissmised the UFO incident at Russell
Park this week as a hoax, many people are still not satisfied
with the conclusion.
At the top of the list of those who still believe that something
other than a lantern was seen entering and glowing in mine water
pond are the three boys who first saw and reported the incident:
Bob Gillette, 15 Bill Lloyd, 15 and his brother John, 14.
Two of these three young men visited the NEWS office Tuesday
afternoon three days after they sighted something entering the
pond and one day after it was dissmissed as a hoax by authorities.
They still stuck to their original story. As told to the NEWS
, here is their story.
Between 7 and 7:30 pm Saturday evening, the three youths were
standing on the corner of Church St and 12th Ave when they observed
a light come from behind Salem Mnt. And fall in
and arc tword the pond and cemetery area. The light given off
was described as white and yellow. The boys heard no sound.
Walking back to the pond they observed waves in the water
and a yelowish light with a spot of red coming from beneath the
water. The lighted area was approximately four feet in diameter.
They left the pond to summon their friends who were standing
near Russell Park. When the six of then returned, they noticed
that the underwater light was about 20 feet from shore, and that
it had moved from its original position.
The Carbondale police were summoned twice before arriving
on the scene. They estimated that it was an hour and a half since
they first spotted the glow in the water. The time was approximately
9:30 or 10:00 p.m.
Upon arrival, they said that the officers admitted that"something
was there" that two officers fired their service revolvers
into the water. They said the light was observed to move when
the bullets were fired.
The boys said that the Mitchell Hose Company emergency truck
was called along with a boat. Portable lights were set up on
the bank and retrieval operations begun. They also noted a photographer
on the scene taking pictures of the operation.
Later the boys were told to wait in the police car, where
they remained until 1 p.m. The boys heard via police radio, orders
to "hold off the news media". When the youths were
finally released around 1a.m. they were told by the police to
remain quite. Bob Gillette reported that his grandfather was
told by police that his grandson was working back at Russell
Park. Both Gillette and Lloyd affirm that officers told them
that the object in the pond was a meteorite.
On Sunday the boys said they returned, but were not allowed
in the area. They reported that a crane was seen moving back
into the pond area, but it was not seen leaving. They speculated
that it may have left from another road in the area. One interesting
sight the boys reported was a delivery truck from a department
store going down the road to the pond at one point Sunday.
The boys also report that a scuba diver was in the pond Sunday
afternoon and that he emerged white-faced and gestured a size
with his arms. They report that police hushed the diver. The
boys returned to the site Monday afternoon when another scuba
diver went under the
surface. Two minutes later , according to the youths, he returned
with the widely publicizied railroad lantern.
The boys told the NEWS that they still stick to their original
stories and leveled a few verbal blasts at the Carbondale police.
They speculated that some one placed the lantern in the pond
and that the "show" Monday afternoon was designed to"make
fools of them".
They also pointed out that UFO officials from Philadelphia
noted no discrepancies in their stories and that he believed
what they told him.(Editors note: the NEWS has received many
different bits of information on the sighting. Perhaps the most
interesting is a report that a orange-red glow near Russell Park
was observed
from upper Dundaff St between 8 and 9 p.m. Saturday night.)
From the Carbondale News,
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1974 Vol 102 No. 45 Twelve
Cents
FastCounter
by LinkExchange
