"The police chief and his deputy watched as an aerial object changed from a globe to a wedge and passed some 500 feet in front of them"
On the night of June 12, 1964, between 10:15 p.m. and 12:05 a.m., Richard Crawford, Chief of Police, Elmore, Ohio, saw the 'strangest sight of my life."
In the period of an hour and 50 minutes, Chief Crawford saw, at three different times, a strange, blinking object hovering over or near the village of Elmore. Elmore, a community of about 1300 people, is 20 miles southeast of Toledo. The object, which was globe shaped at first, variously blinked, glowed, and blacked out. Crawford estimates that at one point the object approached to within 500 feet of him and that it had a diameter of between 70 and 90 feet.
The object was also seen by Carl Soenichsoen, Crawford's deputy.
Crawford saw the object for the first time about a mile outside Elmore, at the first intersection of State Route 51 and Nissen Road, while he was making his regular nightly rounds. The Chief had just finished a routine inspection of the Super Dollar, a food market, closed for the night, and was about to drive back to the village when he noticed an unusually bright object suspended over a nearby wood. The object appeared to be about the size of a bushel basket and was surrounded by an aura about half a mile in diameter.
Curious, and thinking it was a helicopter or possibly a blimp, Chief Crawford moved off the highway and switched off his lights for a better view. All the while the object blinked steadily and remained stationary. The object was at an estimated height of about 2000 feet and about a mile away. Crawford watched the object for 10 minutes, puzzled because it made no perceptible noise and presented no discernible silhouette. Because the air was nearly still and the sky bright with stars, the Chief reasoned he should be able to hear a motor and see an outline.
Chief Crawford switched on his spotlight and aimed it at the object but apparently it was out of range. However, when the Chief's light came on the object seemed to changed position, moving slightly to the left. It stopped blinking and began to glow steadily. Wondering whether the object's change in position was in response to his light, Chief Crawford aimed his spotlight at a new location and blinked it twice; as if in answer the object also blinked twice. A few moments later, however, the object went dark and Chief Crawford lost sight of it. He continued to watch the area for an additional five minutes but the object did not reappear. The Chief had observed the object for a total of about 20 minutes.
The object made a second appearance at 11:30 p.m. Chief Crawford had just completed a check of the Harris-Elmore School and was about to get into his patrol car, when he saw the object again, directly overhead. His view was partially obscured by trees but he had no doubt that it was the same thing he had seen earlier. The object was considerably larger and brighter than when he had seen it first and he estimated its height to be approximately 1000 feet. Chief Crawford again shined his spotlight on the object and it disappeared behind surrounding trees, moving rapidly toward the northwest, in the direction of Genoa, a neighboring town. As it glided off it made a noise similar to the sound a baseball makes when it passes swiftly by one's ear.
Satisfied now, that what he had seen was not an orthodox craft, Chief Crawford flipped the switch on his radio transmitter to "on" and began calling his deputy, Carl Soenichsoen. He had considered calling Soenichsoen earlier but had hesitated to discuss the object over the air for fear of creating unnecessary alarm. Soenichsoen would hear him but so would officers in surrounding areas. Chief Crawford reached Soenichsoen as the latter was driving out of highway 51:
Soenichsoen: "I'm just ouside of town, headed northwest on 51. What have you got?
Chief Crawford: "I've got something I want you to see; pull in at the Super Dollar and wait for me. I'll be with you in a minute."
Soenichsoen: "Right."
"Is that what you're talking about?" he asked, pointing toward the wood.
The object was some distance off and appeared to be about the size of a bushel basket viewed at close range. When Soenichsoen first saw it, it was glowing steadily; now it was blinking at intervals of about one second. As the two men watched, the object began moving toward them, picking up speed.
Crawford said, "I'm going to notify the Highway Patrol. They have a plane; maybe they can figure this out."
While the Chief radioed the State Highway Patrol, Soenichsoen continued to watch. The object appeared to be just beyond the Ohio Turnpike, a distance of about a mile, and glowing in brightness and size. Suddenly, without warning, it gained speed rapidly and changed from a globe to a wedge or horizontal "V." "Look at that," cried Soenichsoen.
The object changed course abruptly and headed southwest, passing about 500 feet in front of the men. Both men saw clearly what now appeared to be a flying wedge. The upper part of the craft was about a third longer than the lower part; the lower part consisted of a series of closely placed lights. No other lights were visible; neither man could see anything indicating additional structure. Whether the object had actually changed shape the men did not know. It traveled at a '"fantastic rate of speed" and was out of sight within moments. Chief Crawford and Deputy Soenichsoen estimated that the upper part of the object was about two-thirds that. As the object went by it made a loud roaring noise, similar to the sound made by a jet.
Within minutes, two more officers were on the scene, one from Genoa and one from the State Highway Patrol. The officer from Genoa had heard Chief Crawford's call. Both men, however, were too late; the object had disppeared over the horizon. The State Highway Patrolman immediately put in a call to the Toledo Express Airport, 10 miles west of Toledo, explaining what Chief Crawford and Officer Soenichsoen had seen and asking for a radar check of the vicinity.
But the operator on duty reported the sky clear. "There's nothing in your area within a radius of 45 miles," he said. Either the object was too low, or it was miles away.
While they continued to stand in the parking lot of the Super Dollar all four men saw a prop-driven plane approach from the northwest. The plane, properly lighted, was traveling fairly slow and circling. Its motor was clearly audible and Chief Crawford estimated its altitude at about 2000 feet. None of the men had any trouble recognizing the plane as it continued to circle, floowing a line running from northwest to southeast. And at no time, they declared later, did it use its landing lights.
"If I didn't know better," said Chief Crawford, "I'd say that plane is looking for the same thing we are. Either that or it's making some kind of check of the area. Let's get the airport again."
The Highway patrolman put in the call. "We have a plane in the area," he said, "and would appreciate another radar search. The plane is circling, and is roughly between Genoa and Elmore."
"I'm sorry," the reply came after a pause, "a check of your area shows nothing within a radius of 45 miles."
Perplexed, the officer persisted. "Are you sure? There are four of us here and we have the craft in plain sight. It's about 2000 to 2500 feet up, traveling at a slow-to-moderate rate of speed. Would you check again, please?
"Hold on," said the voice from the Airport.
After a pause, came the following: "We have contacted a private plane in your area who says he has been practicing night landings and has been using his landing lights. Undoubtedly, that's what the Chief saw."
"Ok," said the Highway patrolman, "thanks for your trouble."
In amazed silence, Chief Crawford looked at the officer, pressed his lips together, and slowly shook his head.
"Well, Chief," said the patrolman, "I'm sorry but I guess that wraps it up. There's nothing in sight now, and you heard the report from the airport. For the record, at least, you saw the landing lights of a private plane making practice landings."
According to the results of the Air Force study of UFO's running from 1947 through 1961, covering 7369 incidents, all but two percent or three percent of unidentified flying objects can be explained in terms of "known aircraft, birds, celestial objects, balloons, etc." But Chief Crawford, who saw the object for a total of more than 30 minutes, rules out the conventional-craft theory for six reasons:
2. The object hovered for long periods
3. The object was inordinately bright, creating a large aura
4. The object appeared to change shape
5. The object, when it left the area, traveled at a terrific rate of speed, faster than anything he had ever seen
6. The object did not carry the identifying lights all aircraft are required to use when they fly at night
If what Chief Crawford saw was not an airplane, what was it?
"On the basis of what I saw and heard," said Chief Crawford, "I am satisfied that the object was either a highly sophisticated military craft belonging if not to our government then to Russia's, or a craft from outer space. In view of the present state of air technology, I tend to lean toward the latter view.
"As for what the object was doing in the Elmore area, one can only guess. We have a beryllium plant here. But whether the object's presence had anything to do with that, I can't say. There didn't seem to be any connection - the plant is located about four miles out, on the other side of town - but then maybe the object was after air samples. If that was the case, it was in the proper position and atmospheric conditions were near perfect. What breeze there was, was very light, and came from the direction of the plant."
Beryllium is a most unusual metal with a number of atomic-age applications. For one thing, beryllium is the only stable light metal whith a relatively high melting point. Needless to say, its use in rocketry and space travel is vital. In addition, the metal is an excellent conductor of electricity, is capable of high heat and absorption, has good mechanical properties at high temperature, and unusual structural applications.
Beryllium can be machined to extremely close tolerances and is used extensively in gyroscopes, accelerometers, computer parts for inertial guidance instruments, and numerous types of missile hardware. Beryllium is used also in nuclear reactors as moderators and reflectors. When mixed with radium it is used as a source of neutrons. Without berrylium modern nuclear technology would be virtually impossible.
Beryllium dust, which occurs in the manufacturing process, is extremely light and floats readily in the atmosphere. There are beryllium plants in the United States, in France, and in England. Presumably, at least one beryllium plant exists in the U.S.S.R. Visitors from outer space making an industrial survey of the earth would consider information about the manufacture of beryllium essential - an important yardstick for evaluating earth technology. Air samples containing beryllium could provide data on quality and method of manufacture. It's possible that the object Chief Crawford and Officer Soenichsoen saw was in the area for the purpose of getting such samples.
Whether the plane the four men saw was aware of the object and had been sent out to investigate, is something about which one can only speculate. It appeared in the area too soon to have been dispatched because of the call from the highway patrolman to the airport.
Then there is the matter of the airport's failure to pick up the plane on its radar. Was the plane too low, or did the radar operator have instructions to deny its existence? If the plane was practicing landings, why was it doing so miles from any airport and without landing lights? And if the plane had been in the area for nearly two hours, why had Chief Crawford failed to see it earlier?
This represents still another ufo sighting, by reputable witnesses, to be added to the growing, perplexing file of strange celestial phenomena.
End of article