In what can be considered an unusual convergence of conspiracy theories, a man who runs a Bigfoot videos YouTube channel was chasing chemtrails when he claimed to have recorded a UFO chasing them as well. If you’re playing Conspiracy Scrabble, ‘Chemtrail’, ‘Bigfoot’ and ‘UFO’ is a triple-word score. However, if your game is Skeptic Chutes and Ladders, the spinner is pointing at a slide. And if your rolling the dice in Glenn Beckgammon … is there really a Glenn Beckgammon and where can you get one (asking for a friend)?

“I got him. He’s spraying. Look at that, you guys, this is what they’re doing to us.”

According to his commentary during the video (you can watch it here), Marc Abell –the CEO of Colorado Bigfoot, a provider of Bigfoot videos – was recording a plane making a contrail over a snow-covered terrain in Vail, Colorado, and believed the color and shape changes in the contrail were signs that the plane was actually spraying something rather than just trailing the usual water vapor and jet exhaust. To the untrained or disbelieving eye, it looks like just another contrail. However, there’s no mistaking that a white object suddenly appears in the video near the contrail.

“What is that it’s following it? You guys, that is too crazy, what is that?”

“You guys” is future listeners to his commentary on YouTube. Abell decides to abandon following the plane (he later expresses a bit of skepticism himself about the alleged ‘chemtrail’ because the contrail quickly dissipated) and ‘follows’ the UFO. ‘Follows’ is difficult to discern, since the white object is too high above the horizon to see whether it’s moving or hovering when he zooms out. Abell watched until he couldn’t see it anymore, but he anticipated what you’re thinking and claims he returned the following day to the same spot at the same time.

This is the kind of sky that gets chemtrail believers worried

“There are no stars in the sky – there’s no way that was a star.”

‘No way’ is pretty strong, but at least he considered it. A satellite – which could explain why it wasn’t there the following night – is another possibility. OK, but what else could it have been? Abell gives one answer.

“The silver discs do that.”

That’s a flying disc or saucer reference. If this really was an alien or secret military aircraft, it appeared from the video to move under the vapor trail, making it much smaller than the plane. While some commenters speculated it was something analyzing or ‘cleaning up’ the contrail (like in a similar sighting in 2016 where a UFO seems to pass through a hole in the trail), this one doesn’t seem to come near enough to it. ‘Bird’ and ‘lens flare’ are some of the other usual culprits suggested by commenters. Needless to say, there’s no agreement on any one explanation.

It certainly sounds from his commentary that Marc Abell is concerned about ‘chemtrails’. From his other videos, it looks like he’s pretty serious about tracking Bigfoot as well. While it would have improved his score in Conspiracy Scrabble, he didn’t try to link Bigfoot to his Chemtrail/UFO sighting. However, he’s definitely the kind of person you want scanning the skies and the woods for unusual stuff – observant, quick with the camera, steady of hand and willing to consider alternatives.

Marc Abell is also willing to attach his name to his observations of controversial conspiracy theories … something that’s becoming increasingly rare in this world. Whether you agree with them or not, that gives him some bonus points and an extra spin in Skeptic Chutes and Ladders.

Now, to hunt for a Glenn Beckgammon game … for a friend.

As I have written two articles in the last couple of days on the connections between UFOs and computer-systems (and, primarily, on the subject of computer-hacking), I thought I would go ahead and turn it all into a 3-part article. Collectively, it serves to demonstrate the strange nature of this very controversial aspect of the UFO subject. My first article of this “trio” was on the controversial matter of Gary McKinnon and his most unwise hacking of NASA in the early 2000s. The second feature was on the equally weird affair of alleged alien autopsies, NBC, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and, of course, hacking. As for this third and final article on this topic, it will focus on other aspects of the UFO-computer subject, but not ignoring the hacking issue. We will begin with an account from the late UFO researcher Leonard Stringfield, who died in 1994. His research primarily revolved around the “crashed UFO” angle. We’re talking about the Roswell controversy of 1947 and similar alleged incidents. In the summer of 1978 Stringfield was able to speak with a U.S. Army source that Stringfield referred to only as “J.K.,” Stringfield’s informant revealed a great deal about crashed UFOs, dead aliens, and autopsies of extraterrestrials. And, there was more, too.

Among the many revelations was this one from J.K.: “Since 1948, secret information concerning UFO activity involving the U.S. military has been contained in a computer center at Wright-Patterson AFB. At this base, a master computer file is maintained with duplicate support backup files secreted at other military installations. Get the complete ‘dump file,’ both the master and the support backup files and you’ve got all the hidden UFO data.” Interesting, but the fact that the data came from an anonymous source didn’t help much at all when the story was published by Stringfield in January 1980 – in the pages of his 38-pages-long booklet, The UFO Crash/Retrieval Syndrome. Moving on…

In my November 2018 book Top Secret Alien Abduction Files I revealed the many and varied ways and means by which Whitley Strieber (of Communion fame) had clearly been placed under surveillance by one or more agencies of the U.S. government and the intelligence community. In terms of the computer-based angle to all of this, it begins as follows: it was in late 1993 that Strieber found himself the recipient of an email that contained data revealing the alleged coded locations of Top Secret UFO-themed material on U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) computer systems. Strieber explained what happened next: “Spooks started prowling around my neighborhood upstate. A business associate was accosted on an airplane by a group of young men who flashed badges, claimed to be with the National Security Agency, and questioned him about our activities for a couple of hours. They alleged that they were responsible for investigating intrusions into the Defense Department’s secure computer systems.” Now, onto yet another case of computers.

Back in 1991, Kevin Randle’s and Don Schmitt’s book, UFO Crash at Roswell, was published. In the book, the pair told an interesting but brief story of a man  “who said he worked at NORAD in Colorado Springs.” Schmitt and Randle added: “In the course of computerizing some of the files, he came across one labeled: USAAF (United States Army Air Force) Early Automation. The file dealt with the recovery of several small bodies and included black and white photographs of them. The man said the bodies were small, no more than four or five feet tall, with big heads.”

Perhaps the strangest, relevant story of all – one of a definitively surreal nature – was one that I addressed some time ago (July 15, 2015), here at Mysterious Universe. You can find the story at this link and which is focused on a man named Matthew Williams. He is a UFO researcher and Crop Circle-maker whose computer was confiscated by the U.K. government’s National Cyber Crime Unit for controversial reasons. It’s a very weird story – one that is absolutely filled to the brim with tales of strange formations found in corn-fields, of a well-known computer-hacker, and of much, much more. What all of this demonstrates – along with the material that is included in the two, previous articles on UFOs and hacking – is that the matter of government computer systems, UFOs, the military, government agencies, and hackers (and their hacking) goes far deeper than most people realize.

My previous article – on Gary McKinnon and his disastrous attempts, in the early 2000s, to try and find the U.S. government’s UFO secrets by hacking NASA – demonstrated one thing, more than any other. Namely, that such activity provokes massive media coverage. It was big news in both the United States and the U.K. There was similar such media coverage (chiefly in the U.K., though) when a Welshman named Matthew Bevan did something near-identical in the 1990s. Just like McKinnon, Bevan ended up in big trouble. In 1997, Bevan found himself arrested and in court. Luckily for Bevan – and just as was the case with Gary McKinnon, too – he walked free when the court-case collapsed. Although these two examples of “Hacking for UFOs” are without doubt the most well-known ones, they certainly are not the only ones. In many respects, the example I’m going to share with you today is even more intriguing than that of Bevan and McKinnon combined.

The story goes back to 1992 – and to the popular TV show Dateline NBC. Specifically, it goes back to October 27 of that year. That was when NBC ran a segment of its show with the eye-catching title of “Are Your Secrets Safe?” It was a good, solid piece that demonstrated the very real, growing threat that computer-hacking posed. To get its point across, the show’s producers secured interviews with a number of hackers. It’s no surprise at all that their identities were not revealed to NBC’s viewers. After all, they were breaking the law.  Although “Are Your Secrets Safe?” was not intended to fly the flag of Ufology, in a very strange and highly controversial fashion, it did exactly that. Of the various hackers that NBC spoke with, one of them revealed that he had illegally accessed certain computerized files held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. Where those files might be now is just about anyone’s guess. As a reader of Mysterious Universe, you will know all too well that Wright-Patterson AFB has a long and deep connection to the UFO phenomenon.

During the show, and to provide the viewers with intriguing visuals, a highly notable image appeared on the screen. The section that was discernible read as follows: “WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB/Cataloged UFO parts list, an underground facility of Foreign...” It’s possible that the words which came after “Foreign” were “Technology Division.” The reason being that the USAF’s Foreign Technology Division (FTD) had its home at Wright-Patterson for many years. In 1992, however, the FTD was renamed and revamped as the Foreign Aerospace Science and Technology Center (FASTC). Given the time-frame in which NBC ran the show (twenty-seven years ago), and the age of the documentation that the hacker had obtained, the missing words almost certainly referenced either the FTD or the FASTC. The now-defunct newsstand magazine, UFO, said in its Volume 9, No. 3 issue that data concerning alien autopsies at Wright-Pat was in the hands of the same hacker that NBC had on the show.

The producer of the “Are Your Secrets Safe?” portion of the October 27, 1992 Dateline episode was Susan Adams. In the wake of the broadcast, she said that NBC was surprised by the large response from viewers. Adams expanded more: it was revealed that the hacker’s name could not be revealed, primarily because he had – technically speaking – committed a felony. Adams did say this, however: “The hacker is aware of the interest his apparent UFO data has provoked, but does not wish to respond.” Adams also said that the production had been carefully addressed “with a fine-tooth comb” by NBC’s attorneys.

This was a big – and amazing – story that was told on a hugely popular show on NBC. Yet, aside from the initial flood of interest, it was soon forgotten. Unlike the cases involving Matthew Bevan and Gary McKinnon, there was no attempt by U.S. authorities to hunt the hacker down and have him/them arrested. In fact, the whole thing faded away. Of course, to a significant degree this is understandable: 1992 was before The X-Files had been broadcast. No one had even heard of Mulder and Scully. And TV shows like UFO Hunters and Ancient Aliens wouldn’t surface for years and years. In other words, the interest that much of the public and even the mainstream media has in “the unexplained” today, didn’t exist back then.

Who was that hacker? How had he got his hands on what were seemingly highly-classified files on UFOs held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base? What did those files state? Why did the authorities not follow-up on all this, as they did with Bevan and McKinnon? Close to three decades after this strange-but-largely-forgotten story surfaced, it’s likely we’ll never know.

Remember Harry Reid? The former US senator from Nevada and Senate Majority Leader from 2015 – 2017 is best known in some circles for his support of UFO research and full disclosure while in office, including securing secret funding for the secret study known as ATTIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program). After retiring due to a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Reid has continued to fight both against the cancer and for the UFO cause and to clear up misinformation that has been distributed by the government about ATTIP and UFOs. He recently sat down for an exclusive interview with George Knapp, the acclaimed journalist and UFO investigator. Here are some of the highlights.

“I don’t understand what we’re seeing around the world with all these unidentified flying objects, and I want to be able to have an intelligent conversation in this regard.”

Reid is longing for the days when he was a government insider, authorizing the black budgets for ATTIP and its predecessor AAWSAP (Aerospace Weapons System Application Program). While ATTIP officially ended in 2012, there are many who believe it secretly still exists – Reid is one of them. ATTIP members ended up in Tom DeLong’s To The Stars Academy for Arts and Sciences and were responsible for the release of the Navy UFO footage in 2017. Apparently, Reid doesn’t (or can’t) talk to them intelligently about it and no one on the inside in Congress has Reid’s guts to go public.

Harry Reid

“Well, let them say something about it. I’m tired of all this, they’re getting briefings and all that. Let them step up to the plate like I did and do something publicly.”

It’s not that easy, as Reid should remember. He couldn’t get any info on what alleged UFO materials some corporations may have had in their possession. Then again, Reid himself isn’t that forthcoming with information these days either, as Knapp found out when he questioned the former senator about UFO discussions during his recent visit with Bill and Hillary Clinton. The former president expressed an interest in UFO disclosure while in office and the former presidential candidate promise she would do it if elected. Reid told Knapp that they promised to give him more dirt on their next visit – not exactly a risky promise to make to someone who’s 79 and being treated for pancreatic cancer.

“Nope, nope, but he, I didn’t want to push him, but he was very interested.”

Reid was also evasive with Knapp about a UFO conversation he had with the late astronaut and former senator John Glenn. Unfortunately, it seems all that’s available to talk to is what Reid refers to as “a fringe group of people out there who want to control this. The so-called conspiratorial folks.”

“They don’t want anybody that’s based on facts involved in this. So what do they do? They go online and try to belittle Elizondo and me and anybody else that is trying to do it in a scientific way. Elizondo is a man with a great record serving our country and people should leave him alone. And one thing about him, he’s not backing off and I appreciate that very much.”

Luis Elizondo headed ATTIP and is currently Director of Global Security and Special Programs at To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science. Reid describes him as a fighter for the UFO disclosure cause and he’s encouraged by the mainstream media coverage he gets. He’s also encouraged by the willingness of the Navy to received and review UFO reports from its pilots without fear of punishment.

It would have been nice if Reid had shared more of what he knows with George Knapp, especially with his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, it’s in remission so he can continue to fight for UFO disclosure despite the “fringe group” and “conspiratorial folks.” Let’s hope his next conversation with George or some non-conspiratorial folks tells us more.

Legendary nuclear physicist and UFO researcher, Stanton Friedman, will now have his UFO files catalogued. The well-known scientist passed away earlier this year on May 13^th at 84 years of age.

Throughout his career as a UFO researcher, he gave lectures at more than 600 colleges and over 100 groups in 50 U.S. states as well as in 19 different countries. He had at least 80 papers published on UFO phenomena, wrote numerous books, and appeared on several radio shows and television documentaries.

Stanton Friedman

Friedman studied the UFO phenomena for approximately 60 years; so needless to say, he has a lot of material that needs to be catalogued. In fact, it is said that he has the largest single collection of UFO files in the entire world. Prior to his passing, officials at the Provincial Archives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, were already in the process of preserving his files so that someday the public can view all of his work. They predict that it could take up to ten years to catalogue all of his files.

Joanna Aiton Kerr, who is the manager of the Provincial Archives, told Motherboard that archivists contacted Friedman after they found out that he was retiring to ask him if they could preserve his collection of UFO files. After he agreed, it took them five cargo vans in order to collect all of his work.

The archivists’ biggest task will be going through all of his files as they are extremely disorganized. “We can find a single page of a letter or document in one pile, another page somewhere across the room, another page tucked into a book, and so on,” Kerr explained. She went on say that so far they have gone through and processed around 25 boxes of Friedman’s work that is now accessible to visitors of the Provincial Archives, however, it’s not yet available for viewers to read online.

Stanton Friedman

One of the most interesting aspects of going through his work is reading through the letters he received from people all over the world describing their UFO encounters. “People wrote him from all over the world. People phoned him – he recorded many of these calls and we have tapes too. It’s fascinating stuff,” Kerr said.

Whether it takes just a few years or closer to a decade to get through all of Friedman’s files, it will definitely be worth it in the end when his years of dedicated UFO research will be available for everyone to read.

While the Navy ‘Tic Tac’ UFOs and the Storm Area 51 fiasco get all of the mainstream media attention, what has been memorialized by government officials as the “only historically documented UFO sighting in the United States” continues to be the Rodney Dangerfield of UFO sightings, getting no respect from the media nor local community government officials and business leaders who want the monument dedicated to the 1969 event moved out of sight and the park established around it repurposed to something less … popular with everybody but them?

That explains why Thom Reed, who as a 9-year-old was “taken aboard a tarnished circular looking vessel where an image of a willow tree was displayed” and returned hours later with his family. Reed fought to have the event memorialized, fought again when local officials claimed it was on public property and is now fighting again – this time in court. Before you ask, he has the support documents, the letter from the governor and the polygraph test (verified by the police) to prove it. Why did the aliens accept Thom Reed but not his own people?

Thom Reed has retained a prominent law firm and has begun the process of suing the town of Sheffield, Massachusetts, and others for blatant malice and slander regarding their involvement in the selection of the site for the monument, which they later said was on public property and that it was all Thom Reed’s doing. He’s also filing a class action lawsuit with the many local television personalities and businesses who sponsor the UFO Monument Park and has other suits and complaints under consideration. Needless to say, Thom Reed is upset – not just about the monument and the park but about his good name as well.

Local radio station WSBS verified that it broadcast news of a UFO sighting on September 1, 1969, which was witnessed by many people besides Thom Reed who called in to report it. It was the subject of numerous documentaries (the History Channel filmed an episode of “Ancient Aliens” at the park) and the dedication of the monument in 2015 received coverage outside of the local news. Thom Reed is now working on his own documentary and book that will no doubt include more details of his fight for the monument and park memorializing his abduction and experiences because it’s still the “only historically documented UFO sighting in the United States.”

“The incident was factually upheld, founded, and deemed historically significant and true by means of Massachusetts historians. The records highlighting the historic event are now officially part of the Great Barrington, Ma. Historical Society’s Collection and your recent induction into Massachusetts history.”

Thom Reed has stated that he saw UFOs twice on his family’s property prior to 1969. Has he somehow been selected to fight for the rights of UFO witnesses and contactees to have their stories told accurately? Do UFO accounts have to be military-related or potential moneymakers before they’re accepted? As this quote from the Berkshire Eagle implies, there’s plenty of people who believe in lake monsters and how many of them have letters from the governor?

You can believe in Thom Reed’s UFO encounter or not, but even those who don’t should believe in his right to protect his name and reputation. This is still America.

Even the aliens would support that.