65 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
65 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: A NEST OF INFO ON GULFBREEZE UFOs FILE: UFO1621
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PART 7
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THE TAMPA TRIBUNE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 1990
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By DAVID TORTORANO
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of United Press International
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PENSACOLA - A model flying saucer that cast doubts on a man's
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claim he photographed UFOs two years ago has been tested and is being
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returned to the man who found it, a newspaper editor said Tuesday.
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Ken Fortengerry, managing editor of the Pensacola News Journal,
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said results of the tests would not be known for a couple of weeks.
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He declined to say what tests were performed.
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The discovery of the 9-inch model was the latest twist on a story
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that began in 1987, when contractor Ed Walters took photographs of
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objects that appeared to be flying saucers near his home in Gulf
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Breeze, a suburb of Pensacola.
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The photographs prompted a wave of sightings from other residents
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that continue to this day. Walters claimed he had dozens of additional
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encounters, including a face-to-face confrontation with a 4-foot alien.
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His book about the encounters is selling well.
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A private group that investigates UFO sightings calls the Gulf
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Breeze flurry among the most notable sightings in U.S. history.
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Skeptics have long claimed the pictures were faked, but offered no
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proof.
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Then came the model.
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It was found in April by a man who moved into a house once owned
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by Walters. The newspaper got possession of the model and on Sunday
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printed pictures by staff photographers using the model.
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They look similar to Walters' pictures.
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"This is a very critical piece of evidence and a very
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controversial story," said Fortenberry, who said the newspaper was
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besieged with calls Monday from the media asking about the model.
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The model was to be returned to the owners Tuesday.
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The man, who wished not to be identified, said he was installing
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an ice-maker in his home and had gone to the attic to trace some pipes
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when he found the model under some insulation.
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"It was not a shock or startling or anything," said the resident,
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a scientist. He knew of Walters' involvement in sightings and figured
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the model was one that Walters may have built for a reenactment. "I
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thought nothing more about it."
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Later, he saw a diagram of the Walters' UFO.
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"I recall thinking to myself, that model looks a lot like this
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diagram," he said. Last week he received a visit from a reporter from
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the newspaper.
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"This, frankly, I find a little suspicious," said the resident,
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who said the reporter showed up at the door and asked whether he had
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found any photographs or models. That's when he told him.
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"I wish I had lied," he said.
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Walters insists there was ample opportunity for someone to plant
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the model.
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"The house was on the market for 10 months, during which time it
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was opened during the day and sometimes closed up and locked up at
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night," said Walters. "Sometime, somebody planted this model."
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**********************************************
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* THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo *
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