This account has been condensed from a copy of a report sent to the FLYING SAUCER REVIEW by the chairman of the Massachusetts NICAP sub-committee, RAYMOND E. FOWLER. The original of the report was sent to NICAP H.Q. at 1536 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C., 20036. A model of objective investigation, the report provides an interesting insight into the workings of NICAP. Unhappily it is too long for presentation here in its original form, but it is worthy of note that a version of the account, with due acknowledgements to Mr. Fowler, appeared in the SUNDAY TELEGRAPH of October 3,1965.
THIS unusual sighting occurred near Exeter, New Hampshire, on September 3, 1965.
At approximately 12.30 a.m. on that date, Officer Eugene Bertrand of the Exeter Police Station came upon a woman parked on the Exeter-Hampton Bypass, who told him excitedly that she had been chased along Route 101 for 12 miles by a flying object which was encircled with a brilliant red glow. She said that the object had dived at her car several times.
Approximately half an hour after this event, eighteen-year-old Norman Muscarello was walking along Route 150 some two miles outside of Exeter trying to thumb a lift into town. Suddenly, he was alarmed to see an object carrying at least four extremely bright red pulsating lights emerge from nearby woods and manœuvre over a nearby field. It hovered over a house belonging to Clyde Russell, then, as the frightened youth crouched down behind a stone wall bordering the field, it seemed to move closer towards him. Its lights were so bright that the Russell home was bathed in a red glow. The object appeared to be about 80-90 feet long—much longer than the house—and was completely silent. Then it moved away and disappeared behind some trees. Muscarello tried to wake the occupants of the Russell home by pounding on the door but, thinking the boy was drunk, they refused to open the door. Muscarello finally gave up and flagged a lift to the Exeter Police Station.
Muscarello reported the incident to Desk Officer Reginald Towland at about 1.45 a.m. He was white with fear and hardly able to talk. Officer Bertrand was recalled to the station, and he picked Muscarello up, and returned with him to the scene of the incident, but the object was nowhere to be seen. Officer Bertrand suggested they examine the field, and as the police officer was playing his flashlight back and forth, Muscarello sighted the object rising slowly from behind some nearby trees. He shouted a warning. Bertrand swung round and saw a large, dark object carrying a straight row of four extraordinarily bright red pulsating lights coming into the field at tree-top level. It cleared a 70-foot tree and came to within 100 feet of them. Instinctively, Officer Bertrand reached for his revolver but, thinking better of it, yelled to Muscarello to take cover in the cruiser. They ran to the cruiser, where Bertrand immediately put in a radio call to headquarters for assistance. Officer David R. Hunt arrived within minutes and, together, they observed the object move away beyond and below the tree line.
Altogether, the object was in view for some 10 minutes by Officer Bertrand and Norman Muscarello, and about 5 minutes by Officer Hunt when he joined them.
Pulsating Lights
The four brilliant pulsating red lights appeared to flash in a steady sequence from left to right and back again. Officer Bertrand said they were brighter than any light he had ever seen and compared their brightness to that of car headlights shining directly in one's face at a distance of only several yards. The manner in which they pulsated gave Bertrand the distinct impression that this was an intelligently-constructed vehicle and definitely not some natural phenomenon. The lights were seen to be part of a large, dark, solid object, and the reflection off the object''s body caused a halo effect around it.
No sound was heard by the witnesses, even at close range, but apparently the animals in a nearby barn sensed something that frightened them, for they whinnied and kicked their stalls. A dog barked furiously. No interference was noticed on the police radio nor were the lights and ignition of the cruiser affected. The field contained no scorched marks or indentations.
To add to the excitement, an unidentified hysterical man tried to call the police during the early hours of the morning to report a UFO. He dialled the operator and excitedly asked to be put through to the police as he had been chased by a "flying saucer". Before the call could be put through the police, the telephone connection went dead. Neither the man nor the pay station could subsequently be traced.
After the police had reported the incident to Pease Air Force Base, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a USAF Major and a Lieutenant, both in uniform, arrived. They questioned the police officers, and drove them out to the field where they had sighted the UFO. After intensive questioning, the police were asked to keep the sighting from the press so as to avoid alarming the local people. But it was too late, for several reporters had already got hold of the story. An unconfirmed report has it that an Air Force Officer had later gone round to all the stores selling newspapers in Exeter, and bought all copies of the Manchester "Union Leader" newspaper which carried a detailed account of the sightings.
In questioning the police officers, the USAF team were particularly interested in the size and shape of the object, and wheter chickens in a nearby field had been alarmed during the sighting.
It is of interest to note that for several weeks previous to the sightings, the police had received reports from people saying that their house had suddenly been momentarily illuminated by a bright reddish glow after they had gone to bed. No objects were seen.