http://www.ridgwayrecord.com/articles/2006/03/21/news/news03.txt
Today is National Festival of Extraterrestrial Abductions Day Monday, March 20, 2006 8:25 PM EST Extraterrestrial abduction claims have become almost common since the late 20th century and once each year alien enthusiasts have a day to speculate on the validity of such reports. In Pennsylvania, a number of extraterrestrial abduction claims have been documented. The international extraterrestrial abduction and UFO reporting center, Mystical Universe, keeps a comprehensive listing of the reports of such phenomena from around the world. The largest number of such sightings and abductions seem to come from California, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Although the reasons for this are unknown, Pennsylvania is listed as the sight of 19 such reports. A particularly famous abduction report involved a group of four men, three of which were Pennsylvanians, who claim to have been abducted while camping in Maine. Four distinct abduction or sighting reports stem from the Harrisburg area alone and involve up to 17 witnesses. The Bensalem area is also the sight of four purported incidents. Other locations such as Mt. Carmel, Langhorne, Easton, Springfield, Lewiston, Jessup, Levittown, Highspire, Union City and Vermillion Hills record as many as three reports each. Unfortunately, many of those reporting such phenomena do not disclose an actual location and, fearing public censure, only report the general region or state in which their experience occurred. In our own area, no claimants could be contacted to discuss their experiences. It is very likely though that someone in our region believes to have been abducted or have seen a UFO. Statistically, these reports are more common in rural areas such as our own. Given county population and geographic features, our area most likely has residents who believe to have had such experiences, although they may never have reported it. Ridgway Borough Police and Pennsylvania State Police based in Ridgway were both contacted in regards to such extraterrestrial experiences. Neither office reports having any such incident claims on file. One state police officer claimed that in his entire time here he knows of no such reports and stated that something of that nature would probably have been brought up for procedural instruction at daily roll call. That doesn't mean that no one in our area makes such claims, only that they have thus far gone unreported. In researching such events you quickly find that everyone knows someone else who makes such claims, but can rarely give you any accurate information. Local astronomer Richard Steudler was willing to give his opinions on such phenomena. Steudler stated that he didn't put a whole lot of faith in such stories. He said he felt that, without solid proof, the stories remain completely unsubstantiated, and said he couldn't figure out why no one has ever gotten any sharp pictures if such reports are true. Steudler said he believes that there probably is alien life somewhere else in our vast universe, but he does not believe that extraterrestrials would be secretly abducting people. Steudler stated that he felt that visitors with such capabilities would make themselves known and not be, sneaking around. Steudler has, in the past, seen things as an astronomer that he himself was unable to account for at the time, but all such occurrences were later given a valid scientific explanation. He said that he has read some things on the infamous Roswell, New Mexico incident that prove, in his mind, that it wasn't aliens at all. Steudler stated that his research has led him to believe that the incident was merely an accident involving a Canadian test pilot working with an American bomber plane. He felt that the story was simply, blown out of proportion. Steudler also believed that many reports of UFO sightings can be accounted for by ball lightning. Ball lightning, claimed Steudler, can occur on perfectly clear nights. He also stated that it can account for the buzzing noise reported by many extraterrestrial phenomena claimants, since ball lightning makes a similar buzzing sound. Ball lightning, said Steudler, can also account for the ground tremors and static shocks that many people claim to experience in such cases, as it can cause both when it grounds. Whether the purported experiences with extraterrestrials that many people claim to have experienced in the past are bonafide events, simple misunderstandings of naturally occurring phenomena, or merely pleas for attention we may never know. Steudler though did have this to say on the matter, I hope if they (extraterrestrials) do make contact with us they have a better attitude than people have proven to have in encountering strangers. Steudler referred to such incidents as the European colonization of the Americas as proof that humanitiy's track record in such events has not proven the best. With such events in our own past, it is hard not to echo Steudler's sentiments. Gargoyle's Paranormal Investigations - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gargoylenews __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Visit our Psychic/Paranormal message boards at http://www.skatemd.com/forums/index.php Arcade, Journals, Chats, Boards, Fun! Yahoo! 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