Ufologist Robert Gribble wrote in the MUFON Journal that near Bethesda, Wales, on July 27, 1980, in the early morning, a man fishing at a river with his dog saw a bright pulsating light approaching.
The light hovered then landed on a nearby field.
The man went to investigate and encountered a cylinder shaped craft, which had landed on a tripod. A door opened and a metal ladder was lowered to the ground. Three tall gray suited figures emerged, each carrying a bucket and a spade like gadget.
They then proceeded to dig nearby. The witness dog began barking and ran towards the craft. At this point the witness apparently lost consciousness and when he woke up, his dog, the object and the beings were gone.
Landing traces are said to have been found at the site.
The story seems to come initially from the sensationalist tabloid "Weekly world News"; the "landing traces" are only reported by the alleged witness and apparently nobody verified anything about the story.
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[Ref. ww1:] "WEEKLY WORLD NEWS" TABLOID:
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UFO pilots knock out man and kidnap his dog A fisherman claims that he was knocked unconscious by the strange powers of a space alien who then kidnapped his dog and took off in a saucer-shaped UFO. Alan Morris, of Bethesda, Wales, says he was fishing in a river with his dog when he was startled by the approach of a ball of pulsating light. "It hovered for a while over where I was fishing and then landed in a nearby field," he recalled. Moving closer with his dog to get a better look, Morris was startled when a hatch opened and a metal ladder dropped from the strange craft. Three beings with antennae on their heads climbed out. "To my horror. I realised that they must have been at least seven teet tall with antennae and seemed to be carrying a bucket and spade each." The three creatures began digging when Morris' dog suddenly took after them. Morris said he stood up to stop his dog when for no reason he suddenly blacked out. When he came to, Morris said the saucer and his dog were gone and only burn marks on the earth remained. |
[Ref. bg1:] BOB GRIBBLE:
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1980 Alan Morris was fishing with his dog at a river near his home in Wales (city unknown), during the early morning hours of the 27th when he saw a bright, pulsating light approaching. It hovered then landed in a nearby field - When Morris went to the field he discovered a cylinder-shaped craft five feet high and six feet long standing on a tripod. An unseen door opened, a metal ladder dropped to the ground and three gray-suited figures emerged, each carrying a bucket and spade. They then proceeded to dig nearby, Morris remained quiet, but his dog began to bark and ran towards the craft. At this point, Morris apparently lost consciousness and when he awoke it was daylight and his dog and the craft were gone. Upon investigating the landing area he found slight scorch marks on the ground. The dog was never seen again. |
[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that near Bethesda, Wales, on July 27, 1980, in the early morning, a man fishing at a river with his dog saw a bright pulsating light approaching.
It hovered then landed on a nearby field.
The witness went to investigate and encountered a cylinder shaped craft, which had landed on a tripod. A door opened and a metal ladder was lowered to the ground. Three tall gray suited figures emerged, each carrying a bucket and a spade like gadget.
They then proceeded to dig nearby. The witness dog began barking and ran towards the craft. At this point the witness apparently lost consciousness and upon walking up his dog, the object and the beings were gone.
Landing traces were found at the site.
Rosales indicates that the source is Bob Gribble, Mufon UFO Journal #267.
[Ref. vk1:] VIKAS KHATRI:
The author indicates that Angler Alan Morris, of Bethesda, Wales, claimed to the police that as he was fishing in a river near his home, a ball of pulsating light approached.
He is quoted saying "It hovered for a while over where I was sitting, then landed in a nearby field. I moved closer to get a better look."
He said a hatch opened in the side of the saucer-shaped craft, a metallic-looking ladder dropped down to the ground and 3 beings climbed down it.
He is quoted saying "They were about 2 m tall, with antennae on their head. They each seemed to be carrying spades and containers."
The author says that when the beings started digging, Morris' dog suddenly ran towards them; the fisherman stood up and called him back, then blacked out, and when he opened his yes again the saucer had vanished, leaving marks on the spot where it had been, and there was no sign of the dog.
When creating this file on September 25, 2007 with the single source [ar1] at hand, I noted: "For this case of apparently high strangeness, the data available to me is unfortunately totally insufficient for a serious evaluation."
When a British ufologist told me about two more sources, [bg1] and [ww1], on December 3, 2009, it became obvious that the correct explanation is probably that the story was made up by the Weekly World News tabloid.
Those few typical covers of the tabloid, below, should tell the reader about the editorial style of the articles in that publication:
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| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data | Severe | September 25, 2007 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Missing the primary source by Bob Gribble. | Article found and published on December 3, 2009. | Closed. |
| 2 | Ufology | Severe | September 25, 2007 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Only a report, not known whether it was investigated or not. | Help needed. | Opened. |
| 3 | Ufology | Severe | September 25, 2007 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Single unnamed witness. | Sources [bg1] and [wn1] found on December 3, 2009, give witness name "Alan Morris". | Closed. |
| 4 | Ufology | Severe | December 3, 2009 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | The most primary source [ww1] is without credibility and no other and earlier source is found. | Help needed. | Opened. |
Probable Press invention.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
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| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | September 25, 2007 | Creation, [ar1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | September 25, 2007 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 3, 2009 | Additions [bg1], [ww1], [vk1]. Issues 1 and 3 closed. Addition Issue 4. Evaluation changed from "Extraterrestrial visitors, inventions, or confusion. Insufficient data." to "Probable Press invention." In the Summary, "Ufologist Robert Gribble apparently wrote in the MUFON Journal" changed to "Ufologist Robert Gribble wrote in the MUFON Journal..."; Addition of the paragraph "The story seems to come initially from...". Update of the Basic Information summary table. |
