1975-The Travis Walton Abduction
From Billy Booth,
Summary: The Travis Walton abduction is one of the most controversial cases in Ufology, yet one of the most compelling. The events of Walton's abduction began on November 5, 1975, in the Arizona, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Walton was one of a seven man crew that was clearing trees on a government contract. After the end of the work day, all of the crew jumped into foreman Mike Roger's pick-up truck and began their trip home. As they drove, they were shocked to see by the side of the road, a "luminous object, shaped like a flattened disc."
Blue Beam Hits Walton: Travis, still young and fearless, was enthralled by the object's presence, and left the truck to get a better look, against the better wishes of his crew mates. As he gazed up at the wonder of the object, a blue beam hit him, throwing him to the earth. Creating fear in the six other men, they roared away in the truck for a distance, but then, realizing they had left Travis behind and he might need help, they turned the truck around and headed back to find him. Walton was gone.
Police Notified: The men left the scene and returned to the small town of Snowflake, where they made a report to the police. They first talked to Deputy Ellison and then Sheriff Marlin Gillespie, who stated that the men were sincerely distressed. The policemen and the crew members went back to the scene with flashlights, and searched for Travis again, but again without results. They decided to come back the next morning and search again with the aid of daylight. Little did any of the members of the search know they were to be players in one of the largest manhunts in Arizona history.
Manhunt Begins: Very soon, the case would break into the national media. The small town in Arizona would be literally overrun by researchers, newspaper writers, UFO buffs, and other interested individuals. After several days of using men on foot, men in four-wheel drive vehicles, scent dogs, and even helicopters, no sign of Walton was found. Temperatures dropped rapidly at night, and there was fear that Walton, injured by the beam and lying somewhere disoriented, would not survive. Finally, law enforcement began to follow another line of investigation, and a possible motive for murder.
Was Crazy Story True?: Thinking that there might be bad blood between Travis and another crew member, law enforcement began to evaluate the credibility of the men involved in the clearing contract. Finally yielging to demands to take polygraph examinations, all of the men passed the test, except for one inconclusive, that being Allen Dalis. Police personnel, after background checks, and interviews with the men, decided that there was no cause to believe that the men were covering up a fight or even murder. Ruling out foul play, that only left one possibility. Was it possible that the crazy story the men were telling was true?
Walton is Returned: As rumors ran rampant, and theories were discussed back and forth, five days after his disappearance, Travis Walton returned. Travis stated: "Consciousness returned to me on the night I awoke to find myself on the cold pavement west of Heber, Arizona. I was lying on my stomach, my head on my right forearm. Cold air brought me instantly awake." He was rescued from a small filling station, hungry, thirsty, dirty, weak, and feeble. He was taken for a medical examination. Now that some questions had been answered, another one was created, "Where had Walton been for the last 5 days?"
Walton Recalls Abduction: Travis would later tell investigators that the very last thing he could recall was the feeling of being thrown backward in the forest. After that, nothing... nothing that is until he awoke frozen in pain, and thirsty. Finally, he could make out an image of some kind of light, and then realizes that he is on a table like an examining table in a hospital. Walton thought at first he had been found by the crew and taken to the hospital.
Three Horrible Creatures: This assumption was far from the truth. He is lying on a table, but it is a table in a strange room. Finally able to clear his vision, he would be utterly shocked to see a horrible creature! Three horrible beings were in the room with him, looking at him. He tried to lunge at one and push it away. When he did, the creature went flying across the room. He would see several different types of aliens during his time aboard what must have been the flying object that had thrown the blue beam at him in the forest. Travis would be subjected to numerous medical procedures during his stay on the UFO.
Conclusions: Although the Betty and Barney Hill abduction had occurred in 1961, and the Pascagoula, Mississippi abduction in 1973, the Travis Walton case was the first to be given serious interest by main stream science, and caused many non-believers to rethink their position on alien abduction. Although many theories have been put forth to explain the Walton abduction as something other than what it is, none of the alleged scenarios are consistent with the facts of the case.
Walton's Statement: "It was many years ago that I got out of a crew truck in the national forest and ran toward a large glowing UFO hovering in the darkening Arizona sky. But when I made that fateful choice to leave the truck, I was leaving behind more than just my six fellow workmen. I was leaving behind forever all semblance of a normal life, running headlong toward an experience so overwhelmingly mind-rending in it's effects, so devastating in its aftermath, that my life would never-could never-be the same again." (Travis Walton)
