Number Four, Summer 1978
(Project Stigma, Paris,
Texas)
Source: Archives For the Unexplained (AFU.se),
Norrköping, Sweden
Project Stigma was run by the late animal mutilation
researcher Thomas (Tom) R. Adams.
Quote from the newsletter issue:
“A CLOSER LOOK
February
Skagit Co., Washington: It appears that,
proportionally, the number of horse mutilations are increasing. In the last
week of December, a classic horse mutilation occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In early January a prized thoroughbred was killed, but not mutilated, in
Carroll Co., Arkansas.
Leading up to that event, a notable wave of UFO sightings occurred in Carroll County. Benton County, Arkansas
adjoins Carroll Co. on the west (see April, May). The Carroll Co. horse was
apparently killed by a single blow to the snout. A veterinary pathologist was
impressed by the fact that the killer had to know just how and where to strike
the blow once, in order to quickly kill the animal. The Salt Lake City horse, which was mutilated,
suffered a similar blow to the skull. Details on the Skagit Co. horse death
remain sketchy. An investigator in an adjacent county
bas not had much success in getting
information from Skagit
County authorities.
March and
April
Goochland Co., Virginia: Investigators have wondered
about the relatively small number of mutilations which have been reported from
the southeastern United
States, which certainly contain their share
of livestock. In 1978, it seems that more reports are beginning to emanate from
the South. At least 9 cattle, and perhaps as many as 17, were found ‘dead and
mutilated in a bizarre fashion’ on the Virginia State Farm (a state
correctional center) near Crozier in a 3-week period in March and April. No
incidents occurred outside the State Farm. In fact, the mutilations were
discovered in two separate, non-adjoining pastures owned by the State Farm. Autopsies
were conducted on some of the animals, but no cause of death could be
discerned. Ears and udders, primarily, were the parts excised from the carcasses
which, according to Goochland County Sheriff's Captain Mavin Clements, decomposed
very rapidly. Reports of UFO sightings and landings occurred from the area
around the State Farm during the 3-week period. Several Farm guards reported
seeing bright, noiseless, meandering nocturnal lights, some of which appeared
to land behind nearby hills. Project Stigma interviewed a witness who lives
less than a half-mile from the State Farm. On a late Sunday night or early
Monday he observed a white light which descended below a low knoll between his
residence and the Farm. The percipient was struck by the clarity and brilliance
of the light and the lack of any sound. This occurred ‘during the time’ that the
mutilations were being discovered, although it is not known whether any
mutilations occurred on that specific night.
A WEEKEND IN APRIL
Two classic, definitive cattle mutilations occurred on
the weekend of April 22-23, 1978 - in Natrona County,
Wyoming and Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.
We can report on these incidents in more detail than most, as they were subject
to more scrutiny and examination than is usual.
Natrona County,
Wyoming
Rancher Vern Robinett’s 400-lb. yearling heifer had
been seen alive and well on Friday, April 21, 1978. A neighbor later
reported having seen the animal down sometime on Saturday, the 22nd, but Robinett
did not discover the animal until Tuesday, the 25th.
During weeks preceding the mutilation, UFO sightings
were numerous north and south of Casper.
A deputy reported witnessed UFOs and was able to record their sound on a
cassette recorder.
Rio Arriba
County, New Mexico
In June of 1976 at least 3 cattle mutilations were
reported in northern Rio
Arriba County.
An interesting and well-documented case occurred in a pasture approx. 12 miles from the town of Dulce. At that site were numerous circular ‘tracks’ or
impressions in the ground, primarily in straight lines, plus a set of three
different indentations in a tripod arrangement. For a summary of the event, the
reader is directed to the November/December 1977 issue of Beyond Reality
Magazine (P.O. Box 428; Nanuet, NY 10954) and the article, ‘Cattle Mutilation:
Witchcraft Rituals or Space Invasion’ by Howard and Lovola Burgess. Dulce area
residents had reported UFOs, including a sighting on the night of the
mutilation. One investigator, while revisiting the site, observed a large black
object which glided away just above the ground. Unusual images which were not
visible to the naked eye later turned up on photos taken in the area of the
mute site. And, excessive radiation was detected within the round (4-inch diameter)
indentations.
Manuel Gomez, owner of the cow victimized in June of 1976, has become a ‘favorite’ of the mutilators, with at least 4 o! his cattle falling
victim to the siege. Gomez ranches as well as operates a store on the outskirts
of Dulce, near his house. The mutilation which occurred late on April 23rd or
early on the 24th took place, not at the pasture 12 miles SE of Dulce as in
1976, but in a field less than a mile from the Gomez residence in Dulce. The
11-month-old bull vas seen alive Sunday evening and discovered by Gomez early
Monday morning, the 24th. At about 11:00 PM, Sunday night, a Department of Game
and Fish officer observed a large orange light on a ridge behind the Gomez
property; also, a neighbor reported hearing an apparent helicopter flying low
in the area the same night.
The 4-inch tracks were back. The carcass lay in a lane
in the middle of the pasture, and down the lane for a considerable distance
were the imprints. They "went back and forth a couple of times,’ then
stopped about 100 feet
from the carcass. Five other bulls and a flock of sheep were in the pasture and
unharmed.
Approximately 4 days before the April discovery of the
Gomez cow, a helicopter landed near the Gomez store and home. The occupants
said they had run out of gas while aiding the State Police in searching for two
lost boys. They bought gas from the pump at the Gomez store, paying with a
credit card that indicated they were associated with a helicopter rental
service in southwestern Colorado.
The problem was: the State Police claimed that the chopper was not aiding them
in any way.
Aftermath
At presstime, it would seem that no further known
mutilation activity has occurred in the Casper,
Wyoming area. The same cannot be
said for New Mexico.
About a week after the Dulce mutilation of April 23rd or 24th, and about 10 miles from town, a cow
belonging to an official of the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation was found
mutilated. It appeared that a belt or harness had been placecl around the
animal behind the front lege. Several ‘pod marks’ were found several hundred
feet away. It has been theorized once again that the animal was picked up in
the area of the indentations, mutilated, and then dropped where it was found. It
bas been reported that during that approximate period of time unidentified orange
airborne lights were seen in the area.
On May 14, 1978, State Police announced that they were
investigating the apparent mutilation of two cows and a calf on the ranch of Julius
Ferran near Coyote, New Mexico, in southern Rio Arriba
County. There was a
report that rains washed away any tracks or ground markings. However, one
investigator claims to have photographed peculiar round ‘footprints’ at the
site.
Back to the Dulce area – two more mutilations (the ‘usual’
parts taken) were reported there in late May. A front leg was broken on each, no
strap or harness marks were visible, and if there were ‘pod marks,’ they had
been obliterated by numerous other cattle tracks.
On June 14, 1978, Project Stigma investigators Gary
Massey and Tom Adams, while on vacation in southern Colorado, were advised of another mutilation
in the Dulce area. Accompanied by Colorado
investigators David Perkins and Cari Seawell, we arrived in Dulce to examine
the site on Thursday, June 15th. It bas been estimated that the mutilation
occurred late Monday, the 12th or early Tuesday morning – which would have been
two years to the date since the June 1976 mutilation. Plus, this
latest event transpired in the same pasture, the
animal having been found less than 300 yards from where the 1976 cow finally fell.
And yes, the owner of the animal was, once again, Manuel Gomez.
There were indentations in the hide of the animal’s
legs which suggested the presence of a clamp or similar device. Flies were
present on the carcass but it was obvious that other predators must have had
better things to do.
A NON-ENCOUNTER
A pilot who grew up in the area around Nara Visa, in
northeastern New Mexico.
Told Project Stigma of the time in 1975 when he and three friends took infrared
cameras in the personal airplane to the Nara Visa vicinity. As livestock
mutilations plagued the region, residents had been steadily reporting either
unmarked and unidentified helicopters and/or strange meandering nocturnal
lights. One night, while the UFOs were being seen in abundance, the foursome
took to the air. Their efforts were coordinated with ground observers who could
see both the airplane and the UFOs. Those on the ground tried to direct the
plane to the area of the strange lights, but the four in the airplane could not
see the UFOs at all. They flew around the area for two hours as the frustrated
ground observers told them where the lights appeared to be – but the four
hapless occupants of the airplane were never able to see the objects/lights.”
(tageo.com photo)
Ted R. Phillips,
