The accounts given by Ackerman, Robinson, and McDonald all agreed as to the basic facts. They had all seen the three UFOs, and the larger oblong-shaped object, stating that they watched the objects for as long as ten minutes as they hovered in the sky. Two of the men had seen flares before, and were certain that the objects were not flares. They related their account of Bledsoe being gone for 3-4 hours, looking for him, and him finally coming back to their fishing spot with his account of the three UFOs. They also recalled that there was absolute silence at the time of the sightings.
Bledsoe Put to the Test
The next course of action for MUFON was to have Bledsoe undergo regressive hypnosis. The controversial procedure is used to unlock hidden memories, a condition that Bledsoe complained of. The regression session was conducted by Dr. Michael O'Connell, a graduate of Harvard, and veteran of 250 regressions. Bledsoe underwent the procedure on July 14, 2008. MUFON taped the session.
He recounted that he had been taken captive by four tall, thin aliens. He estimated their height as 7 foot. He also recalled his surroundings as an oval, dark room full of lights and controls.
During his abduction, he learned that the smaller beings seen by his son and encountered in the woods, were actually children of the taller aliens. MUFON was extremely pleased with the results of the sessions, and it encouraged them to take the investigation a step further.
They next brought in Psychiatric Social Worker, Debbie Gioia to discover if Bledsoe had any psychological or mental problems that would cause him to make up such an incredible story. After interviewing him, and putting him through a number of tests, there was no doubt in Gioia's mind that Bledsoe was sound of mind, and was not the type of person who would hoax a story.
All evidence to this point in the investigation pointed to a well documented case of a UFO sighting, missing time, and alien abduction. There would be just one more test for Bledsoe, a polygraph examination. MUFON was confident that Bledsoe would have no problem with this final part of the investigation, believing fully in his honesty and sincerity. The polygraph would be administered by retired FBI analyst, Bob DrDak, a well respected examiner.
The polygraph results were discouraging. DrDak reported that Bledsoe had been deceptive on several questions. This definitely put a damper on the authenticity of the case. The question has to be asked:
How could Bledsoe have pulled off his regression hypnosis and psychological test so well, but fail his polygraph?
Conclusions
There could be one good reason for this: Bledsoe's own uncertainly about what he had experienced. Going into the test with doubts, it would be normal for him to answer some of the questions with uncertainty.
One must remember that Travis Walton, who was abducted in 1975, was given a polygraph when he was still coming to terms with his abduction, and he failed. Yet, he has passed many polygraphs since the first one.
Polygraphs are not an exact science, to say the least. They are only allowed in court cases when both parties agree, and there have been cases where an innocent person was convicted of murder because of so-called "deception" on the case, and only later be found innocent, and released from prison.
If we take DrDak's findings as truth, we have several other questions to answer. What about the three fishermen's accounts? Were they part of a conspiracy to pull off a UFO hoax? If so, why were they not readily available to give their testimony? Was Bledsoe's son just making up his story to make his father's account seem legitimate?
The MUFON team, baffled by the results of the polygraph, still believed that Bledsoe was sincere in telling his story. The only way one could bring the case to a definitive conclusion would be to have Bledsoe take another polygraph at a time when he has come to terms with what happened to him.
The events of Fayetteville, North Carolina, are unresolved at this time. Possibly Bledsoe can take that second polygraph and pass it, tying up the one loose end, which would make the case one of the best documented accounts of alien abduction in UFO history.
source & references:
MUFON-www.mufon.com
Discovery Channel-"UFOs over Earth"
