Summary: A compelling UFO case with physical trace proof occurred in Columbia, Missouri on June 28, 1973. This case was investigated by well known investigator J.
Allen Hynek, and Ted and Ginger Phillips. Ted Phillips would later be known for his accumulation of UFO cases with physical trace characteristics. This extraordinary case would have two adult witnesses, 41-year-old James G. Richards, and his 16-year-old daughter, Vanea. Jamie, Vanea's 3-year-old son was also present.
Loud Sounds Heard Outside: The Richards family lived in a mobile home on the outskirts of Columbia. The home is located on a dead end road, and sat in the middle of numerous trees, except for the front yard. The case
began as Vanea headed into the kitchen to put a baby bottle into the refrigerator. She heard a loud sound coming from the trees on the north end of the house. It was dark at the time, shortly after
midnight, and Vanea was unable to see anything that would account for the loud sounds.
Two Beams of Light: She became scared as the sound continued, and called to her father. Before he could get off of the living room couch and join her, she ran and locked the door at the front of the house. Soon, both Vanea and her father were looking through the kitchen window searching for the source of the noise. Suddenly, Mr. Richards spotted two beams of light. They were coming from a spot between a tree and a fence.
Oval Shape Seen: The beams were about 50 feet away from the window-they were wider at the top than the bottom, and the two beams were approximately 5 feet from each other. Nothing else could be seen because of the brightness of the beams, but suddenly, they disappeared, and an oval shape was now visible above where the beams had been. The form of the oval was from 12-15 feet in diameter, and extremely bright. The area was “lit up bright as day,” the witnesses stated.
Force Moving Trees: The object, whatever it was, was having a great effect on the trees below it. Both witnesses could see the limbs being whipped from side to side, although the wind was light this night. One of the trees was affected by a "tugging" motion, according to Vanea. After the form had appeared, the "thrashing" sound was heard no more. As the two startled witnesses watched the motion of the trees, they heard a loud cracking sound. The next day they could see a large cracked limb about 17 feet above the ground.
Dogs Made No Sound: After hearing the sound of the limb cracking, all was quiet. Mr. Richards made rounds of all of the windows in the house to see if he could see or hear anything else. He could not. He did notice,
however, that his dogs were extremely quiet. Normally, they would bark at any sound or sight in the night. Richards thought this to be very strange. After Richards loaded his guns, he rejoined Vanea
at the kitchen window. The object was still there.
Orange Glow on Object: They could see that the objects light was illuminating parts of the trees 100 feet away. The object appeared to be metallic-a silver / white color. At this point, the object seemed to be stationary.
Richards decided to call for help. Soon, however, the UFO began to move away from the house, traveling parallel to the ground until it reached an open area. It then hovered about 200 feet from the house. Now the object appeared to be white at the center, with a blue band of light and an orange glow around its outer edge.
Richards Calls for Help: Richards called directory assistance. The lady who took his call would later remark that Richards was very excited and frightened. He asked her to contact someone to help him, either the Police or the FBI. About this time, the house lights began to dim, and Richards hung the phone up. Shortly thereafter, the phone operator who was responding to his call for help tried to call him without success. She would state that there was no ring, no busy signal-it was if the line was dead.
Please continue with Part 2
