Telephone LIne Dead:
Richards phone number was dialed 5 times, with short breaks between each attempt. Still, there was no sound on the line. Richards began to become concerned because no one had called him back, so he picked up the phone. It was dead. He tried several more times to make a call without success, until finally the woman calling him was on the line. He began to explain to her what he and his daughter had seen.
FAA Contacted:
Both operators who had talked to Richards felt he was sober, yet frightened. They believed his story. He was continually asking his daughter what the object was doing during his phone conversation. The FAA at Columbia Regional Airport was finally contacted by the second operator and informed as to what was being reported by Richards.
Second Sighting in Area:
The FAA did relate that another sighting had been reported on June 24, at Jefferson City. This was, of course, only 4 days ago. The operator told Richards that she was contacting the Police to assist him. After hanging up the phone, Richards was told by his daughter that the UFO was again on the move toward their house.
UFO Returns :
Later, Richards would state: "It came back and we had it. I’ll tell you. We didn’t know what to do, we both got kinda scared. I said, 'what’s gonna happen?' Something’s gonna happen here. This cold feeling came over me, I got speechless at this time. I just had this cold feeling when it came back that second time. I was just sure, like you almost feel that you were gonna get killed or something."
UFO Hovers near House:
The UFO had moved through the trees very near the house. It was again about 50 feet from the mobile home. It just hovered there for a time, and then finally moved away. It made no sound as it slowly, deliberately, moved out through the trees. This time, however, there was no thrashing of the tree limbs. It reached a place about 200 feet from the house, and hovered. The orange and blue bands were again visible.
Object Begins to Dissolve:
As James and his daughter Vanea watched the object, something totally unexpected occurred. It began to either slowly dissolve, or move so ever slowly away from them. It gave the appearance of shrinking in size, as its glow became smaller and smaller, until the object was not visible. A sense of relief now set in on the two weary observers. Finally, the object was gone for good.
Police Finally Arrive:
The Police finally arrived at 1:45 AM. Richards would be very disappointed with their brief cursory look at the evidence of the case. One young officer looked around for a time, and told Richards that all he saw was some tracks which were probably made by rabbits. Maddened by the officers observations, Richards told him to just "never mind."
Full Investigation-Deep Imprints Found:
A full investigation was done by Phillips, his wife, and Hynek. Ample evidence was found to substantiate Richards and his daughter's sighting. There were broken tree limbs and foliage with scorched leaves. There were also two impressions in the ground about one foot deep. No doubt something heavy had landed there. Also other imprints were found along the path that the UFO took.
One of the Best Physical Trace Cases:
There would also be an aftereffect to the UFO visit. Later, healthy leaves on the trees were found to be brown, and prematurely aged. The case is certainly one of the very best investigated and documented cases in the physical trace category.
Final Thought:
Here is one final quote from Richards that sums up his experience.<p> "Like death was at you, this was it. I didn’t know what to do, I just froze. I just knew this was it and no one would come, no policemen. I was scared to go out the door, I wouldn’t have gone outside, no way."
