Summary:
A UFO encounter that occurred in 1966 in the state of Missouri is unusual for more than one reason. There have been eyewitness reports of UFOs shooting a light or force beam to the ground, and even hitting a person, as in the
Travis Walton abduction case, but this event also includes the destruction of property, and the UFO was not only witnessed, but photographed.
Damage to Campsite:
On a November 22, two hunters were deer hunting near Cassville, Missouri. After hunting for a time, one of the men returned for a break at their campsite. As he approached the tent, he could see smoke coming from the site.
He ran to the camp to see what had occurred, and found that their 12' x 18' tent and other camping supplies were completely destroyed. The smoke was primarily coming from the smoldering tent.
Narrow Beam of Destruction:
There were also personal articles that had been destroyed. Their tent was supported by aluminum poles, and one of those was seared by heat or fire. The tent was suspended between two trees, which had dried, dead leaves during the winter time.
The leaves were unharmed, meaning that the destructive beam was narrow, and pointed right into the tent. Their cot was also melted.
UFO Rises From Valley:
The witness began looking around the area, trying to determine who or what had destroyed their campsite, and why. He would soon have his answer. He heard a droning sound, and scanning the country side, he saw an object raising up from the valley.
It was about 20 feet away, just beyond a burning tree. He photographed the object as it rose above the trees, and took one more shot of it before it was gone.
Aluminum Colored UFO:
As the UFO picked up speed, the low, humming sound became louder. His last view of the UFO was when it was about 40 degrees above the horizon. As it left, its speed increased. The UFO was very reflective, and probably metallic, the hunter surmised.
He also could see a band around the outside of the object. The UFO seemed to fly without effort as it made its way from the valley. The hunter paced off the distance from his location to the spot where the UFO was sitting. It was about 300 feet.
Hunter's Camera:
He also estimated the diameter of the object at 35 feet. The hunter was fairly knowledgeable about photography, and was always ready to take a photograph when he needed to.
He had a 620 format Argoflex camera with a coated varex 75mm, f/4.5 lens, shutter speed at 1/90 seconds, f/8 depth of field if focused at infinity was 41 feet to infinity.
The two photographs taken of the UFO were in the middle of his roll of film, with other pictures of their campsite activities in front and behind the UFO photographs.
Conclusions::
This case is just not likely to have involved anything other than a UFO. The UFO could possibly have been some governmental experiment, but considering the location, that is very doubtful. The photographs were not faked, and the hunters did not profit from the experience in any way.
