Few people know about the existence of such a dark and mysterious aspect in ufology as human injury. Retired police officer Butch Witkowski, founder of the Pennsylvania UFO Research Center, is investigating such cases. In this interview, we will also talk with him about the UFO phenomenon in the United States and about the problems faced by modern ufology.
We are talking with the researcher of anomalous phenomena Butch Witkovsky. To begin with, I ask you to tell a little about yourself
- I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He became a policeman and an investigator, then worked in a private company as a chief technician in a telephone center, where he dealt with logistic problems. I retired in January 2011 and now I devote all my time to researching the UFO phenomenon and creating a research center. I am currently working on a book on the use of investigative techniques in the observation of unidentified flying objects.
Does your experience in the police help you in the UFO field?
- Of course it helps a lot. Skills in gathering facts, photographs, drawing up reports, methods of investigation and work with eyewitnesses, the ability to use equipment - all this facilitates my research and analytical work.
What led you to the assumption about the possible manifestation of the activity of extraterrestrial intelligence on Earth?
“During my stay in Tucson, Arizona in June 1989, along with three other eyewitnesses, I happened to observe an object hanging over a nearby mountain. It was the largest device I have ever seen: about 300 meters long and six stories high. It should be added that everything happened silently.
The object was copper-colored, had green lights on the sides, and rose every minute and then slowly descended. Then he took off to a height of about 500 meters and then instantly disappeared into the heavens. We all hotly discussed this event and were sure that we all saw the same picture. I called the sheriff, reported to the police station, Davis Mothan AFB and the TV and radio station. There have been no further reports of sightings of this object. It was hard for me to believe that we were the only eyewitnesses of this event in the half-million city.
Promotional video:
Starting from this incident, I began to analyze all sorts of materials related to UFOs, but this did not lead me to any conclusions. In 1996, I saw a documentary about this phenomenon, which served as another motive to continue the search. I began to collect available literature and documents, and also to participate in ufological readings and conferences. But this was still not enough.
In 2008 I joined MUFON where I met many competent researchers. I was appointed head of one of the sections of this organization. But even here I was haunted by the feeling that something was wrong here: the received eyewitness reports were not subjected to proper analysis, as a rule, they were put “under the rug”. I decided to leave MUFON and in 2010 founded the UFO Research Center of Pennsylvania.
We are a small group. We study all received messages from the point of view of reliability and check whether they are worthy of attention. We receive messages not only from the USA, but also from other parts of the world. As a rule, in this case we are dealing with requests for information, or with stories of people who want to share their observations. We treat everyone attentively, because you never know what to expect from this or that case.
In addition, we deal with cases in other areas of the paranormal. As far as I am aware, we are currently the only group in the United States to have two fully equipped research centers. We have recording and measuring equipment.
Although ufology is a rather broad concept, I believe that in all this there are answers to the questions that interest us. Over time, everything will become clear - either the government will declassify its secrets, or the aliens will make open contact. Personally, I'm not at all sure that the government will do anything in this case …
Tell us how other American ufologists relate to your work? And do you receive reports from Eastern Europe?
- I think that American ufologists are still a nut to crack. Indeed, we have many excellent researchers, but there are also enough adventurers. Establishing contact with the former is the key to success. To find them, you can send requests for information to researchers. Those who answered, most likely, will be the very "conscientious".
I try to do my own thing - I don't need to report to anyone how the investigation is being conducted. Over time, my database has grown significantly and I don't have to rely on other teams to gather the information I need. No one has questioned my conclusions yet, although I was warned that it is better to keep away from the topic of mutilation of people, which constitutes the dark side of UFOlogy.
I receive messages from Russia and Ukraine, however, most of them are requests for my opinion. Many messages on the topic of mysterious mutilation of sheep came to us from England. We also receive letters from the Middle East and Brazil. We never ignore anyone, because people who turn to us are looking for answers, hoping to get them from us.
Let's move on to the most exotic area of your activity - the topic of human mutilation. How would you characterize this phenomenon?
This photo of a mutilated man has bypassed all ufological sites at one time. An event occurred in 1988 in Guarapiranga and the wounds of the deceased were the same as those left from the known strange attacks on sheep and cows. Internal organs, tongue, damaged rectum cut out with surgical precision. The autopsy report stated that "the eyes and ears were also removed, the contents of the mouth removed."
- First of all, this is an unusually mysterious phenomenon. It should be remembered that the law requires that a different cause of death be indicated when examining potential human injury. There are many conspiracy theories, some of which we reject, and others we take seriously. These people received the same injuries as animals crippled in an unknown way.
Cases from the past have often been dismissed as meaningless, but in fact they are quite similar to one very famous story from Brazil (the so-called Guarapiranga case).
In Poland, even among those interested in the UFO phenomenon, this topic is practically unknown and is perceived as a plot from science fiction. In general, are there many such cases?
- Firstly, I want to emphasize that many people are engaged in injuring people, but only I publicly present my results. I was warned several times to stay away from this. Thousands of people are kidnapped every year, but nobody cares about the extent of this phenomenon. Some, however, disappear forever. I only have data for the United States, but we can imagine what the situation is on a global scale.
Human injuries are difficult to analyze - no one wants to talk about them or even admit that they are taking place. The Guarapiranga incident proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that at least one person was mutilated in the same way as cattle. I do not know what percentage of such cases are in close contacts such as CE-III and CE-IV, since no one records this. Let's hope that someday we will learn about other similar events.
One of the most significant cases in this area was the case of Todd Sees, which you dealt with. Can you tell us about it?
- In August 2002, 39-year-old Todd Sees warned his wife that he was going for a ride on an ATV to look out for places where deer were gathering. He was supposed to return at noon. But since he did not return, his wife reported this to the police, who began a search on Northumberland Mountain. At its top, his vehicle was found, around which there were no tracks. The ATV was in good working order and the keys were in the ignition.
Sis's boot was found in a tree about 20 meters above the ground, but again there were no signs of a struggle nearby. The search lasted two days. In the end, the search dogs found the body of the missing man in the thickets near the house. This area has been repeatedly examined, but earlier there was definitely no corpse on this place.
The victim died with an expression of horror on his face, in addition, there was a dark burned spot on the left temple of the deceased. The pathologist's report indicated that Sis died from … an overdose of cocaine, despite the fact that he had never used drugs before. We requested the autopsy report, but due to the ongoing investigation, we were not provided with it. Interestingly, this case has not yet been closed. For us, the key moment in this case was the fact that at the place of death, three independent witnesses observed an unidentified flying object.
Another strange circumstance: a dead rattlesnake was found near the body, which showed no signs of decomposition besides the high temperature. We cannot admit this case closed, we are still trying to put together all the facts of this puzzle, but perhaps we will never know the truth.
Do you think that the US government can hide information about UFOs, including the facts of abductions or UFO catastrophes, starting with the famous Roswell?
- Of course, we are not being told the whole truth. But UFO disasters are a different matter entirely. Until recently, the US Air Force had instructions for soldiers in textbooks on how to deal with a UFO sighting. An emergency manual for firefighters also has a similar section. The section of this book (Fire Officer's Guide to Disaster Control by WM Kramer & C. Bahme) talks about an enemy attack and a "potential UFO". I suppose that the governments of many countries of the world provide the public with information on this topic in doses.
How many reports of UFO sightings do you receive? Is their number increasing or decreasing compared to previous years?
- Our group receives from 100 to 175 messages annually from the United States and about 15 from other countries. The number of cases is systematically growing. Many of these messages contain photographs or even videos taken with a mobile phone camera. People see something strange and take pictures of it. Previously, they were only able to give oral evidence without any documentary evidence.
What do you think about various hypotheses related to the UFO phenomenon? Jacques Vallee, for example, speaks of a kind of "control" system that interacts in a certain way with our perception of reality
- There are many different theories. Valle offered one of them. It is surprising how cultural background, education, or personal experience influences the perception of what is being observed. Within the framework of religion, demons and angels are spoken of; scientists, in turn, analyze these phenomena in terms of natural phenomena or fantasy.
The government considers this all nonsense. And finally, there are writers who capture on paper everything they can to make money on it - that's a fact. But there are, however, many conscientious researchers who argue that the objects observed by millions of eyewitnesses are not at all hallucinations.
In turn, abducted people did not in all cases experience this only in nightmares. The pursuit of the truth does not weaken, despite what others say. "Aliens" have been here for thousands of years. Perhaps we will find out in the end who they are and where they come from.
Translated from Polish: Victor Gaiduchik