Page last updated: April 15, 2009 6:07 PM

 

NICAP and APRO Take Major Step
Toward Improved Relations
(NICAP UFO Investigator - June 1972)

In an important three-day meeting last month, representatives of the two major American UFO organizations, NICAP and APRO, discussed means of seeking cooperative relations between their groups, and ways in which the organizations might direct their research programs so as to avoid unnecessary duplication.

Meeting in Tucson, Arizona, where APRO has its headquarters, NICAP Executive Director Stuart Nixon and the APRO Assistant Director Richard Greenwell conferred at length on the need to resolve past differences that may have prevented the organizations from working toward common objectives. Both men felt the two groups would benefit from better communication and a policy of mutual support.

One move discussed as a first step toward active cooperation was a joint statement to clarify the positions of each group and define those areas in which NICAP and APRO could coordinate their efforts. If agreed upon, the statement would be published in each organization's newsletter so that both memberships could have the opportunity to voice reaction.

Nixon and Greenwell felt that both organizations have made distinctive contributions to the investigation of UFOs, and a cooperative program in certain areas of research is clearly indicated. One example is the computer study each group is currently conducting. An exchange of scientific data once these two systems are operative could be an important incentive to serious study of the UFO problem.

NICAP and APRO last conferred in January 1971 when APRO Secretary-Treasurer Coral Lorenzen visited NICAP headquarters during a trip to the East Coast (UFO Investigator, January 1971). Although not intended as a business meeting, the session touched on the future of the two groups and possible new approaches to UFO study. Prior to her visit, Richard Greenwell came to Washington in April 1970 and spent almost a full day talking with Stuart Nixon about the status of each organization (UFO Investigator, May 1970). That meeting was the first time spokesmen for the two groups had officially met.

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NICAP-APRO EVALUATE UFO CASES
FOR NATIONAL ENQUIRER PANEL
(NICAP UFO Investigator, February 1974, p. 3)

APRO's director, Mr. Jim Lorenzen and NICAP's President, Mr. John Acuff met in a lengthy session at the offices of the National Enquirer newspaper in Lantana, Florida on February 9th. The stated purpose of this meeting was to submit for review UFO reports for possible submission to the Enquirer's UFO panel. Quick agreement was reached on establishing guidelines and criteria for evaluating the merits and strength of reports as listed below:

1. Close encounter with a possible structured object is preferable to a mere light in the sky.

2. Physical residue left behind

3. Photographs of object or some kind of instrumental support.

4. Behavior of the object suggests it was something other than conventional object.

Witnesses:

1. Multiple witnesses make the best sightings.

2. Should have a background which indicates reliability.

3. Competency of observation.

4. Conditions for observation.

Both organizations had gathered cases for review and these were added to information obtained on sightings by the staff of the Enquirer. In-depth evaluation was made on each case using the guidelines established earlier. At the close of the meeting the following cases had been deemed worthy of submission for further review and where necessary, further data gathering and analysis would be required:

Atlanta, Georgia
September 9, 1973

While filming an early morning (4:00 a.m.) interview with two state patrolmen who had observed a UFO the previous night, the patrolmen and the three member news crew of channel 5 (CBS) noticed two unusual bright lights in the eastern sky. The news crew consisted of the assistant director of news, a professional cameraman with 15 years experience, and newscaster. The cameraman started setting up a tripod to insure a stable base for filming these lights and while doing so, he and the other witnesses noticed that one of the two lights dimmed and disappeared. The other light remained stationery (while the star background changed) for the next hour and a half until sunrise. Seventy-five feet of color motion picture film (SAS 500) was taken of the white light source which changed to blue, red and yellow during viewing. The cameraman waited 30 minutes and filmed his remaining 75 feet of film. The brightest star (Sirus) in the area was placed in the camera's view finder during this time but did not produce an image. There were no planets in that area of the sky. The much brighter light being observed did produce an image on every frame and the color change can be clearly seen. A 100-times magnification of the 16 mm frames reveals grain and loss of resolution, but also reveals what appears to be a clearly structured object. (UFO investigator, October 1973)

San Diego, California

Two boys, both 11, say they rapped on a dull dark grey object on the ground in a darkened field. Lights came on and the object rose up into the air and disappeared. Two young boys were the only witnesses, although there were reports of T.V. interference. Some foreign residue was found and is being examined.

Connersville, Indiana

Forty-five workers in Connersville saw a round object during their break. Only one man has been interviewed so far, but he said that at 7:30 p.m. on October 15, 1973, five men from the D & M Dishwashing Manufacturing Co. saw a round object over the AVCO test area. He rushed into the plant to tell others and a total of 45 watched it. The object descended into the trees and rose up again and flew off in a northeast direction. The object had yellow and blue lights reflecting onto silver. There was no sound connected with the UFO. It was agreed that this case needs to be investigated much further.

Santa Cruz, California

A UFO apparently triggered a freezer alarm in this West coast city. A family of three were awakened at 5 a.m. by intermittent ringing of an alarm bell attached to their freezer. The witnesses reported seeing an object emitting an elliptical glow, with a line of white light through the middle, a reddish glow on top and a greenish glow on the bottom. The object seemed to be approximately 5 to 8 miles off the coast. It was observed through seven power binoculars, and rows of lights along the top and bottom were seen. The bell on the freezer was ringing in synchronization with the flashing of the lights on the UFO.

Two deputies from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department were called. By then it had moved further away. They saw the object and heard the ringing of the bell, but were not certain it was synchronized. Investigators reported that if an alternating magnetic field from the UFO was affecting the freezer alarm bell, it would have affected the TV and shorted out other switches in the house. This did not occur.

Ohio
October 18, 1973

U.S. Army helicopter crew members were buzzed by a UFO over the Ohio area. One full-time army captain and three reservists were flying the helicopter between Port Columbus and Cleveland when they wee buzzed by a cigar-shaped object with a metallic grey body and a dome on the top. It became necessary to put the helicopter into a crash dive to avoid colliding with the object. The object seemed then to hover over the helicopter. At that point, the helicopter radio went dead. The UFO sucked the helicopter up more than 2,000 feet in a few seconds and then sped off northward. (UFO Investigator, November 1973)

Freeport, Long Island

Three policemen watched a small UFO link up with a larger one in Freeport, Long Island on November 6, 1973. Two policemen were sitting in their patrol car in a parking lot at 9 p.m. and saw a stationary ball of light in the sky with no red and green running lights. One followed in the car and the policeman got back on his motor cycle. The officers were in radio contact with one another during this time, but there is no record of conversation with the dispatcher.

Officer Steinberg described the UFO as shaped like a football, flatter at each end, glowing silvery blue with an occasional pulsating yellow red tint. The UFO seemed to be hanging in the sky but then moved off in a southwest direction. A smaller UFO came up from the right and joined the larger one. Officer Brown had also witnessed this occurrence. The two men returned to headquarters and spoke to a third officer about the incident and he too had seen the UFO's but refused to discuss the sighting with the investigator assigned to the case. (UFO Investigator, December 1973)

 

Long Island, New York

The president and vice-president of the Long Island Astronomical Society witnesses a UFO on October 21, 1973. The two men saw a ball-like red shape and at one end of the object were three blinking lights, a white light in the center and green on the left end and red on the right. They were not a plane's lights. (UFO Investigator, December 1973)

The meeting attended by decision makers of the National Enquirer, APRO and NICAP accomplished more than the stated purpose of evaluating reports. It is well known that data gathering and analysis can be an expensive task. In some cases the cost of analysis is beyond the scope of the APRO or NICAP budget allocations. Cases which are submitted for the Enquirer's UFO panel evaluation will now receive funding from the National Enquirer to insure complete analysis. Of equal importance is the resolve by both Mr. Lorenzen and Mr. Acuff to continue to seek means for mutual cooperation between NICAP and APRO.

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