by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
On November 19, 1987, the Sentinel out of Gulf Breeze, Florida, published three pictures of a well-defined, lit-up UFO under the headline, “UFO Sighted Over Gulf Breeze.” The caption under the photo asks anyone who saw the object or had information about it to call the Sentinel. Along with the photos is a letter from the photographer that begins, “To whom it may concern.” The writer explains that the pictures were taken on November 11th and that he showed them to “Ed.” According to him, “Ed, in turn said the photos should be shown to the press.” He adds, “That is why he is showing them to you.” While he emphasizes that he is a “prominent citizen” and needs anonymity, he says he might come forward “if these photos and story spark any interest in your readership.” The photos became the subject of a long investigation led by the Mutual UFO Network. More photos and a videotape followed, and the photographer remained anonymous until just before the publication of his book. At around the same time, a discovery in the attic of his former house by the new owner cast serious doubt on his story.
The Sentinel stuck with the story for over two years due to Editor Duane Cook’s faith in the photographer’s credibility. The December 3, 1987, Sentinel has the article (page 6 of the pdf) headlined, “UFO – Follow Up – More Sightings Reported.” It begins with the background that the Sentinel has been keeping tabs on local UFO sightings since it published the photos taken on November 11th. It is reported that a photo of a “similar object” taken over a year earlier in June of 1986 had been submitted and it is printed below in the section headed “Letters to the Editor.” The November 11th photo is printed next to it for comparison, and the objects pictured in both are more identical than similar. The photographer of the 1986 photo wrote that he/she was “relieved to see the UFO photos” as they looked “just like the photos I took last June ‘86.” Even though there is only one photo from the writer published, he/she says that two photos were taken while facing south on Shoreline Drive. This photographer also wished to remain anonymous.
There is a letter below this that begins, “Dear UFO Sighter, My husband and I feel you are not alone.” The writer continues: “However, I’m not sure if we saw the same thing.” The writer asks if the object photographed on November 11th made noise and the letter is signed, “Anonymous.”
The last letter is signed Joe Parrish and he wrote that he wagered that “it,” like most of the objects flying through Gulf Breeze, “had Okaloosa tags.”
The December 10, 1987, Sentinel has the article (page 3 of the pdf) by Allison Brown headlined, “UFO Investigation Update.” According to Brown, Charles Flannigan and Donald Ware, primary investigator and MUFON state director respectively, issued a statement that “prior to the completion of photogrammetric analysis” the preliminary evaluation of what is seen in the photos is “an unknown of great significance because of the quality of the five photographs and the reputation of independent witnesses.” Local photo retoucher Marie Price is said to have found “nothing really wrong with the pictures,” but is quoted as saying, “They haven’t been retouched, but they do look fishy to me.”
In the December 24, 1987, Sentinel there is a photo (page 5 of the pdf) that is reportedly one of nine sent in along with a letter to the editor signed “Believer Bill.” The black-and-white reproduction shows a non-distinct disc or oval-shaped white blob. According to Bill, he actually saw three UFOs at around 6:00 a.m. along Shoreline Drive on December 23, 1987, but could only capture one at a time on film. He wrote that when he lowered his camera, “the UFOs turned white and shot up fast as lightning.”
The editor’s note to Believer Bill explains, “The Sentinel is having our UFO photos analyzed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California,” and requests “two more sets of photos or one negative…” A negative from the photographer of the 1986 photos is also requested.
In the February 11, 1988, Sentinel, there is the article (page 8 of the pdf) by Duane Cook headlined, “Gulf Breeze UFO Photographed Again.” He tells a dramatic tale and identifies Ed as the photographer of the November 11th photos. According to Cook, he was in the office in the late afternoon on January 24th when he got a call from Ed. He explains that Ed usually called the day after a sighting, but “this time was different.” Speaking quickly, Ed said, “It’s here! I know it’s here. I can hear the buzz…”
Ed told Cook he couldn’t “get anybody on the radio,” referring to the walkie-talkie he used to communicate with the MUFON investigators. It was arranged that Ed would come to the Sentinel, and he and Cook then went off together in Ed’s pickup truck heading east on Highway 98.
Along the way, Ed was nervous because “he didn’t know what they wanted from him” and knew from experience that “they were powerful.” He had brought along his Polaroid and videotape recorder, and Cook put down his 35mm and used the recorder to tape their journey.
When they came into Tiger Point East, Ed said he was worried about Cook’s safety. Cook told him he wanted to stay and keep recording “and that there wasn’t any history of people being hurt or killed by UFOs.” They chose a spot in the area that had a clearing on the right, and Ed got out of the truck with his Polaroid in his left hand and “called out to the UFO” to “beam him up and get it over with or take their buzz and get out of his life.”
Ed then screamed and said his left hand felt like it was in a vice, and Cook suggested that he drop the camera. It started to rain, and Cook got back in the truck as Ed kneeled down in pain and searched the sky. He then got up and walked to the back of the truck and yelled out that “they missed their chance” and that he “wasn’t going to give them another opportunity like this again.” Then, just as he went to get back in the truck, he yelled, “There it is!” He took a picture as Cook scrambled to get out of the truck, but Cook got out too late to see the object. Cook says he watched as Ed took the photo out and separated the positive and negative, and when it developed, Cook could see the “now familiar round object with a highly lit ring on the bottom and small ‘portholes’ around its midsection.” The photo is not included in the article.
Throughout the rest of the year, the area around Gulf Breeze became a UFO hot spot and is featured in the television special (beginning at 49:00) UFO Cover-Up?: Live! which aired on October 14, 1988. A live feed was set up from Gulf Breeze that shows a live studio audience. Host Mike Farrell introduces the segment saying that “over 100 people witnessed a UFO” there. He introduces Cook, Ware (who claimed to have found 153 witnesses), and Chief of Police Jerry Brown. Ed is still not identified by his full name.
By this time, Ed has claimed (page 6 of the pdf) that he had seen a creature outside a widow of his house; that he’d been “struck by a blue beam from a spaceship” that immobilized him, lifted him off the ground, and then dropped him (leaving him smelling of cinnamon and ammonia); that he heard a humming sound before “an appearance of a spaceship;” and that he heard a voice in his head.
Next week: Debate and doubt.