A Bird’s-Eye View of a Large Disc-Shaped Object in Utah!-By Dean Troili

In October of 1973, a 21-year old truck driver was traveling from California to Missouri with his girlfriend through south-central Utah when at 3 am they witnessed a completely unexpected sight. Together, they saw a domed disc with a red glow in a valley below them. The experience made a lasting impression on the young man who has since become a life-long UFO enthusiast. Having recently learned of MUFON as a way to report his unique sighting, the witness, after 37 years, made his report on the MUFON website—Case Number 21866.

The then 21-year old Kenneth Dudely and his girlfriend were traveling east bound on a newly completed section of interstate 70 through the San Rafael Swell in south-central Utah in a red Chevy Vega. The San Rafael Swell is a large geologic feature that lies entirely in Emery County, Utah about 30 miles west of the small town of Green River which is located about 60 miles from the border of Colorado. The Swell is approximately 75 miles by 40 miles and has a north-south orientation.

I-70 provides the only paved road access to this region of Utah which after millions of years of erosion has resulted in a mostly flat plateau with numerous deep valleys, canyons, gorges, and spectacular high mesas and buttes. This is one of the emptiest and least developed areas of Utah. I-70 had only one side open in 1973 which handled both directions of travel until about 1990, when construction on the other side was completed.

Kenneth’s girlfriend had fallen asleep as they traveled eastward, but awakened abruptly when the Vega was braked hard to avoid hitting about a half dozen deer that had emerged from the brush in what Kenneth describes as a “panicked sprint” across the road from left to right (north to south). Wide awake from the close call with the deer, they resumed speed and began the steep descent down the eastern edge of the Swell into the San Rafael Valley below.

The view of eastbound I-70 as it is about to exit the San Rafael Swell and make the steep descent down the eastern slope. It is here, on the road ahead, where about a half dozen deer sprinted from left to right (N > S) across the freeway causing the witness to brake hard. Did the deer see or sense something approaching from the north from which they were running? 

Something on the left, in the valley below, caught Kenneth’s attention as they descended. He turned his head to focus on something about 3 miles to the north—and moving toward him that changed his life forever.  

The object was emitting a light he described as a “red aura” saying it was equal, unvarying and coming from all sides. The “aura” was intense enough to cast a red light upon the floor and walls of the canyon before them as it moved. (The distance from the object to the witness is estimated to have been about 8 of its diameters and about 21 diameters to the eastern edge of the San Rafael Valley.)

Fearing that he and his traveling companion might intersect with the object on the road below, Kenneth braked hard again and stopped the Vega in the middle of I-70. Together, they got out of the car and watched the object pass through the valley below them. Their vantage point being above the object, they had a rare bird’s-eye view of it.

The witness’ location on I-70 was approximately 4,800 feet in elevation. The valley floor’s elevation in this location is known to be about 4,300 feet above sea level. Therefore, if the object they saw was about 100-250 feet above the valley floor, the difference in elevation between them and the object was about 250-400 feet.

Moving from left to right in the valley below them the large domed disc-shaped object traveled steadily and soundlessly southward. The witness estimated the size of the object to be comparable to that of the Astro Dome. (This comparison to the large, approximately 1000-ft. diameter stadium in Houston, Texas makes sense considering he’s from Texas and has seen the Astro Dome from many different distances and lends a measure of accuracy to his estimate. He also used the term “mother ship” when referring to this large disc-shaped object since he opined that its immense size was sufficient for it to possibly be carrying smaller craft which could be launched from it.)

The witness reported that both he and his traveling companion had a clear view of the upper surface of the object as it passed in front of them. On the upper surface, they could see a raised central portion he described as a “dome” which made up ⅓ to ½ of the total diameter of the object. The disc-shaped object appeared to rotate counterclockwise while the central “dome” appeared to rotate clockwise. He described the rotational rates as “slow and equal,” but was unable to ascertain if the apparent rotation was due to some aspect of the “red aura” the object produced or if the object was actually rotating. Other than the central dome-like raised area on the upper surface, the object appeared uniform and featureless having a non-reflective or matte surface.

Kenneth and his traveling companion stood outside their vehicle in the middle of the road and watched as the object continued southward maintaining a constant altitude and lighting the walls and floor of the canyon with its “red aura” until it disappeared from view. (When asked, he explained why he used the words “coming in for a landing” in his report saying that since the object was moving so smoothly through the canyon and at such a low altitude he wondered if it was looking for a suitable site to stop.) He estimates they observed the object for at least 30 seconds and that the memory of the sighting was life-changing and remains today. Since then—and especially since the advent of the internet—he has invested significant time into the study of UFO sightings; especially those reports coming from south-central Utah and western Colorado.

Thirty-six years after the event, he had the occasion to talk to his traveling companion from that October night of 1973. The first question she asked of him was, “Do you remember seeing the UFO?”

Often attempts are made to create links between human activities in an area and reports of unidentifiable objects in the skies above or oceans below. Does a link exist between the large disc-shaped object seen by Kenneth and his girlfriend on or about October 30, 1973 in this empty region of Utah and human activities?

If one were to follow the San Rafael River as it meanders south and east, they’d arrive at its junction with the Green River—the San Rafael River is a tributary of the Green River. Following the Green River northward (upstream) from its junction with the San Rafael River, the traveler would arrive at the remains of the Utah Launch Complex—sometimes called the Green River Launch Site—having been concealed within deep wide valleys and canyons cut by flashflood waters over millions of years for the entire trek. .... 

The Utah Launch Complex is one of but a few examples of sustained interstate missile tests. From 1964 to 1974, the Defense Department conducted intensive research to investigate basic re-entry physics to improve and protect warheads of nuclear missiles as well as testing of the Army’s Pershing missile.

During this span of 10 years, hundreds of suborbital missile launches occurred from this 36,500 acre site to impact points within the 4,000 square mile White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. October of 1973 was a busy month for the Utah launch Complex as 4 Pershing missile launches occurred—2 on October 10th and 2 on October 24th. The Pershing missiles in these tests each attained an altitude of 150 miles before impacting in New Mexico.

A Pershing missile climbing high into the upper atmosphere.

Sometime in 1974, the Utah Launch Complex was placed in “caretaker status.” Today, some of the launch facilities and related structures still stand with no apparent further activity at the site.

This area, the Utah Launch Complex and the White Sands Missile Range, was unique in the world with respect to the presence and use of 3 different technologies that could readily alert an alien visitor to the rapid advancements of humans:

1. Nuclear Energy – The 1st atomic bomb test in New Mexico.

                     - Valuable uranium deposits in south-central Utah.

2. Missiles – Sustained interstate missile tests from 1964 – 1974 to investigate basic  

                       re-entry physics.

3. Powerful radar systems operating to track these missiles. 

   

-  By Dean Troili