From: Bob Soetebier <rks1.nul>
Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 01:49:10 -0500
Fwd Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 11:00:58 -0400
Subject: Underwater UFOs & Project Identification


I attended the May, 2005, Missouri MUFON meeting in St. Charles,
Missouri. Also in attendance at that meeting were Debbie
Ziegelmeyer, who is a MO MUFON Field Investigator (she is also a
member of the "Roswell Dig" scientific research team), and Tom
Ferrario, the MO MUFON Assistant Director of Field
Investigations. Deb and Tom discussed the newly initiated (by
them) official MUFON Dive Team. For more info on the MUFON Dive
Team, see:

http://www.mufon.com

At that meeting, Deb and Tom noted that fully 25% of all UFO
reports involve underwater objects and lights. After they
mentioned "underwater" UFOs, I publicly brought up the
following:

I'm a former member of both NICAP and APRO back in the early
1960s. Back in the 1960s and 1970s I used to regularly read Dr.
Harley Rutledge's (Ph.D.; former head of the Physics Dept. at
Southeast Missouri State University [SEMO] in Cape Girardeau,
MO) monthly - and sometimes even weekly - reports in the major
St. Louis newspapers about his ongoing southeast Missouri UFO
field investigations. I also have a copy of his excellent book,
Project Identification -- The First Scientific Field Study Of UFO
Phenomena (1981; hardcover; publ. Prentice-Hall; ISBN 0-13-
730713-6).

Rutledge's book deals with the 1970s' "UFO flap" that began in
Piedmont, Missouri, and continued throughout southeast Missouri
for the rest of the 1970s. This developed into the "UFO wave"
that spread eastward through the U.S.; thus gaining national
attention.

Here's the first two paragraphs - in Chapter 1, "The Piedmont
UFO Flap" - on page 1 of Rutledge's book. (For emphasis,
Rutledge italicized the word "underwater" in the original
text.):

---

In late February and March 1973, strange events were being
reported in the area of Piedmont, Missouri. For example, there
were reports that cars had become stalled on highways when a
light had flown nearby or when a light had beamed down from
above. Usually, the car radio ceased to function, too.
Interference with television signals was reported not only in
the Piedmont area but in nearby towns as well. After the picture
had become scrambled and the sound garbled, people would step
outside and see a silent ball of light come floating over;
sometimes the yard lights went out, too.

[As if that wasn't intriguing enough; that was just the
beginning! --Bob]:

On one occasion, the police radio system stopped working.
According to Dennis Hovis, manager of radio station KPWB, the
transmitter was "knocked out" the same night. Hovis and others
had seen a lighted object pass directly over the radio
transmitter tower. On another occasion, a man reported that he
not only lost his television signal, but that his lights dimmed
and his house shook. Stepping outside, he saw an egg-shaped
object hovering nearby that emitted a high-pitched sound. His
dogs had to run away to hide. There were other reports of lights
that made erratic turns, or went off when aircraft approached.
There were even reports of flying saucers, of objects sitting on
the ground in fields, and of objects moving underwater in
Clearwater Lake. Clearly, "the Piedmont UFO," as Hovis termed it
on his newscast, had arrived.

[Then, on page 3, Rutledge mentions that... ---Bob]:

A man from one amateur UFO organization claimed over radio
station KPWB that UFOs were of extraterrestrial origin. He lent
credence to the rumor that Clearwater Lake was a large UFO base
by hiring divers to look for evidence. ....

[In addition, Rutledge says on page 113... --Bob]:

.... John and I went to the radio station where one of the
announcers was in a talkative mood. ...describing mysterious bow
waves he had seen on the surface of Clearwater Lake....

[And, lastly, on page 212, in Chapter 18, "Project Summary: A
Final Report", Rutledge states. --Bob ]:

Some persons suggest that UFOs are prevalent in southeast
Missouri because they are based here! Remember the diver's
search into Clearwater Lake in 1973? The Dennis Hovis told me
that an airlines pilot saw three lights rise out of the man-made
reservoir atop Taum Sauk Mountain near Ironton.

[Note: The "man-made reservoir" - part of the AmerenUE Taum Sauk
Pumped Storage Power Plant - is actually the "upper reservoir"
atop 1600-foot "hollowed-out" Proffit Mountain, which is 5-1/2
miles s.w. of Taum Sauk Mountain. (At 1776-foot, Taum Sauk Mtn.
is Missouri's highest point.) -- Further info below. --Bob]

---

Regarding Rutledge's referencing "objects moving underwater in
Clearwater Lake" (which is 9 miles west of Piedmont, MO):

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when I used to frequent
online electronic bulletin boards (BBSes), I came across Fred
Mueller's "Prime Time BBS." One of Prime Time BBS's subject
posting areas (like today's Internet Newsgroups) was UFO-
related.

Not long after I posted a few public messages in that online UFO
subject area on Prime Time BBS, I got an e-mail from Fred's
wife, Sandy (who, with Fred, was Prime Time BBS's "co-Sysop"
[system operator].) Sandy mentioned to me that back in the 1970s
she had been camping with a group of folks at the public
campground near the dam on Clearwater Lake. She said that one
night she and the entire group she was with witnessed a UFO,
with many lights on it, moving underwater near the dam!

I have since lost track of Fred and Sandy Mueller. Therefore,
unfortunately, I have nothing further to add to this.

---

Every year or two, my wife and I have bicycled the roads and/or
hiked the trails at both Taum Sauk Mtn. State Park., Proffit
Mtn. and nearby Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park. They are located
in the Missouri Ozarks in the ancient granite St. Francois Mtns.
region, which is oldest mountain range in the U.S.. The area is
very rugged, heavily wooded, isolated and extremely scenic.

Atop Taum Sauk Mtn. there is a public-access (daylight hours
only) fire tower. The 360-degree view from this fire tower
affords an excellent view of the Proffit Mtn. upper reservoir.

To get to the Taum Sauk Mtn. fire tower in Iron County: Go
approx. 5 miles south on Hwy. 21 from Ironton, MO, (which is
about 95 miles s. of St. Louis). Not far after "Tip Top", turn
right and go approx. 3 miles on Hwy. CC, which terminates at the
site. (Coordinates: Lat.: N 37-degrees, 34-minutes ; Long.: W
90-degrees, 43-minutes.)

To get to the Proffit Mtn. reservoirs: Follow the above
directions to Taum Sauk Mtn., but instead of turning off Hwy. 21
onto Hwy. CC, continue south past Hwy. CC for approx. another 4
miles. Then turn right (at Hogan, MO, which is a defunct town;
but, is still listed on the Missouri state road map) and go
about 11 miles on Hwy. AA. (Hwy. AA also intersects with Hwy. U
- which goes by the East Fork of the Black River -- and connects
back approx. 7- to 8-miles to Hwy. 21, about one mile east of
Lesterville, MO, in Reynolds County.) There is a very
interesting free flora/fauna/geology/archeology nature museum -
with bathrooms/water/picnic shelter - on the way to the
reservoirs. You can drive up to the upper reservoir, and then
walk a short, inclined paved trail right up to it's rim. You can
also drive right down to the lower reservoir power generation
plant, too. (Upper reservoir coordinates:  Lat.: N 37-degrees,
32-minutes ; Long.: W 90-degrees, 49-minutes.)

Facts about the Proffit Mountain "Taum Sauk" reservoirs -
construction of which began in 1960 and was completed in 1963.:

The upper reservoir is at 1600-foot elevation. It has a water
surface area of about .085 sq. mi. and covers an area of 55
acres. It holds 1.5 billion gallons of water. It's longest width
(on a s.w.-n.e. axis) is 2500 feet; it's width (on a n.-s. axis)
is 2000 feet. During peak-demand electricity periods, water is
released from the upper reservoir and flows down a 7,000-foot-
long shaft and tunnel to the power plant generators near the
lower reservoir.

The lower reservoir (which is a dam on the East Fork of the
Black River) is at 740-foot elevation. At night (when
electricity rates are cheaper), water from the lower reservoir
is "pumped-back" up to the
upper reservoir.

For a distant view/photo of the Proffit Mtn. upper reservoir,
see:

http://tinyurl.com/9yc2w

For an excellent 3-D Topographic map view of the reservoirs,
see:

http://tinyurl.com/8jplf

For more info on the "Taum Sauk pumped storage plant", see:

http://tinyurl.com/byxzq


(Back to 'lurking' again. :-)

See you ON The Road!

'Bicycle Bob' Soetebier