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Gulf Breeze UFO

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Gulfbreeze1

One of the Gulf Breeze UFOs

Case File: Gulf Breeze UFO
Location: Gulf Breeze, Florida
Date: November 11, 1987 to July 1988
Description: Gulf Breeze is a small city on Florida's northwest coast with a population of about 6,000 at the time of the 1987 UFO sightings. It is located near a military base. The strange glowing lights seem to surround mysterious structures resembling flying saucers.

Ed and frances walters

Frances and Ed Walters

Case[]

History: Since November 1987, over 135 people have seen UFOs in the skies over Gulf Breeze, Florida. They are reliable witnesses: teachers, doctors, and retired newspaper editors. They are hardly the type to invite ridicule or perpetrate a hoax. They believe that what they have seen is real. One man, forty-one-year-old Edward "Ed" Walters, has even claimed to have photographed the UFOs.
On the evening of Wednesday, November 11, 1987, Ed was working alone in his study. At approximately 5pm, he looked out the front window and noticed a strange light in the dusk sky over the western horizon. He went outside to take a closer look. He saw a large, glowing, yellow-orange UFO. It was hovering 200 feet away and 200 feet above the ground. It was shaped like a top and had several portholes around its center. It made no sound.
Ed went back inside and grabbed his Polaroid camera. Once back outside, he took five pictures of the UFO. Then, as he tried to get closer, he was briefly immobilized by a blue beam of light from the UFO's bottom. The beam pulled him towards the UFO, but he was able to free himself.
Five days later, Ed brought his pictures to the attention of Duane Cook, editor of the Gulf Breeze Sentinel Duane had concerns about printing them in the newspaper. He even had reservations about mentioning them. He felt UFO stories were better suited to tabloids than a local newspaper.
Coincidentally, that afternoon, Duane's parents, Doris and Charles Somerby, came to his office on their way to lunch. He showed them Ed's pictures. They told him the UFO featured was the same one they had seen a few nights earlier. They were with several other witnesses when they saw the UFO over a bay. They saw its light, portholes, and a lighted dome on top. However, they did not have a camera, so they could not take pictures.
On November 19, Ed's pictures were published in the Gulf Breeze Sentinel under the headline, "UFO Sighted Over Gulf Breeze". Shortly afterward, reports of UFOs became an almost daily occurrence. On November 25, Duane published the accounts of six residents' sightings. Over the next six months, 135 people in Gulf Breeze reported 80 different sightings. Most of the sightings were reported either to the paper or the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON).
On the morning of November 11, resident Jeff Thompson saw a UFO being trailed by two military jets. At one point, it went straight into the air and sat still at an angle for about a minute. Another resident saw a UFO that same evening. At around 2am on the night of November 12, Billie Zammit was awakened by her dog. When she walked into her backyard, she saw a round, orange/yellow UFO emitting a blue light onto her dock. She was so afraid that she took her dog and went back inside.
One evening in early November, chemical engineer Art Hufford and his wife, Mary, were driving along Bayou Boulevard in Pensacola when they saw a UFO flying over the treetops. It was grayish metallic, oval-shaped, and silent. It had a white dome light, and a white light emitted from its base. It stayed in view for several minutes before disappearing behind the trees. When Ed's pictures came out, Art was certain the UFO in them was the same one he and Mary had seen.
Gulf Breeze resident Scott Zepp also witnessed a UFO. It did not make any noise and went about five miles per hour. One evening, Danise Boone and her daughters were outside their house on Central Drive when they saw a UFO spinning just above the trees. On another night, Santa Rosa County Commissioner John Broxson was with friends at his house when they saw a parade of multicolored lights in the sky. The lights hovered for several moments before flying straight until they were out of sight.
Gulf Breeze residents started organizing "UFO search parties" to go out and look for UFOs. Many search parties congregated at Shoreline Park, where several sightings occurred.
Ed took thirty-seven UFO pictures from November 1987 to May 1988. He claims he heard buzzing or humming sounds in his head and felt pain each time a UFO was about to appear. He first noticed the sound at around 5pm on November 20. A UFO appeared a short time later.
At around 3am on December 2, Ed was awakened by his dog barking. He was startled to see an alien looking at him through the sliding glass back door. The alien wore a metallic suit and helmet and held a lit wand. The alien noticed Ed and immediately turned to leave. Ed went after the alien. Once he reached the backyard, he was immobilized by another blue beam of light from the UFO's bottom. The light lifted him three feet off the ground before letting him go. He then took a picture of the UFO and its blue light. The light was also observed by five other witnesses.
On December 3, a man calling himself "Believer Bill" sent two pictures of a UFO to the Gulf Breeze Sentinel. The UFO matched the one seen in Ed's pictures. Another anonymous photographer sent in similar pictures, claiming they were taken the year before. On December 23, the Gulf Breeze Sentinel received another letter and more pictures from "Believer Bill". This time, the photos showed more than one UFO. The day after these pictures were allegedly taken, Ed also took pictures of multiple UFOs.
On December 28, Ed captured the UFOs on videotape. In one video, the UFO is shown flying on the other side of the windscreens facing Ed's backyard. The UFO was similar to the one seen in his pictures.
Ed's closest encounter occurred around sunset on January 12, 1988. That evening, he drove along Soundside Drive, a deserted road about four miles from his house. Suddenly, a UFO flew overhead and zapped him with a bright white beam that numbed his hands. He tried to make a U-turn to escape, but he drove off the road's edge and had to stop.
Ed reached for his Polaroid camera and snapped a picture of the UFO, which was about 600 feet away. In the photo, the UFO is hovering just above the ground and lighting part of the roadway with a yellow glow. After taking the picture, Ed got out and hid underneath his truck. The UFO then "beamed down" five aliens. They were about four feet tall and carrying glowing silver wands. As they slowly approached the truck, Ed got back in and drove away.
At 8am the next day, January 13, two men arrived at Ed's house. They said they were from the government and had a "material warrant" for the UFO pictures. He told them he gave the photos to a reporter. They then left.
Ed claims the aliens communicated with him telepathically in English and Spanish. They referred to him as "Zeehas". One of the first messages he received was "Las fotos son prohibidas", Spanish for "photographs are not permitted". They also said, "We have come for you," "You will not be harmed…do not be afraid", "Do not resist us", and "Do not deny us".
On January 24, Ed called Duane Cook and told him a UFO was about to appear. They went to a spot east of Gulf Breeze. Ed got out of his truck and yelled for the UFOs. He dropped to his knees, stood up, and took a picture of a UFO. Although Duane did not see the UFO, he was filming Ed when the latter took the photo.
In February, two daily newspapers began running stories about Ed's pictures. A local television station aired a three-part series on him. On February 7, he photographed his wife, Frances, outside their house as she attempted to outrun a blue beam from a UFO.
On March 17, Gulf Breeze City Councilwoman Brenda Pollak, an acquaintance of Ed's, was driving east across the Pensacola Bay Bridge when she saw a pulsating yellow/orange light along the treetops. It was larger and brighter than any aircraft light she had ever seen. She lost sight of it as she got off the bridge, but saw it again as she drove along Shoreline Drive. She pulled over and watched it for a few seconds before it disappeared.
That same day, Brenda's husband, Buddy, and several others went with Ed to Shoreline Park to look for UFOs. At one point, Buddy and the rest of the group left, leaving Ed alone in the park. About a minute later, Ed heard the buzzing sound in his head. A few minutes after that, a UFO appeared, and he took two pictures of it. The others saw the camera flash and returned to Ed. They then saw the pictures develop and the UFO appear in them.
On the night of April 21, Truman Holcomb was driving on Highway 98 when he saw a circular UFO with a bright orange light on its bottom flying just above some nearby trees. He then saw a blue beam of light come down from the UFO.
At around midnight on May 1, Ed was at Shoreline Park when he felt a UFO's presence. He then saw the UFO and took a picture. After that, he lost consciousness for about an hour. When he awoke, he was bruised.
Ed believes a UFO abducted him. He claims to have experienced "missing time" on three other occasions: once during a canoe trip, which he initially thought was because of heat stroke; another time when he was younger, which he blamed on lack of sleep or a nightmare; and again when he was driving at night. He recalls the third incident vividly.
Ed was driving home after midnight when he noticed he could no longer see any lights in his car's mirrors. He stepped out of his car and saw a bright light approach him. When he re-entered his car, the light lifted off the road and illuminated the car's interior. He then found himself next to the morning traffic. Five hours had passed.
Ed agreed to be hypnotized to see if a UFO had abducted him. According to him, the hypnosis exposed details of at least four past abductions involving the aliens he previously encountered.
Two months passed with no sightings. Then, at around 4:30am on July 8, Dr. Fenner McConnell, a forensic pathologist, and his wife, Shirley, were at their house in Pensacola Bay when they saw a UFO flying quickly over the water. It was disc-shaped, metallic gray, had windows, and had a flashing light on top. It made no noise. It was about the size of a medium-to-large airplane. Its lights shone on the McConnells' pier. At one point, it came within 250 feet of their house.
Fenner and Shirley went outside to get a better look. She noticed that the water below the UFO did not move. The UFO hovered for about four minutes and then drifted away. She is convinced that the UFO Ed photographed is the same UFO they saw.
The Gulf Breeze sightings appear to have stopped, but two questions remain: why was Ed able to take so many pictures of these elusive objects? And why was Gulf Breeze the place where this phenomenon occurred?
Despite the best efforts of skeptics, some sightings simply cannot be explained away. Although the possibility of a hoax cannot be dismissed, the residents of Gulf Breeze are certain they saw something that defies easy explanation.
Background: Ed Walters is a building contractor and developer. He has lived on Silverthorn Road in Gulf Breeze with his wife, Frances, and two children for nearly ten years.
Investigations: When asked if the pictures were a hoax, Ed took two polygraph tests and passed them both. The examiner concluded that Ed "believes his pictures are real". Ed also submitted to psychological testing. The psychologist determined he was "normal".
Still, some experts believe the pictures are fake. They point out the obvious brightness around the craft and note the lack of reflection on the nearby light poles and trees. To others, the bottom of the UFO is unnaturally flattened, as if resting on a board.
Brenda Pollak looked for evidence of a hoax because she did not want to be "made a fool". She felt a hoax would be bad for the community she represents. However, she has found no evidence that the pictures or sightings are hoaxes. She also does not believe Ed would perpetrate a hoax. She has known him for years and believes he is honest.
WEAR-TV, a television station in nearby Pensacola, attempted to show how a hoax could have been accomplished. According to WEAR-TV reporter Mark Curtis, the two most prominent hoax theories are that the pictures were made by reflecting an object off a pane of glass or that they were made through double exposure using a Polaroid camera.
A local model maker created a replica of the UFO. It was reflected in a large piece of glass and then photographed. The resulting pictures were similar but not as clear. Another problem was that the recreation was labor-intensive. It took three people to complete it. Also, even though they did it in a secluded area, people still noticed them. Curtis believes that if the original pictures were made this way, someone would have noticed.
Next, Curtis and his team tried to create a double exposure. Using a camera identical to Ed's, they photographed the model against black velvet. Then, in Ed's yard, they shot the background image over the same film frame. The resulting picture was similar to Ed's pictures.
According to Curtis, the problem with the "double exposure" theory is that Ed only took about half of his pictures on that type of camera. The other cameras were not capable of double exposure. Also, there were at least two pictures where the UFO was partially hidden behind a tree. According to Curtis, that cannot be recreated with double exposures. You cannot hide one object over the other because, in double exposures, the two images blend.
According to Ed, computer analysis conducted on his first five pictures showed they were not double exposures. Also, no trace of a cut-out line was found in the pictures.
Dr. Bruce Maccabee is an optical physicist who conducts laser and optical research for the U.S. Navy. In February 1988, he came to Gulf Breeze to examine Ed's pictures. He spent three days interviewing Ed. He tried to take pictures in the same conditions that Ed took his own. He later published a ninety-page report on this case.
Dr. Maccabee does not think Ed could have hoaxed the pictures, given his technical abilities, equipment, and knowledge of photographic techniques. Dr. Maccabee believes he can explain how some of the pictures could have been faked. However, he does not believe it would have been possible for Ed to hoax all the pictures. He knows it would be difficult to create the pictures using double exposure and make them look convincing. He has found no proof that they are fake. He believes the other eyewitnesses help support Ed's claims.
UFO experts scrutinized the video Ed shot. According to Bob Oechsler of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), the UFO is a flying craft that is not operated by remote control. A five-month analysis of the video showed that the UFO was not a model.
Dr. Maccabee examined the picture Ed took on January 12, 1988. He termed it a "classic UFO photograph" because of its convincingness. The picture allowed him to locate the UFO within three-dimensional space. Using mathematics, he calculated that the UFO was twelve feet wide and nine feet tall.
According to Dr. Maccabee, to light the UFO and have it illuminate the ground, someone would need a crane (to lift the UFO) and 1,000 100-watt light bulbs powered by a 100-kilowatt generator. He does not think Ed could have created the picture using double exposure because it would have been difficult to photograph a bright light and put it precisely under the UFO.
Dr. Maccabee had Ed attach two automatic Polaroid cameras to a bar so he could take two pictures of a UFO at the same time and triangulate it. On one occasion, the picture from one camera showed the UFO clearly, while the one from the other camera showed the UFO partially hidden behind a tree.
Donald Ware is a retired U.S. Air Force pilot who works for MUFON of Florida. He does not know why UFO sightings keep happening in Gulf Breeze. But he believes that Ed has had so many encounters because someone in the UFOs wants him to take the pictures. Some MUFON investigators theorize that an implant was placed in Ed's head when he was abducted by aliens years earlier.
Mark Curtis theorizes that UFOs are coming to Gulf Breeze because of the nearby military presence. Pensacola Naval Air Station, Eglin Air Force Base, Whiting Field Naval Air Station, Hurlburt Field, and some smaller military installations surround the town. He notes that if the UFOs wanted to come and spy on Earth's military, then Gulf Breeze would be a good place to do it.
Some skeptics suggest the UFOs are military aircraft being tested at nearby military bases. Curtis contacted the public information offices at the military bases and asked them if they knew anything about the UFOs. They told him "no" but also said that even if they did know something, they could not comment on it.
According to Eglin's Director of Public Affairs, there is no record of unusual activity or "strange" radar blips occurring at the same time as the sightings. He also denied claims that Air Force planes have chased after UFOs.
Duane Cook spoke with the county commissioner, who is a retired Air Force test pilot. He does not think that the UFOs are military aircraft because the U.S. military does not have aircraft that can move in the fashion that the UFOs do, especially without making any noise.
Ware believes the UFOs are thousands of years ahead of Earth technology. Some UFO researchers theorize that the UFOs have a power system that creates no heat or sound, which is beyond the capabilities of any known military craft. Curtis is skeptical of UFOs. But he believes it is possible, based on the evidence available, that this case could be real.
UFO researcher Budd Hopkins interviewed Ed several times and believes he is telling the truth. He found no flaws in Ed's story. He notes Ed turned down a $100,000 book deal and a $5,000 National Enquirer offer. And Ed would have little to gain and a lot to lose if he perpetrated a hoax.
Ed's supporters, including several MUFON members, feel that the Gulf Breeze residents' sightings prove his pictures are genuine. MUFON director Walter Andrus describes this case as either the best one they ever worked on or the best-orchestrated hoax. He considers the case "wide open" and has made no conclusions.
The Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), however, claims that Ed's pictures are fake. They note that the windows on the UFO are not sized or spaced evenly, suggesting that they are painted on a model. They also note the UFO's non-symmetrical shape and a flaw in its bottom rim. Also, a waviness in the pictures suggests they were taken near or reflected off of water.
Friends of Ed's told CUFOS members that he is a "practical joker and prankster" who told others he was going to pull off the "ultimate prank". They also noticed similarities between Ed's story and the book "Communion" about another man's UFO encounters. CUFOS believes MUFON bungled the investigation. They believe MUFON was too quick to judge the pictures favorably and also influenced Dr. Maccabee's analysis.
Dr. Willy Smith, co-founder of UNICAT, an international UFO information-gathering group, believes the pictures are fake. He computer-enhanced one picture and noticed a support column underneath the UFO. Ed, however, claims it is an emulsion streak on the film.
Dr. Smith learned Ed sometimes played a prank using his Polaroid camera (the same one he used to take the UFO pictures). Jennifer Bloomberg, a friend of Ed's son, told Dr. Smith that Ed took a photo of her and some friends while they played a "spooky party game" at his house. In the picture, there is a fuzzy, out-of-focus "ghost demon" face next to Jennifer. He then took another picture of her, and nothing was there. Jennifer gave the pictures to Dr. Smith. He believes the ghost picture is a double exposure, set up in advance by Ed as a prank. This would show that Ed is knowledgeable about trick photography. Ed, however, claims Dr. Smith and Jennifer are lying.
Some UFO investigators feel that Ed's pictures look staged and "too perfect". In one picture, Ed is turned away from the camera, shaking his fist at a UFO. The picture appears to be posed: Ed's feet are firmly planted, the UFO is distant, and their dog is not looking at the UFO or Ed.
Phillip Klass, co-founder of CSICOP, a paranormal skeptics group, notes that many of Ed's pictures have the UFO in the middle of the frame or slightly off-center. To Klass, it seems unlikely that the pictures would be that symmetrical if Ed had only a moment to take them.
The Pensacola News Journal also believes Ed's pictures are fake. Ed originally approached them to print the pictures, but they refused.
Despite Ed's repeated sightings in and near his house, none of his neighbors have reported anything out of the ordinary. The only people who have seen a UFO at the same time as Ed are Frances, their children, and a family friend. In one instance, Ed pointed out a UFO to an investigator, but when the investigator looked, it was gone. And although others have sent in pictures of UFOs, they were done anonymously. Skeptics speculate it was Ed who sent in those pictures.
Skeptics also note that if a blue beam was attacking Frances, it would not make sense for Ed to get his camera instead of trying to help her.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the October 5, 1988 episode. It was updated on the October 3, 1990 episode.
  • It was excluded from the FilmRise release of Robert Stack episodes.
  • During the segment, Stack stood with thirty-three residents of Gulf Breeze who claimed to have seen a UFO.
  • It is one of the few cases with a full-length update.
  • Dr. Maccabee and Bob Oeschler were also featured in the Guardian UFO segment.
  • Due to the controversy surrounding the sightings, Ed Walters used the fictitious name "Ray" and was not interviewed during the original segment. He also used "Mr. X", "Mr. Ed", and "Jim" when interviewed by local newspapers. He was also not interviewed for the original segment. After the broadcast, in 1989, he went public with a book about his experiences called The Gulf Breeze Sightings: The Most Astounding Multiple Sightings of UFOs in U.S. History.
  • Reporter Craig Myers also wrote a book about the case: War of the Words: The True but Strange Story of the Gulf Breeze UFO.
  • It was profiled on A Current Affair, Inside Edition, the History Channel’s UFO Hunters, and Beyond the Unknown. It was also profiled on a TV special, UFO Cover-Up...Live! and briefly mentioned on an episode of The X-Files.
  • Some sources state: Ed took three pictures the first night; the pictures were published on November 18; Duane Cook’s father-in-law saw the UFO; Art Hufford’s sighting was in the afternoon; Truman Holcomb’s sighting was on April 28; the McConnells’ sighting was in June; Dr. Maccabee calculated the UFO to be thirteen feet in diameter; Ed took 37, 38, or 125 pictures; and he had 33 or 64 sightings.
  • Dr. Fenner McConnell was killed in a hit-and-run accident while riding his bike on July 5, 1998; he was sixty-three. The driver who struck McConnell turned himself in several hours later after seeing on the local news that McConnell had been killed.
Newspaper

Newspaper article about discovery of model

Results: Unresolved - In December 1988, Ed and his family moved out of their Gulf Breeze house. Ten months later, in November 1989, the house was purchased by Bob and Sara Lee Menzer, who moved to Gulf Breeze from Washington, D.C. They were unaware of Ed and his controversial pictures.
In March 1990, four months after they moved in, Bob decided to install an ice maker for their refrigerator. He went into the attic looking for a shutoff valve for the water pipes. As he traced the pipe through the attic and moved the insulation aside, he came across a strange object: a styrofoam model of a UFO. At the time, he did not realize its significance. Sara Lee figured the model was something that one of Ed's children made. She and Bob put it on a shelf in their garage and forgot about it. It remained there, undisturbed, for two months.
In June, Pensacola News Journal reporter Craig Myers visited Bob and Sara Lee. Myers had recently begun an investigation into Ed's pictures. Myers criticized the Gulf Breeze Sentinel's coverage of the story, calling it "uncritical" and "sensationalist". He asked Bob and Sara Lee if they had found anything when they moved in that would have something to do with UFOs, such as pictures or a model. They told him about the model they had found in the attic a few months earlier. After looking at it, he asked if he could borrow it and take it to his office. They agreed.
A week later, on June 10, Myers published the story of the model's discovery, which threw Gulf Breeze into an uproar. Once more, a cry of hoax reverberated through the town. Ed refused to take a polygraph test concerning the discovery. However, he signed a sworn statement denying any knowledge of the model.
Ed claims the model is a "total fabrication", created and then planted in his attic by someone unknown (either UFO debunkers or the U.S. government) to discredit him and the other witnesses. He notes that the story of the discovery came out a month before MUFON planned to hold a UFO symposium in Pensacola. He also notes that it would be stupid for him to leave the model behind if he were perpetrating a hoax.
Donald Ware believes members of CSICOP or another skeptic group planted the model and then informed the media of its location to debunk Ed's sightings. Members of the group, along with Willy Smith and other skeptics, deny this. According to Ed, a former neighbor told his wife, Frances, that a stranger with out-of-state license plates entered the Walters' garage, pulled the attic stairs down, entered the attic, and then left suddenly. This occurred after Ed moved out but before the Menzers moved in. However, the police claim that no break-ins were reported to them.
Myers and the Pensacola News Journal showed how the model could have been used in a hoax. A comparison of the picture they took with one of Ed's pictures shows similarities. Mark Curtis thinks the model closely resembles Ed's pictures. It does not exactly match, but it is close. He wonders if there is another model or a variation of that model that was used for the pictures. Ed acknowledges that the pictures taken by the paper resemble his pictures.
The model is nine inches across and six inches high. It was constructed of four Styrofoam plates. It has a six-inch square blue-colored gel (plastic film), a six-inch round orange paper ring, a three-inch plastic tube, a two-inch wide paper ring, and electrical tape at its bottom. The black portholes are drawn on a strip of drafting paper cut from one of Ed's discarded house designs.
According to Ed, the house plan that the paper came from was designed for the Thomas family on September 7, 1989 – two years after he took the initial pictures of the UFOs. However, Phillip Klass found evidence that shows the paper on the model did not come from the Thomas family's house plan. Instead, he found that it most likely came from a plan from January 1987, which was months before Ed took his first UFO pictures.
Klass also learned that shortly after the model's discovery, Ed examined the model and then went to City Hall to look at house plans. A short time later, it was discovered that someone tore off a portion of the January 1987 house plan. Klass believes Ed did this so that he could edit his copy of the Thomas family's house plan to match the numbers found on the model and make it seem like the model was made after his pictures were taken.
For Shirley McConnell, the model's discovery does not affect her or her husband's sighting. They are certain that the UFO they saw was not a model. Brenda Pollak is also certain that what she saw was not a model. Gulf Breeze Mayor Edward Gray believes that Ed's pictures are a hoax. The model's discovery confirmed his beliefs. He notes that Ed is intelligent. He theorizes that Ed wanted to bring interest to UFOs and make money off the story. He feels that Ed has kept the story "fed" and going for years.
The model's discovery made skeptics out of people who had been willing to take Ed's word. But others in Gulf Breeze believe Ed implicitly. And the sightings of UFOs continued. In total, over 200 were reported. On October 25, 1988, tollbooth operators Jerry Thompson and Stanley Butler, along with several motorists, were on the Bob Sikes Bridge when they witnessed thirteen pink objects blink in and out. It appeared that the objects were sending a message.
At around 3:30am on February 8, 1989, Jeff Thompson was awakened by his dogs barking. He and his twelve-year-old son went to the front door of their Tiger Point residence and saw a three-foot-wide and two-foot-high craft descend to the ground. They watched it for ten minutes. Jeff then walked towards the craft with a flashlight. When he was about thirty feet away, the top of the craft turned white and made a crackling noise. It then disappeared in a bright flash. On September 12, thirty-five people at Unity Church in Pensacola watched a red, glowing UFO in the sky while Ed photographed it.
Then, on January 8, 1990, Ed saw and photographed yet another UFO. And this time, he was not the only one to take pictures. That night, he and Frances were walking down a road about a block from their new house when he saw a bright red UFO high in the sky. Previously, he had been criticized for not calling quickly enough to report a sighting. So that night, he and Frances immediately ran back home. He called three investigators but got no answer.
Ed then called Duane Cook and asked him to come quickly. Moments later, he was joined by Brenda and Buddy Pollak, Duane and Dari Cook, and Dari's son, Chip Holston. Ed was setting up his camera and tripod in the street when the Cooks arrived. At first, they saw nothing. He kept pointing out the UFO, but they did not see it.
After watching for a while, the Pollaks and the Cooks saw the UFO, which was about 1,300 feet in the sky. Duane was slightly disappointed because he thought it would be much bigger. Ed tried to photograph it, but it was difficult with his 200mm lens. The UFO was moving faster than he could keep up. However, he managed to take a few pictures of it. Chip took a more distinct picture while looking through Ed's camera, as it was easier for him to see the object through there. He did not know what it was. At first, it floated in the air. Then, it darted between clouds, moving and changing directions quickly.
Brenda took the most remarkable picture that night using her 35mm camera (with a 3,000-zoom lens). At one point, the UFO's red light went out. Brenda took her picture during the UFO's "black phase" because it stood still long enough. She used a time exposure and handheld the camera, which may account for the streak in the picture. None of the witnesses saw what appeared in the picture. Amazingly, photographic experts counted 110 different color changes in the picture's three-second exposure.
According to Brenda, the UFO's light was unusual because it did not have sharply defined edges, like a light on an airplane. It had more fuzzy or irregular edges. And behind the red color, she could see the round silhouette of an unlit object (or craft).
The pictures taken on January 8 differed from Ed's earlier UFO pictures. He believes the distance and movement of the UFO account for this. To many, the presence of five witnesses bolstered his claim that his earlier pictures were real. It was only the second time anyone other than an immediate family member had seen him photograph a UFO.
The January 8 UFO sighting seemed to strengthen Ed's case that his pictures were no hoaxes. But skeptics felt it was too much of a coincidence that the sighting occurred right before Ed's book went on sale. A UFO researcher examined Brenda's picture and found that the UFO was about one meter across. The researcher believes the "UFO" was a balloon released by Ed with a light at its center.
Then, on June 10, the UFO model hit the front pages. One week later, Ed suffered another devastating setback. Twenty-year-old Tommy Smith, a Gulf Breeze resident and a friend of Ed's family, came forward and claimed that two-and-a-half years earlier, he had helped Ed hoax UFO pictures as part of a "practical joke". As his story unfolded, people in Gulf Breeze did not know who or what to believe.
On a local newscast, Tommy demonstrated how Ed hoaxed the pictures using a model. First, Ed put the model on top of a pipe in front of a black background. Then, he set up a tripod in front of it with a flashlight attached. After that, he kneeled or sat on the floor and took a picture of the model. Finally, he double-exposed the film, creating the fake pictures.
According to Tommy, he was sitting in Ed's bedroom one day when Ed went into the closet and pulled a model out. Ed said, "No, wrong one," and pulled another one out. The model had two sets of plates with a strip of paper around the middle. Ed previously claimed that a UFO had landed near his house, leaving an impression on the ground. Tommy showed that by turning a trampoline upside down and jumping on it, he could create a similar impression on the ground.
According to Tommy, in January 1988, Ed gave him six pictures and told him to take them to the local newspapers. However, Tommy kept them. He claims he did this because he had lied to his parents and felt that what was happening was fraud. For two years, he kept his knowledge secret from everyone except his parents. But after the model's discovery, he decided to go public. Today, it is his word against Ed's, and no one knows who is telling the truth.
Ed claims Tommy's statements do not check out. But Mayor Edward Gray notes that Tommy has "no ax to grind" and has nothing to gain by coming forward and telling his story. Mark Curtis feels Tommy is honest and forthright. Ed claims he has been "studied" since he came forward with the pictures. Everything he has said has been examined thoroughly. He asks why everyone believes everything Tommy has said without examining it, just because he is a "naysayer".
Ed has published thirty-eight pictures. But Tommy maintains he knows only about the six fakes, which are not among the thirty-eight. If Tommy knew Ed was conducting a hoax, why did he wait over two years before exposing him? Tommy claims that, at first, he did not think the UFO story would get that big. But as it got bigger, he figured that if he came forward, no one would believe him without proof.
Despite Ed's claims to the contrary, there is considerable evidence that his pictures may be fake. Some experts have called the picture of the UFO in front of Ed's truck a "classic UFO photograph". However, in one of his newscasts, Curtis showed how it could have been faked. He used a large black backdrop, a lit UFO model, and an orange-cray paper cutout. He took the first exposure of the UFO in front of the backdrop. Then, he took the second exposure on the same piece of film, focusing out over the road.
Ed maintains that his pictures were of genuine UFOs in the skies over Gulf Breeze. According to Tommy, Ed said he would go to the grave without admitting to faking the pictures. Tommy does not think Ed will ever admit to it being a hoax, even if he goes to court or jail.
It is important to note that there are still hundreds of Gulf Breeze residents who insist they have seen the same UFOs that Ed photographed. Witnesses Doris Somerby, Art Hufford, and Shirley McConnell are certain that they saw a UFO and that it matched the one in Ed's pictures. Shirley does not understand how Ed could have hoaxed what she saw. Duane Cook has seen no evidence to suggest the pictures are hoaxes.
According to Dr. Bruce Maccabee, there is little evidence that Ed hoaxed the pictures. He believes they are genuine. He also believes that someone other than Ed created the model. However, Dr. Maccabee's objectivity has come into question, as he received $20,000 from Ed for writing an introduction to Ed's book.
Dr. Robert Nathan, a scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, notes that many objects fly around Gulf Breeze, and some look like Ed's pictures. However, that does not make them alien spacecraft, and it does not make them the same object that Ed photographed. He believes the evidence points to this case being a hoax.
According to Dr. Nathan, the pictures have glaring inconsistencies typical of double exposures. The UFOs are brighter and either more sharply focused or fuzzier than the background objects. To him, it appears there was "some kind of cut and paste on some surface". Ed claims the blurriness occurred because he and the UFO moved while he took the pictures.
Former MUFON member Robert Boyd doubts the authenticity of Ed's pictures. He claims he was forced to leave the group in June 1988. Two other MUFON investigators, Rex and Carol Salisberry, were appointed to re-investigate this case. They were later kicked out of MUFON after they concluded the pictures were a hoax. Curtis claims that most of the people he talked to in Gulf Breeze and Pensacola believe the pictures are a hoax.
Contrary to claims by Ed and his supporters that he refused money for telling his story, the Pensacola News Journal reported that he had received a $200,000 book advance and was offered $450,000 by ABC for miniseries rights. The paper also reported that Ed had served eighteen months in prison for forgery and auto theft in 1967 (he was pardoned in 1990). Craig Myers is confident that Ed, a known prankster, faked the pictures. He believes it started as a "fun prank" but then snowballed from there.
In 1991, several Gulf Breeze and Pensacola residents reported more UFO sightings. Some saw a glowing red light, while others saw an elliptical ring of white lights. Carol Salisberry witnessed one of the sightings. She believes the "UFOs" were flares.
In November 1992, Ed and Frances divorced. They split $2.5 million in assets, which Curtis believes came from the UFO pictures and subsequent book deals. The sightings stopped around 1993.
Ed claims he experienced over 100 sightings and abductions over six years and took thirty-eight pictures. He also wrote three books. He has since moved to Pensacola and no longer speaks with the media.
Sadly, several of the people involved in this case have since passed away, including Charles and Doris Somerby, Duane Cook, Fenner and Shirley McConnell, Billie Zammit, John Broxson, Buddy Pollak, Dr. Maccabee, Dr. Willy Smith, Phillip Klass, Bob Menzer, and Dr. Nathan.
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