Somewhere in the Skies - The Portage UFO Chase

Episode Date: March 11, 2024

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at: www.betterhelp.com/skies and get on your way to being your best self. On episode 346, we head to Portage County, Ohio. In April of 1966, Portage County police officers were investigating an abandoned car on the side of the road. Suddenly, they heard an electrical humming sound coming from the nearby woods. When one of the officers looked up, that's when he saw something in the skies that would lead several police officers on a dramatic chase that spanned over 90 miles and would change the lives of all of the officers forever. Episode co-written and researched by Marcus Lowth. Visit: www.ufoinsight.com Special thanks to Jim Harold and Dar Harold for their voiceover talents. Subscribe to all of their podcasts at: www.jimharold.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/somewhereskies PayPal: [e-mail] Website: www.somewhereintheskies.com YouTube Channel: CLICK HERE Order Ryan’s new book: https://a.co/d/4KNQnM4 Order Ryan’s older book: https://amzn.to/3PmydYC Twitter: @SomewhereSkies Read Ryan’s Articles by CLICKING HERE Opening Theme Song, "Ephemeral Reign" by Per Kiilstofte Copyright © 2023 Ryan Sprague. All rights reserved. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're great at protecting your data, but lots of places could still expose you to identity theft. I thought it was safe. If that happens, LifeLock gives you a U.S.-based restoration agent who will stick by your side from start to finish. Phone calls, filing documentation, preparing insurance claims, your agent handles it all. In fact, we're so confident restoration is guaranteed. Pour your money back. Isn't it nice to have someone like that on your side? Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash Spotify.

Terms apply. At first, I didn't think it was real. I woke up to this blinding light, and I was transported to another place. Pluto TV! Then I heard a voice. Come with me if you want to live. There were thousands of movies and shows,

and they were all free. The truth is ours. It's just so beautiful. On Pluto TV, free streaming of Terminator 2, Fringe Arrow, the 100 NX files may cause excitement, loss of sleep, and sudden belief in extraterrestrials. No credit cards or alien encounters necessary.

Pluto TV, stream now, pay never. In April of 1966, Portage County police officers in Ohio were investigating an abandoned car on the side of the road. Suddenly, they heard an electrical humming sound coming from the nearby woods. When one of the officers looked up, that's when he saw something that would lead several police officers on a chase that spanned over 90 miles and would change the officers for the rest of their lives. This is the Portage UFO chase. If I could change all that I have done in my life, I would change just one thing. And that be the night we chase that damn thing. I've become a freak to many people, the nut who chased a flying saucer.

This is somewhere in the skies with Ryan's bread. Portage County, Ohio, just after 5 a.m. on the morning of April 17, 1966. Police officers, Wilbur, Barney Neff, and Dale Spar pulled their car to the side of a quiet country road near the District of Ravenna. Ahead of them was an abandoned car that the pair looked to investigate. The car certainly appeared suspicious and not just due to its apparent abandonment.

Inside there appeared to be a mountain of radiotype equipment. Along the side of the vehicle was a strange logo, a triangle with a bolt of lightning, surging through it. On top of that were the words seven steps to hell proudly announced. This was truly bizarre,

but things were about to get so much stranger. Suddenly, the two officers heard an electrical humming sound coming from behind them. They turned around immediately. Spar would state the following about what

happened next. When I looked in this wooded area behind us, I saw this thing. At the time, it was coming up to about tree top level. Now, I'd say about 100 feet. It started moving towards us. Barney was still watching the car and this thing kept getting brighter and the area started to get light. I told him to look over his shoulder and he did. Both police officers now stared, open-mouthed, and in awe at the bizarre sight in front of them. Then, the strange craft came to a stop directly above them. Both were aware that all around them was silence, except for the humming.

The pair would estimate the object to be around 50 feet across and approximately 20 feet in height. On top of the craft and through the brightness of the light, they could make out a dome shape and would appear to be an antenna. Almost in unison and without saying a word, the two often. officers darted towards their patrol car. Spauer would recall the following. We both went for the car. We got in the car and we just sat there in silence. After a few moments, Spauer composed himself and radio to the dispatcher at the switchboard desk. The officers would receive orders to follow the object after it had begun to move to the east.

At around the same time, Chief of Police in Portage County, Gerald Butchert, was on patrol when he heard the radio communication regarding the strange lights overhead. He would immediately turn his car around and head back home to grab a camera. He awoke his wife excitedly, telling her to get dressed and come outside. Not at all amused, Joan Butchard nevertheless would follow her husband outside. Before she could say anything, though, Gerald was pointing to the sky. and there, a saucer-shaped object hovered effortlessly. Because of his position, whenever a member of the public would contact the main desk of the Portage County Police Department,

a special phone would ring in the Butchard household. It was a phone that none of the family members were ever allowed to touch. In 2004, almost 20 years after his father's death in 1986, Boochard's son, Harold, would recall how from Dawn that morning for several hours, his father was a one-man police department. As dawn broke that morning, Spauer and Neff continued to follow the aerial object. They drove down Route 224, and the object was visible through the vehicle's left window. They would estimate it to be between 300 and 500 feet high. Spauer would state the following.

As it moved, the ground underneath of it became illuminated in the white glow of the underside light. I could now make out a distinct metallic craft. The craft then suddenly moved to the left side of our vehicle moving fast. In fact, we were going almost 100 miles per hour and it kept up with us with ease. As the pursuit continued, other police cars in the area or nearby were listening to the progress of the incident. with some actively looking to make their way there. This would continue for almost half an hour, at which point the two officers were approaching the state border with Pennsylvania.

Also monitoring the police communication radio was fellow Ohio police officer, Wayne Houston, of the East Palestine Department. He patiently waited for the Portage County police officers to pass his location at an intersection on the main road. Before he witnessed their car, though, the huge, metallic, disc-shaped object passed overhead. A second later came Spauer and Neff in pursuit. Houston pressed down hard on the gas and joined in. The two police cars continued to give chase.

However, a short time later, approaching Conway, Pennsylvania, Spauer's vehicle began to fade. At 6.15 p.m., completely out of gas, the patrol car limped into a service station. A Pennsylvania police cruiser is what had drawn Spauer's attention to the service station, although in reality he couldn't have gone on much further. When he found the owner of the police vehicle, Frank Panzanella, he himself had just seen the bizarre object pass by him as he sift his morning coffee. The Pennsylvania officer radioed a report from his car of his sighting and location. However, as he did, all four of the police officers could hear the radio communications of the United States Air Force,

and specifically the order to scramble jets. It was then that all four realized the craft had stopped and now hovered in the air. seconds later, several military jets came into view. Panzanella would describe the object as the shape of half a football. It was very bright, and after the jets arrived, the object continued upwards until it got as small as a ballpoint pen. All four men watched the object shoot straight up and disappear. The police officers were amazed at the events they had seen.

to say the least. And soon, the United States Air Force would send in their UFO investigation unit, Project Blue Book. However, it became quite clear that Project Blue Book was ready to debunk the case from the very start. The Summer in the Sky's podcast is free to listen to every week. But if you would like to help support the show, we have a very active Patreon page, where you give what you think the show is worth. In return, you'll get early access to the main show, bonus episodes, and priority to ask our guests your listener questions. Your support truly makes the show continue and grow.

So, to learn more and to join, visit patreon.com slash somewhere skies. When Officer Spauer was approached by Major Hector Quentinilla of Project Blue Book, Quintanella would begin the telephone conversation by asking Spauer. the following. Tell me about the mirage you saw. I do get a number of reports from people who claim that they have seen little green men, have seen space vehicles of sorts. Most of these UFOs that have been reported to the Air Force have been determined to be aircraft, are an actual phenomenon, are under intelligent control, but strictly an earthly control, not anything, it's extraterrestrial in any way.

Usually when we get a report, an official report through Air Force channels, we direct the UFO officer at the nearest air base to immediately conduct an investigation. First of all, we try to contact the people who were the observers or the witnesses of the object. Then we try to take photographs of the area, are the object if possible. We try to go to the site, go through the observation with the people, determine, even try to go back at the specific time when this individual or individuals observe this phenomenon or the object. And from there on, we come back to the office, try to determine exactly.

what it was. Many years later, in reference to this, Spauer would recall the following. After he said that, he suggested to me that my statement should reflect that the incident took place for only minutes. It became clear to me that the, quote, investigation was no such thing. I told him I wouldn't sign that altered testimony. Quintanilla was set on putting the investigation to rest and would travel to the site of the incident himself to interview the witnesses.

The official investigation would ultimately state that the police officers had given chase to a, quote, low-flying satellite, and then went on to pursue Venus. Furthermore, the Air Force would deny that any military jets were scrambled on the night in question. Further, damning regarding the attitude of the official investigation, was a report prepared by the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, or Nightcap, and voluntarily passed to the Conding Committee, the committee that was set up to draw final conclusions to Project Blue Book. They would appear to have completely disregarded it, not even making a passing reference to it on their ultimate report. However, the Portage County incident had captured the public's

imagination, multiple UFO researchers descended on the area, and many locals would begin monitoring the police radio bands on the off chance they would stumble on to a similar UFO incident. Perhaps because of the main witnesses, of which there were four, were police officers, the incident quickly went on to be seen as credible in the eyes of those who took an interest. and the wife of the late Gerald Butchert, Joan Butchert, would state the following. The telephone rang constantly for several days. Same with knocks on our front door. Gerald lost 20 pounds through it all.

It was days of living hell. That toleration boiled over into frustration at the official report's findings. Many of the larger press organizations would temper their enthusiasm for the case, following these official findings. UFO investigators, publications dedicated to such matters, and even some of the smaller and local newspapers would stick with a case, attempting to extract every last piece of information that they could. And while he wouldn't speak about the incident often, Butchert would keep a private scrapbook of every report or newspaper article about the incident.

He also almost retired from his position as chief of police. police, feeling that the community would no longer have faith in him. He didn't, however, go through with this drastic measure and remained chief of police until his death in 1986, 20 years after the incident from a sudden brain aneurysm. For Officer Del Spauer, his regret of the night was more severe. He would eventually state the following. If I could change all that I have done in my life. I would change just one thing. And that be the night we chase that damn thing. I've become a freak to many people, the nut who chased a flying saucer. Barney Neff, like Butchard, refused to talk about the incident. Penzinella felt much the same. He would even go as far as to disconnect his phone

permanently. Houston would even quit the police force entirely and move almost as far away as he could to Seattle, Washington. He would find work as a bus driver and even changed his first name from Wayne to Harold. He would admit that he quit the force because of that night and the ridicule he faced afterwards. The Portage County incident was not the only encounter

in the Northeast at the time. In fact, there was a wave of UFO sightings immediately before and following the police chase. On March 29th of that same year, at 7.50 p.m. in Elliott, Maine, a nurse witnessed a bright red elliptical object with a dome while she was driving home. She could also see several portholes along the side from which a bright white light emerged. The object hovered near the power lines and had the appearance of crumpled aluminum foil, and it was a dull silver color. The witness also became aware of a pinging sound. which appeared to emanate from this strange craft.

She was also suddenly aware that she could hear several dogs barking anxiously. She continued to watch for several seconds before the craft finally disappeared behind the horizon. Only 10 minutes later, at 8 p.m., about 15 miles south in Hampton, New Hampshire, another motorist witnessed two oval-shaped objects with revolving red-body lights. Suddenly, one of these objects would descend rapidly to treetop level and followed the witness's vehicle for several seconds before it vanished in a rapid ascension. The following evening on March 30th, again in Massachusetts,

came another sighting, this time in Roebuth. At just after 8 p.m., three separate reports, each containing multiple witnesses would come in regarding an incident that would unfold over a two-hour. period. Between the three incidents, witnesses would report an oval-shaped craft, which appeared to have an amber glow with red and orange lights. It was hovering at a low altitude just to the side of one of the town's roads. When one car approached the object, it suddenly took off at high speed. Witnesses would also report a whistling or humming sound. In hour after, the first sighting in Rojobith in East Hampton,

Montauk, Long Island in New York, came a similar report. This time, a husband and wife and their children witnessed a bright white object near the power lines of a local radio tower. What's more, they would also report a swishing sound, perhaps similar to the humming in other reports. The family also noticed how intense static appeared on the radio when the object was in sight. As it continued to circle the area, the nervous cries. of neighborhood dogs and cats could be heard. Then a beam of light emerged from the underside and struck a utility pole. After this, the object shot off into the sky and vanished. Four notes later, on the 3rd of April in nearby Franklin, New Jersey, a disc-shaped object

with portholes along the side was witnessed hovering near a radio transmitter tower. The owner of the station, along with his wife, had suddenly heard a low, rumbling sound. When they went to investigate outside, they witnessed the object overhead. They would describe it as twice the size of a fighter jet. On April 7th in Mansfield, Ohio, two sheriff's deputies would report a bright round object that they also gave chase to for several miles. It would eventually disappear vertically at alarming speed. This incident, not least due to the chasing aspect, particularly mirrors the events that would take place in Portage County only 10 days later.

On the evening of April 17th, beginning just after 7 p.m., a little over 12 hours after the UFO chase in Ohio, a wave of sightings in various locations in Massachusetts would unfold. And what's more, as in similar sightings during this time, there was a distinct and clear direction to the timeline of the sightings. At 7.15 p.m. in the town of Danvers, several people would report an elliptical object with rotating white lights around the edge. The object would circle the area several times before disappearing into the sky. Five miles to the south and a quarter of an hour later, several

people would report sightings of the bright oval object in Peabody. Most would describe the object as having a dome on the top, and with flashing lights of red, green, blue, and white. After hovering or circling, the object would then dart off at high speed. An hour later, at 8.30 p.m. and 9 miles further south, this time in Wakerfield, several local residents would report an oval-shaped craft hovering and making a humming noise. When it moved, red, blue, and white beams would show on the underside upon descent. It would settle at a relatively low altitude before disappearing into the night sky. Over two hours later, and 25 miles to the south, in Cohasset, came reports of an oval object with red flashing lights.

When attempts were made to use searchlights on the mysterious craft, it would purposefully dodge them. This would demonstrate not only intelligent control, but remarkably quick reaction. Shortly before midnight on the same evening, a motorist in Lancaster, Ohio, narrowly avoided hitting a bright object that hovered almost to the ground in the middle of the road. The motorist braked his vehicle and turned around to see what the object was. It was now making its way through a nearby cornfield. Several bright lights were now flashing on its exterior, causing the color to light up the ground below. Then, without warning, the lights simply switched off, and the object vanished. The witness would apparently suffer from bloodshot and severely sore eyes for several days after the encounter.

A week after the Portage County incident in Dorchester, Massachusetts, just after 10.30 p.m., a family witnessed a dome-shaped disc with blinking red lights running around the edge. On top of the dome, a flashing yellow light sat. The object approached the family's apartment, cleverly making its way around any obstacles in its way. All of the family could hear a distinct humming sound which clearly came from the craft. The object hovered over the top of an alleyway and then ran beside the apartment building block. Then, without warning, it shot off into the sky. But several hours later, it would appear. once more. At a little after 5 a.m., the object appeared again hovering over the family's apartment.

Once more, the lights flashed as they had previously. There was no doubt this was the same craft. The same humming sound dispelled any doubt any family members might have had. This time, though, among the humming noises were weird, whirling mechanical noises. Then, even more alarming, explosion noise suddenly rang out. It was so loud that the windows inside the apartment shook and rattled. At the same time, all the lights went out inside the building. Incidentally, the power failure would prove to affect more than just the residents of the family's apartment block.

Official records show that over 2,500 homes were suddenly plunged into darkness and without power during this event. An official explanation would place the blame for the sudden power fault due to a, quote, breakdown in the insulation of the wiring in a nearby block, end quote.

When UFO researchers performed tests inside the family's apartment, they would detect significant amounts of radiation from the window that faced where the object had been witnessed. And whatever it was remains a mystery. All

of these incidents seem to have some sort of similarity to the Portage UFO incident, whether in respect to the craft itself, the presence of police officers, or the response by official Air Force investigators. But they have just as much not in common that truly leaves each and every case a complete mystery. A mystery that we continue to search for answers to somewhere in the skies. This episode was written and co-researched by Marcus Loth. To learn more, visit UFOinsight.com. A very special thank you to both Jim Harold and Dar Harold

for their voiceover work on this episode. Subscribe to all of Jim and Dar's podcasts, including the paranormal podcast, Jim Harold's Campfire. You won't believe what happened to me, and so many more. You can find them wherever you. get podcasts or visit jim herald.com you can follow us on twitter at somewhere skies for early access to episodes bonus episodes and add free episodes be sure to join our patreon campaign patreon.com slash somewhere

skies thank you for listening and remember keep your feet on the ground but never stop searching somewhere in the skies somewhere in the skies is produced by 30 Kind Productions in association with the Entertainment One Podcast Network.