Where was the “landing site” that Halt investigated?
ON OTHER PAGES
Below is an aerial view identifying the position of the supposed UFO “landing site” at the eastern edge of Rendlesham Forest that Col. Halt investigated in the
early hours of 1980 December 28. This position has been derived from statements
made by Halt in various interviews, and is supported by the testimony of
forester Vince Thurkettle who saw the site some time after the event. Its
coordinates are close to 52° 05’ 20” N, 1° 26’ 57” E and is about a mile east of Woodbridge East Gate. A photograph of the site
taken the morning after the initial sighting, when it was being examined by
local police, can be seen
here.
While examining the site, which consisted of three small indentations on the
ground and apparent burn marks on the nearby trees, Halt’s men drew his attention to a flashing light betweeen the trees, and they moved
to the edge of the forest to get a better view. Halt described looking across a
field towards a farmhouse, with the flashing light almost in line with it. In
an attempt to get closer to the light, he and his men moved out into the field
past the farmhouse and then through another field and across a stream. (Read a
transcript of what he said
on the tape.)
I have labelled all these locations on the image below, along with Butley Abbey
which is the group of buildings at right of the picture. Click on the image for
an enlargement. You can also see the region on Google Maps.
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There has in the past been some confusion among other researchers about Halt’s exact position at the time of his sighting, with various books and web sites offering conflicting locations. However, Halt put any uncertainty to rest when he retraced his steps for a programme called The UFO Hunters broadcast on the History Channel in 2008. He took them to the spot where he and his men (the cut-out “soldiers” in the illustration below) crossed into the field in pursuit of the elusive UFO. Thus Halt confirms in his own words that he was indeed within the area from which the lighthouse beam can be seen directly. The witnesses on the first night also saw a flashing light in the same direction from the same spot (see their route into the forest here).
This graphic is a screen grab from The UFO Hunters programme (the capital H at
bottom right is the History Channel logo):
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A clip of the programme can be seen on YouTube:
Scroll to 04:10 to hear Halt’s description of his expedition into the forest.
Unfortunately, the programme makers took Halt at his word when he said the
lighthouse was 30 degrees off to the right of the farmhouse. As any map will
show, it isn’t!
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