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| Vicki Landrum and Betty Cash |
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| Betty Cash |
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| Vicki Landrum |
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| Burns on victim's arm |
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| Colby Landrum |
Unsuccessful Search For Bingo Leads Into Hellish Excursion Into Terror
In Huffman, Texas on the evening of December 29, 1980, Betty Cash, Vicki
Landrum and Colby Landrum had visited several small towns in the Piney
Woods area of east Texas looking for a bingo game. They discovered that
all games had been canceled while the clubs made preparations for
Christmas and New Year celebrations. The three settled for a meal in a
roadside restaurant in New Caney.
Just Regular Working American Women
Cash owned a restaurant and a grocery store. Landrum worked for Cash in
the restaurant and also occasionally as a school meals assistant. Colby
Landrum was the grandson of Landrum. After leaving the restaurant
between 8.20 pm and 8.30 pm, Cash drove along Highway FM 1485. A road
usually used only by people who live in the area because it is so
isolated. The area is sparsely populated and covered by oak and pine
trees and dotted with swamps and lakes.
Witnesses Note Presence Of Unknown Craft In Sky
It was about 30 minutes later when the three noticed a bright UFO above
the treetops some distance away. Colby was the first to spot it and
pointed it out to the others. As they drove on it appeared to get larger
and larger. As they realized that the object was approaching the road
only a short distance ahead they began to get worried but hoped to get
by it in time and leave it behind. Before they could do so the object
had straddled the road blocking their way.
Initial Curiosity Turned Into Stark Terror
Landrum screamed for Cash to stop the car or we shall be burned alive!
The object many times larger than the car remained hovering at tree top
level and sending down an occasional large cone of fire like a rocked
blast. In between these blasts it would settle downwards only to rise up
again on the next cone of fire. Cash described it as being like a
diamond of fire. When Cash eventually brought the car to a standstill
the UFO was 60 meters away.
Witnesses Describe Unknown Aerial Object In Detail
It looked as if it was made from dull aluminum and glowed so bright that
it lit up the surrounding forest like daylight. The four points of the
diamond were blunt rather than sharp and blue spots or lights ringed its
centerline. Had the UFO not come to rest over the road the cone of fire
from its lowest point would have set the forest on fire.
The object also emitted an intermittent bleeping sound. The three of
them got out of the car to take a better look at the object. Landrum
stood by the open door on the right hand side of the car with her left
hand resting on the car roof. Landrum is a committed Christian who does
not believe in UFOs or extraterrestrial life and when she saw the bright
object she thought it was the coming of the end of the world. She
expected to see Jesus come out of the light.
Anything But A Visitation From Jesus Christ
The young boy begged his grandmother to get back in the car and hold him
and after about three minutes she did so and told him not to be afraid
because when that big man comes out of the burning cloud it will be
Jesus. Landrum held the boy as she screamed at Cash to get back in the
car with them.
She was so fascinated by the UFO that she had walked round to the front
of the car and stood there gazing at it. Bathed in the bright light she
stood there even though the heat was burning her skin.
Eventually as the object began to move up and away she moved back to the
car door. When she touched the door it was so painfully hot that she
had to use her leather jacket to protect her hands as she got back in
the car.
Earthly Escorts For Unearthly Craft
The three of them watched the departing UFO. A large number of
helicopters then appeared overhead. Cash said they seemed to rush in
from all directions...it seemed like they were trying to encircle the
thing.
Within a few seconds the UFO had disappeared behind the trees lining the
road. It was then that they realized how hot the interior of the car
had become. They switched off the heater and put on the air conditioner
instead.
Another Glimpse Of Mysterious Craft
When the effects of the bright light had worn off Cash started the
engine and they drove off down the darkened highway. After a mile or so
of twisting road they were able to join a larger highway and turn in the
direction of the departing UFO. This was about five minutes later.
The object was clearly visible some distance ahead and looked like a
bright cylinder of light. It was still lighting up the surrounding area
and illuminating the helicopters. The helicopters were spread out over a
distance. One main group was near the UFO but moving in an erratic
flight path.
Almost Two Dozen Unmarked Military Helicopters Surround Craft
As the three watched from their new vantage point they counted 23
helicopters. Many of them were identified as the large double rotor
CH-47 Chinooks. The others were very fast single rotor types and
appeared to be of the Bell-Huey type but were not properly identified.
A lot of air crew members must have seen the UFO that night. As soon as
the UFO and helicopters were a safe distance ahead Cash drove on. When
she reached an intersection she turned away from the flight path of the
UFO and towards Dayton where the three of them lived.
Witnesses Return Home
Cash dropped the others off at their home at about 9.50 pm then went
home by herself. A friend and her children were there waiting for her
but by this time she was feeling too ill to tell them about what had
happened. Over the next few hours her skin turned red as if badly
sunburned. Her neck swelled and blisters erupted and broke on her face,
scalp and eyelids. She started to vomit and continued to do so
throughout the night. By morning she was almost in a coma.
All Witnesses Suffer Physically From Brief Encounter
Between midnight and 2 am the Landrums began to suffer similar symptoms
although less severe. At first they suffered the sunburn like condition
and then diarrhea and vomiting. It was a miserable night for all three
victims.
The following morning Cash was moved to the Landrum house where all
three were cared for. Cash's condition continued to deteriorate and
three days later she was taken to the hospital.
The burns and swelling altered her appearance so radically that a friend
who came to visit her in hospital did not recognize her. Her hair began
to fall out and her eyes became so swollen that she was unable to see
for a week.
Helicopters Verify American Government Involvement
The appearance of helicopters at UFO sightings is becoming a common
event. The large number of helicopters at this incident is just another
link in the chain. One thing is for certain, it is virtually impossible
to be mistaken about the presence of CH-47 helicopters when you are
directly beneath these large and noisy machines.
The evidence of all the witnesses was consistent. They were interrogated
separately about both the UFO and the helicopters and all gave
consistent descriptions and sketches that indicated they had seen a
large number of CH-47s.
Governmental Coverup Remains Firmly In Place
Finding out where the helicopters had come from was a more difficult
task than identifying them. Around 350 to 400 helicopters operate
commercially in the Houston area but they are all of the single rotor
type.
There are no CH-47s. Because helicopters fly on visual flight rules they
do not have to contact the tower. Other information provided was that
outside a radius from the airport helicopters must stay below a certain
altitude.
Army Officials Deny Any Knowledge Of Helicopters
The Army Fort Hood press officer told the Corpus Christi Caller that no
Fort Hood aircraft were in the area that night. He did not know any
other place around that would have that number of helicopters nor did he
know what it could be..... unless there was a super secret thing going
on and he would not necessarily know about it. All other bases in Texas
and Louisiana denied they were responsible for the helicopters seen at
the incident.
Independent Witnesses Verify Unexplained Incident
The three were not the only witnesses to the strange happenings at
Huffman. An off duty Dayton policeman and his wife were driving home
from Cleveland through the Huffman area the same night and also observed
a large number of CH-47s. A man living in Crosby, directly under the
flight path, reported seeing a large number of heavy military
helicopters flying overhead.
Oilfield laborer Jerry McDonald was in his back garden in Dayton when he
saw a huge UFO flying directly over head. At first he thought it was
the Goodyear airship, but quickly realized it was something else. He
said it was kind of diamond shaped and had two twin torches that were
shooting brilliant blue flames out the back. As it passed above him he
saw that it had two bright lights on it and a red light in the center.
Unidentified Airborne Craft Takes Heavy Toll On Texans
Since their encounter the witnesses have been plagued with periodic
outbreaks of skin troubles as if they were more susceptible to infection
than before. The most far reaching injury has been the damage to their
eyes. Their eyelids became infected very rapidly and have never fully
recovered.
Since the incident Landrum has had to have three new pairs of spectacles
with successively stronger prescriptions to match the deterioration of
her eyesight. Her eyesight continues to deteriorate and she still
suffers from periodic infections. She fears she may eventually go blind.
Her grandson has suffered similar problems but has needed only one new
pair of glasses. Within a few weeks of the encounter Landrum had lost
about 30 percent of her hair. She had large bald patches on her head.
When it grew back it was of a different texture. The boy lost only a
small patch of hair on the crown of his head which grew back in time.
Cash Suffers Most From Bizarre Incident
The Cash injuries seemed even worse. She experienced a severe sunburn
like condition and developed large water blisters, some as large as golf
balls, over her face head and neck. One of these covered her right
eyelid and extended across her right temple.
She also developed a long term aversion to warm water, sunshine or other
heat sources. In the year following the encounter she has spent five
periods in hospital, two of those in intensive care. She lost over half
of the hair on her head and has also had skin eruptions.
Many as big as a large coin which leave permanent scars. Doctors are
baffled by these symptoms but speculate that they could be caused by
some kind of radiation.
Pilots Continue To Parrot Criminal Government Falsehood
One day in April 1981 a CH-47 flew into Dayton. As the Landrum boy
watched he became very upset. Landrum decided to take him to the spot
where the helicopter had landed in the hope that it would seem less
frightening on the ground.
When they reached the landing zone they found a lot of people there
already and had to wait some time before they were allowed to go inside
the helicopter and talk to the pilot. Landrum and another visitor both
claim that the pilot said he had been in the area before for the purpose
of checking on a UFO in trouble near Huffman.
Truth Was Only Fleeting In This Instance
When Landrum told the pilot how glad she was to see him because she had
been one of the people burned by the UFO he refused to talk to them any
more and hustled them out of the aircraft. The pilot was later
questioned.
He admitted to knowing about the encounter with the UFO but maintained
that he had not been in the area in December and had nothing to do with
any UFO. Unless another pilot decides to come forward it seems that the
source of the helicopters will remain a mystery.
SAD LONG OVERDUE UPDATE: Betty Cash died at the age of 71 on December 29, 1998 exactly 18 years after her close encounter. Vickie Landrum died on September 12, 2007 seven days before her 84th birthday. Neither woman ever relented from the truth of what they witnessed.
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