A basic yet critical question appears to never have been asked by investigators about the Heflin photos:
Did people in the area know about the photos before they were published in the local newspaper?
Yes they did. And one such person is Mr. Edward Riddle. Ed Riddle was a professional who was later employed as a senior-level technical writer, including for a leading Menlo Park, California electronics technologies company. But in the summer of 1965 Riddle was a young man who was employed by the local telephone company. In the lunch room, Riddle remembers, a fellow that Riddle described as being "in a jolly mood" had come into the company lunch room and had brought with him what Riddle would soon later clearly and instantly recognize as the "Heflin UFO photos."
Riddle recounts that the man had told him that "his neighbor he knew had rigged up a toy train wheel and some monofilament fishing line, hung them out of his truck window, shot them and would maybe just take them to the paper for some fun."
Riddle explained that he did not want to be a "spoil sport" but "jeez, a joke's a joke." He agreed it was time to come clean about what he knew. Given his professional station and that Riddle avoided coming forward on this for decades – and that he never sought or received any compensation or notoriety for this – it is highly likely that he is telling the truth as he remembers it.
Riddle continued with his story: Some time after he had seen the UFO "toy train wheel" photos at work, he saw them in the newspapers, just like he heard they might be. The story had soon become huge, it had become very big news. It was then that Riddle became conflicted and genuinely concerned. He thought that Heflin was affable enough, but Riddle said that he knew what he knew, now what to do? He went home and asked his family what they felt should be his next step. They disapproved of his telling anything. No need to get involved. It will die down and no one is getting hurt or anything. Why spoil one nice guy's fun? The other folks at the office felt they should say nothing. So Riddle held his tongue too.
Today his family supports Riddle coming forward with his revelation, and they confirm that it happened just as he said it did at the time. And Riddle has confirmed this story to reporter Amy Wilson of The Orange County Register for the record. He is 100% certain that the Heflin photos were shown to him prior to their publication – and that they were explained by Heflin's neighbor as a hoax using toy train wheels. He also detailed to her that he was still wrestling with "talking or not talking" about what he knew to be the truth about the Heflin incident.