UFO Observed at Farmhouse In Colombia
The following is a condensation of a report on the Anolaima case recently received from APRO's Colombian Rep resentative, John Simhon. The case involves 11 witnesses at a remote farmhouse near Anolaima, about 40 miles north-west of Bogota.
The observation commenced at 8 p.m. on July 4, 1969, when Mauricio Gnecco, 13, saw a yellow-red light moving from east to west; he was in the company of Enrique Osorio, 12, looking for "shooting stars" outside the farmhouse. He immediately shouted to the other children (Andres Franco, 13, Marina Franco, 11, Rosita N., 10, German N., 14) who were playing in side the house and the grown-ups (Arcesio Bermudez, Lucrecia Bermudez, his sister, Rosa Ortiz, Luis Carbajal, the butler, Evelia Carbajal, his wife), telling them all to come out and see the "flying saucer."
At first they would not come, but upon Mauricio's insistance they stepped out and watched the light, which was at a distance of about 600 feet. Mauricio obtained a flashlight (there is no electricity in the area) and be gan to send signals in imitation of Morse Code. At that moment, the light source approached the house at a considerable speed and remained suspended between two tall trees about 150 feet from the farmhouse, where it hovered for about 5 seconds. ... While this occurred, Mrs. Ortiz shouted to Mauricio: "That thing is coming down upon us - turn that flashlight off, Mauricio!"
The witnesses described the object as follows: between 4 and 6 feet tall; yellow-orange color with an apparent "arc of light" surrounding it; two"luminous legs"-blue with green tips. The object made no sound. It then flew to the right of the farmhouse and and appeared to come low over a nearby hill. Mr. Arcesio Bermudez, described as the only person in the group who was unafraid, took the flashlight from Mauricio and went running in the direction of the object. His sister, Lucrecia Bermudez, followed him but, in the darkness, she fell to the ground.
According to the testimony of the children and Mrs. Rosa Ortiz, Bermudez approached the area where the UFO was and began calling the butler Luis Carbajal, who was the only other adult male present, saying, "Luis, come here. Look at this Martian." Mauricio and Andres watched the object from a nearby hill and reported that it "blinked on and off." Finally, they saw it rise high into the sky and fly away in the direction of Bogota.
Mr. Bermudez returned to the farmhouse and told the other witnesses that he had approached the object, which had landed on the ground, to within a distance of about 20 feet. The object, he said, "blinked out" momentarily and he shone the flashlight on it. He claimed that he saw "a person" inside. He described the upper half of the entity as "normal" but from the waist down the anatomy of the "per son" appeared to be like the letter "A"- which was luminous. The object then "blinked on," rose into the sky and disappeared. About five minutes after the object flew off, all the witnesses saw another identical object, or the same one, crossing the sky at about 300 feet altitude. Its speed was "slow" and constant as it flew towards Bogota and it was also soundless. Two other adult persons, Clemente Bolivar and Rosalba Prieto, who live about two miles from the farmhouse, reported a bright orange-yellow light flying slowly towards Bogota at approximately the same time.
Within two days of the observation, the principal witness, Mr. Arcesio Bermudez was taken very ill; his temperature dropped to 95° F. and he had a "cold touch" although he claimed not to feel cold. Within a few days his condition became far more serious; he had "black vomits" and diarrhea with blood flow. He was taken to Bogota and attended by Dr. Luis Borda at 10:00 a.m. on July 12 and later by Dr. Cesar Esmeral at 7:30 p.m. At 11:45 p.m., local time, Mr. Bermudez died.
APRO has a copy of the medical report signed by Dr. Esmeral diagnosing the cause of death as gastroenteritis. Neither of the two doctors knew of Mr. Bermudez's UFO experience, which may, or may not have some bearing on the case. ...
