I was contacted by the original witness, who had also submitted a report to NUFORC many years later. There were a few updates given to me, but the witness asked that I not make the new information public; at least for the time being:
The incident took place in the summer of 1973, at my grandmother's in Titusville, PA. I would have been about 6-years-old....I'm now in my late 40's. I have my own memory of what I saw. However, my father later revealed to me that there was more to the account.
The following information is from the original NUFORC report:
My memory of the event is as follows. My family showed up at my grandmother’s house for a summer visit (We lived about 6 hours away). We pulled up to greet our relatives, who stood around talking about something that seemed unusual and important. My parents explained to me at that time that the circle on the ground in front of me (in the middle of my grandmother’s yard) had recently and suddenly appeared. I asked many questions for clarification, and the information I received was that one night something heavy seems to have been set there. No one knew what but the speculation and joking was that a UFO had landed there. Part of the conversation was that there were no tire marks or any other evidence around to suggest that someone created the perfect circle. It seems like a big drum could have created the impression, but how anyone could put a huge, heavy drum there and why they would do so and then remove it made no sense. My brothers, cousins, and I all decided to play with the impression, creating games from the circle and having fun while the adults chatted in a serious manner. I would estimate that the circle’s diameter measured 10-15 feet across. And, as I recall, the indentation has smashed and broken the grass (not burned or scorched). Brown dirt was visible in the groove that had been cut into the ground. I remember the groove of the circle as being more v-shaped than flat. The depth of the groove may have been about 2-3 inches. I really can’t be certain of the exact appearance and depth of the groove, but it was deep and pronounced enough to be seen from her house, from the neighbor’s yard, and from the driveway.
Years later, while in college, I asked my father about my memory, about which he expounded. Apparently, my grandmother had been experiencing strange things a few days to a couple of weeks prior to our arrival. That was, in fact, why we came to visit her. The events had spooked her so much that she wanted company with her. My active, pragmatic, not prone to exaggeration Pennsylvania Dutch grandmother had awakened one or two nights to find herself standing and staring out the window at a light. She felt as if someone was calling her name. She’d "snap out of it" and gone back to bed. Then one night she awakened to find herself downstairs in front of her sliding glass doors looking out into the yard (at the exact spot that the circle appeared). This really alarmed her because she had no memory of coming down the steps. My grandmother was born with a problem with her hip socket that gave her a limp her whole life. Making her way down the steps was a bit of a challenge to her, requiring careful balance and use of the railings. Again, when she found herself standing at her door, she had felt that she had been staring at a bright light and that someone outside was calling her name, beckoning her to go outside.
During these events is when the circle appeared. My father believes that my grandmother had contacted someone about the circle and that a man from a local university came and collected a sample of the soil from the circular impression for testing. My grandmother passed away in 1990, and my father never knew what came of the soil testing. I don’t believe that anyone thought to take a photo of the impression, which had disappeared by the next summer when we visited again. (We kids tried to find it but couldn’t.) My family has been curious about "the circle" and what happened to my grandmother a few nights that summer for many years. I don’t know how posting my story can provide any answers or additional information, but I feel compelled to share it.
NOTE: It seems that someone from the University of Pittsburgh / Titusville originally made their way to the site. After a bit of inquiry, I was told that if this were to occur present day, that the science department at University of Pittsburgh would have conducted the collection and investigation. I believe the sample was forwarded to the University of Pittsburgh, since there had been few means to conduct research on the Titusville extension. I ask for information as to the findings, but they seemed unwilling to cooperate (no surprise). I'm going to check with Stan Gordon to see if he has an record of this account. 1973-74 was a very active period for UFO activity in Pennsylvania. Lon
Really Mysterious Pennsylvania: UFOs, Bigfoot & Other Weird Encounters Casebook One
UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record
Beyond UFOs: The Science of Consciousness & Contact with Non Human Intelligence (Volume 1)
UFOs, Area 51, and Government Informants: A Report on Government Involvement in UFO Crash Retrievals
Lon's Suggested Reading List - Books & Films / DVDs
