'Well, the day I got my driver's license and had the oil changed in my truck.' I responded, 'There wasn't anybody in there.' He replied, 'Well, look at the picture; somebody is sitting next to me.'
In February 2001, young Zach Evert got his driver's license in Ohio. His mother, Diane Evert, was eager to document his first day as a licensed driver, so she had him pull their truck out of the back of the garage for some pictures to share with family members. Zach climbed in and backed up the pick-up truck while Diane snapped photos with her 35mm camera. She waved as he drove off to the gas station for his first oil change, never thinking much of it. About a week later, after developing the film roll, she arranged the photos for the family photo album. Zach, curious about how he looked in the truck, grabbed the pictures and immediately noticed something strange in one of them.
“He asked me, who was in the truck?” Diane recalled. “I said, What? What are you talking about? What truck? He said, 'Well, the day I got my driver's license and had the oil changed in my truck.' I responded, 'There wasn't anybody in there.' He replied, 'Well, look at the picture; somebody is sitting next to me.' I insisted, 'That's impossible. I took the pictures. I saw you back out of the garage and go down the street to the gas station by yourself; there wasn't anybody in it.' So I looked at the picture, and sure enough, somebody is sitting next to Zach in the front seat, but not on the day he went for the oil change, in the picture.
Upon closer inspection, it appeared there was indeed someone sitting next to Zach in the truck. Eric Haney and Scott Wells from the Ohio-based Munroe Falls Paranormal Society investigated the image. They visited the location, took measurements, spoke to witnesses, and examined the truck. They also had the picture analyzed by an image specialist. Ultimately, they ruled out reflections from a nearby tree, double exposure, and photo manipulation. Haney, initially skeptical, became convinced the photograph was genuine.
Believing it may be a spirit, Haney and Wells looked for records of any car accidents in that area of Ohio but found nothing significant. “The area had a couple of car accidents, but nothing seemed related or relevant to the picture,” Wells noted. Diane might have offered a clue to the identity of the passenger: “When my husband got this truck, it was used... four-wheel drive. It was perfect... an extra vehicle. The front left end of the truck was damaged. It wasn't severe, but it was damaged, indicating it hit SOMETHING.”
Curiously, everyone seems to have their own interpretation of the figure sitting beside Zach in the truck. Some of Zach's friends thought it resembled a Confederate Colonel from the Civil War, while others claimed it looked like Zach's little sister, Kara, or even Zach himself wearing a fur coat. Diane ruled this out. Eric Haney and Scott Wells believed the figure was a small child, about 11 or 12 years old.
One strange incident occurred on the night the image was taken: Zach had agreed to help a friend move, and on the way home, he narrowly avoided an accident. Diane is convinced that the figure beside Zach was a guardian angel.
The Evert photo was featured in the pilot episode of 'Mysterious Midwest,' which aired in 2009 and was titled 'Ghost Rider.'
Source: Munroe Falls Paranormal Society, Mysterious Midwest Ghost Rider (SE01-EP01) (original air-date 2009). Published on 6 Feb 2012.
NOTE: What are your thoughts on this photo? Was it a legitimate anomaly? Lon
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