June 19, 1997: Open Lines - Phoenix Lights
UFO investigator Bill Hamilton describes the March 13th sightings in detail, noting at least four separate events including a massive V-shaped object witnessed by thousands. Councilwoman Frances Barwood, who faced political retaliation for simply requesting an investigation, confirms reports of unusual FBI presence in Phoenix and military convoys moving toward the city. Both guests express bewilderment at the governor's abrupt reversal.
Richard C. Hoagland returns to address how his predictions from just 24 hours earlier appear to be unfolding, connecting the Phoenix events to NASA's Mars mission timeline. Whitley Strieber then joins to discuss media orchestration, the upcoming Air Force Roswell explanation involving German lifting bodies, and the broader implications of coordinated national coverage appearing months after the original sighting.
Key Moments
Bell reads the Symington chronology: 12:45 PM investigation, 5 PM hoax: Bell opens the program by laying out the day's chronology in Phoenix: at 12:45 PM Governor Fife Symington announces a full Department of Public Safety investigation of the March 13 Phoenix Lights with a dead-serious demeanor, returns to federal court for his fraud trial at 1 PM, then at 5 PM calls an emergency press conference declaring the whole thing a joke.
Bill Hamilton describes Symington's alien-suit press conference: Investigator Bill Hamilton walks Bell through what he saw on the Channel 15 newscast: the governor first announces a real DPS investigation 'to find out if it was a UFO,' then hours later the same channel cuts to the 5 PM press conference where Symington's chief of staff is paraded out in an alien costume and the whole thing is declared a hoax.
Reports of a 100-vehicle Army convoy from Fort Huachuca to Phoenix: Bell reads a circulating report that on the dawn of Wednesday, May 28, a U.S. Army convoy of more than 100 trucks and vehicles left Fort Huachuca for Phoenix on a 'routine communications' mission, and asks Hamilton if he's heard the same. Hamilton confirms he's seen the report, is checking it, and notes Frances Barwood has the same document.
Barwood watches the alien-costume reveal in real time: Barwood describes sitting down to dinner with the TV on, hearing the live press conference promise a major UFO investigation breakthrough, then watching her husband turn around and groan as Symington's staffer walks out dressed as an alien, while constituents who'd just called her with excitement begin calling back furious.
Frances Barwood confirms FBI and KGB reports in Phoenix: Phoenix City Councilwoman Frances Barwood tells Bell live on air that she has both seen and heard the reports of unusual numbers of FBI personnel in Phoenix, and adds that the same reports name KGB agents in town as well, with everyone she's talking to seemingly anticipating something within the month.