Wytheville UFO's 25 Years Later

1987 UFO photo by Danny Gordon

It's been a long time since I thought about the UFO sightings in Wytheville.  They happened over a six month period starting back in 1987.  At the time I had been the news anchor at WSLS for just a few months, but I also enjoyed reporting from the field.

So when the call came in to the newsroom that people were seeing something in the sky over Wytheville -- and that some of the witnesses were credible lawmen -- off I went.

Danny Gordon in early 1990's

The story had, as we say in the news business, "legs."  Which means it continued from day to day with new developments and angles.  It died down after a while, and then came back to life a few years later when NBC's Unsolved Mysteries ran a lengthy segment in the early 90's.

Another of Gordon's images

That was the last I thought of it, until a documentary producer named Sean Kotz e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago asking if I would agree to be interviewed.  His company is Horsearcher Productions, and he wanted my media perspective on the sightings.  What was it like to cover a UFO sighting?  How did we approach the story?  Were we looking for answers as to what people were seeing, or were the people themselves the story?

I agreed to the interview and then asked Sean if he would allow me to do a segment on him and his project.  I wanted to know why he was revisiting the story.  What if anything had been learned in 25 years?  Did people still believe they had seen something?  What impact did the sightings have on people's lives?  What did he plan to talk about for the entire length of a documentary?

 So, in a rare piece of media history, Sean interviewed me on camera, and then I turned around and interviewed him.

Sean and I interviewing in my study.

He agree to be interviewed for John Carlin's Virginia. So, in a rare piece of media history, Sean interviewed me on camera, and then I turned around and interviewed him.  It's certainly a first in my career.

Sean then sent me this clip he is using to raise money for his documentary.  It shows Wytheville radio newsman Danny Gordon -- the epicenter of the original story talking about what he remembers and how it impacted his life from people breaking into his home, to a nervous breakdown.

Here is a link to his fundraising page:  http://www.indiegogo.com/strangecountry  And if you are wondering what he's uncovered so far, you might want to check this out.
http://www.horsearcherproductions.com/wythevilleufo.html

Sean hopes to have the documentary ready by the actual anniversary date in early October.  He will make it available on DVDs, and he's hoping to get some notice at the fall's film festivals.

As to what he's found about the UFO's and the impact some 25 years later...  Some of that will be shown on my segment on the FOX 21/27 10 p.m. News.  The rest he's holding close to the vest. to be revealed in his documentary.

Then and now, the Wytheville UFO's are a fascinating story.