This account was written after a
meeting with "Upton Iles" on March 28th, 1997, almost exactly 15 years after the
incident occurred. UFO*BC investigators Graham Conway and David Pengilly met with Upton at
the original location, on Sea Island near the Vancouver Airport. All names used are
pseudonyms.
On a cool, crystal clear evening, in April
1982, Upton Iles, Charles Ingram and Elizabeth Henderson had settled in for a pleasant
evening on an isolated back road alongside the Fraser River, near McDonald Park in
Richmond.
Upton and Charles were sitting on the hood
of the car while Elizabeth was inside listening to the radio. The only sounds to break the
silence were river birds calling, and someone across the river talking. The time was 1:30
AM. Upton cracked open his second beer and continued his conversation with his friend.
Suddenly a blood curdling scream brought
them to full alert. Wheeling around they saw their female companion staring behind and to
her right through the window. Following her gaze they could immediately see three evenly
spaced bright lights, about two hundred feet away, and possibly 100 feet up. The lights
were very bright, hard to look at, and rapidly alternating in colour between red, green
and blue.
As they stared open-mouthed, they suddenly
saw a second set of identical lights approaching from behind the trees to the west. This
craft(?) approached the first one and came to a halt with about twenty feet separating
them. Suddenly the witnesses became aware that they were enveloped in total silence. Not a
sound was to be heard (the Oz factor?)......except for the pounding of Upton’s pulse
inside his head!
Without further warning white
"dashes" suddenly began to pass back and forth between the two objects! (Upton
Iles found this aspect so strange he was reluctant to mention it.) By this time Elizabeth
was "freaking out" inside the car.
The two young men estimated each craft to be
about 30 feet across. However, no structure could be seen behind the brilliant lights,
which, mystifyingly enough, did not project illumination around the surrounding area.
Another eye-ball popping feature of this unsought "entertainment" was the change
in the light configuration of the second object. As it came abreast of the first object
its circular "running" lights suddenly became triangular and yellow/orange in
colour. Upton interpreted this to mean that the object had rotated away from them.
As amazing as this unbelievable display was,
they decided they had seen enough! As they scrambled into the car they suddenly noticed a
third brightly illuminated craft emerging from behind the trees alongside the river.
Disturbingly, this new arrival seemed to be about twenty feet above the ground and the
viewers had a distinct impression that it intended to land!
If motivation was needed, that was it.
Partytime was over and forgotten! A mad scramble, and without any apparent difficulties,
the car accelerated down the dirt road and they all thankfully departed from McDonald
Beach. As they exited the park they saw a large great horned owl sitting on a transformer
alongside the road.
As they sped down the road heading east,
they passed a RCMP car travelling equally fast going in the opposite direction. The police
car had flashing roof lights, but minus the usual accompanying siren. It was Upton’s
opinion that the constable was about ten seconds away from getting the fright of his life.
When they arrived home they all discussed
the evening’s frightening events. They have no idea what the time was. Upton never
went to bed, he was too upset. He states that he didn’t sleep for three days.
Arriving at work the following day, his boss
Sam Goodman promptly commented upon his appearance, asking what was wrong. Trusting the
man, he told his story. Sam called the airport’s weather office, only to be told that
there had been no unusual weather conditions and nothing strange had been seen on radar
during the early hours that morning. A call was made to a National Defense representative
at the airport, whose job it was to deal with this kind of incident. When he asked Upton
as to why he didn’t invite the visitors over for a beer, the very distressed young
man hung up the phone in disgust. When they contacted the RCMP they were told that they
had no reports of lights in the sky and that there were no police cars in that area that
night!
Some Additional Notes:
1) For five years after
the event, Upton occasionally had repetitious dreams about being in a car with others
whilst being chased by a UFO. When UFO*BC first heard from Upton, fifteen years after the
described encounter, he was still as nervous as the proverbial kitten.
2) Upton developed a
fascination for UFOs and has read many books on the subject.
3) Inexplicably, in the
years following the incident, Upton developed a sensitivity to sunlight (ultra violet
rays?) and would break out in an itchy rash on his chest whenever he wore shorts and no
accompanying shirt. The rash could last for up to two months. This affliction is still
with him to this day.
4) Prior to calling our
Hotline number, Upton contacted CFB Chilliwack and spoke to a public relations person who
was very interested in his story and took down the details with the intention of
forwarding them to Ottawa (can’t help but wonder to whom?).
5) Over the years the
three friends drifted apart. Upton, although greatly traumatized by the event, feels
"blessed" to have witnessed it. Elizabeth took refuge in the Bible, and whatever
religion had to offer as a safe haven and comfort. Charles went into total denial, it just
didn’t happen. (We have an upcoming interview with Charles to obtain his
recollections of the night in question.)
6) Upton informs us
that he was a "force's brat" and quite familiar with standard aircraft.
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