MUFONET-BBS Network - Mutual UFO Network
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January 27, 1989
American-Statesman
Austin, Texas

SCIENCE AND THE UNKNOWN


Private citizens ˜who ˜have ˜reported ˜UFO ˜sightings ˜to ˜government
officials sometimes complain of secrecy, frustration and laughter.

Floyd Petri ˜founded ˜the Center for ˜Instrumented ˜UFO ˜Research ˜in
Bastrop in part to circumvent such bureaucratic hassles.

"Our ˜purpose is to confirm the existence or nonexistence of the ˜UFO
by scientific means," said Petri, a retired police chief.

"Before organizations such as this existed, an individual was nothing
more than a UFO buff or a witness. Often, after people made a report to
the ˜authorities, ˜˜that was the last they heard of it. ˜˜Any ˜physical
evidence they offered went up in smoke."

Petri ˜said ˜the ˜10-year-old center is ˜accumulating ˜equipment ˜and
personnel to set up a monitoring station and a field unit, ˜probably in
a van. Both will be equipped with devices such as radar, mangetometers,
cameras, ˜video equipment, radiation and sound detection equipment, and
chart recorders.

"There are many Americans who are funding this kind of research right
out ˜of their own pockets," ˜he said. ˜"Just like there are people ˜who
spend thousands of dollars a year fishing. This is my hobby. This is
where my money goes. There also have been donations and benefactors
interested in our research."

The scientific instrumentation -- much of which the center owns --
sounds impressive. But some of the most fruitful research -- retrieving
government documents pertaining to UFOs --forces the private UFO
investigator to use simpler but equally powerful tools such as
typewriters and the mail.

"The Freedom of Information Act is one of the nicest things that ever
happened to us," Petri said. "There is a world of information in the
hands of the government and individuals. If it was gathered, studied
and disseminated properly, the information would shed some light on the
UFO enigma. Many groups are trying to do that now."

Petri's organization is interested in investigating suspected landing
sites and trace materials from all kinds of encounters -- from cattle
mutilations to indentations thought to be made by saucer landing pods.
And the center is involved in the computer enhancement of photos
showing UFOs to determine their validity.

UFO abduction cases also draw the center's attention if there's
evidence in addition to an abductee's account.

Petri also serves as state section director of Bastrop and Travis
Counties for the Mutual UFO Network.

The center and MUFON work together to train UFO investigators,
discuss cases and plan field trips for investigations. Joint meetings
are under the acronym PULSE --Project UFO Landings, Sightings and
Encounters -- so the two organizations can maintain separate
identities.

"The goals are to share information and ferret out bad, distorted
information," Petri said. "So the organizations don't mind
communicating."

Ten members are training to be field investigators. Three have been
trained. Most are professional people with skills such as photography,
computers, legal investigation and medicine.

Membership is by invitation. The center seeks people with
professional expertise that could be of use in UFO investigations.
Though it costs nothing to join, members must subscribe to the MUFON
UFO Journal.

"We're not here to make converts but to collect evidence," Petri said.

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