Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Retired Meteorologist Still Scans Skies For Ufos

Retired Meteorologist Still Scans Skies For Ufos
OCEAN SHORES, Wash. (AP) - William Puckett's work has him going more than he ever did when he was a full-time employee. It helps him put the pieces of the puzzle together.

As a UFO investigator, Puckett acknowledges or debunks stories of unidentified flying objects in the sky, landing on the ground and hovering over homes through his Web site www.ufosnw.com.

Along the way, the former National Weather Service and Enviromental Protection Agency meteorologist believes he and others are closer to proving that we aren't the only ones living in this universe.

"My intent behind this - why I do this - is for my own scientific curiosity," said the Ocean Shores resident. "I want to stimulate the awareness of this phenomena to the public. It isn't all crackpots and nutcases, although some of them are. I believe that we are not alone."

Puckett's work as a UFO investigator expanded in 2004 when he began his site - UFOs Northwest - during his final years as an EPA weather forecaster in Bellevue. However, his interest in the subject began in the early days of UFO sightings and hysteria.

"I grew up in the 1950s and UFOs were on the national news," said the Peerless, Mont., native, who moved to Ocean Shores last summer. "In those days, everyone believed they were Russian. Later, we learned that they had UFO cases and the objects weren't their's either. If they weren't from the U.S. or from Russia or from escaped Nazi scientists, what were they?"

Movies such as "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and other early science fiction stories further fueled his imagination. His interest intensified in the 1970s when the U.S. government released the declassified Air Force Project Blue Book. In it, the Air Force studied UFO cases between 1947-69 and had more than 800 unidentified cases.

"That was good, because you only need one," added Puckett. "I realized that I'm a scientist and I can study this, too. That was the beginning."

On the site, people from around the country send Puckett their sightings, which he breaks down to either prove that it is "unexplained or unknown" or a hoax. It is an extensive site filled with sightings, audio and video clips, news articles on sightings, abduction and close encounter cases and historical pieces.

"It takes a lot of work; I don't charge anyone for their cases and the only money I get from it is from ads that help pay for the site," Puckett said.

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