An extremely haunting UFO sighting which has well stood the test of time was the extraordinary event which took place in the Piney Woods of Texas. On the chilly night of December 29.1980, two women and one child encountered a craft of extra-terrestrial origin, and all three suffered not only emotional trauma, but severe physical injury as well. A drive through the Piney Woods of Texas is a lonely, somewhat spooky one to begin with, but on this particular night, a routine drive turned into a life changing event for these three people.
Betty Cash was driving through the woods traveling from New Chaney to Dayton. Riding with her was her friend, Vickie Landrum, and Vickie's grandson, Colby. The three noticed a light in the distance, and in a few short minutes this light became a glowing object, slowly crossing the tops of the pine trees. As they proceeded along their way, their initial thought was that the object was an airplane or helicopter from one of the airfields not too distant from their location. Suddenly, ahead of them they saw an immense diamond-shaped craft, which was hovering over the road ahead of them! At regular, fast intervals, the object would shoot down a stream of reddish-orange flames. They could also hear a constant beeping sound. Betty came to a quick stop to keep from running under the craft.
The car's heater had been running to kill the frosty air of the night, but now the inside of her vehicle was so hot she had to turn off her heater, and leave the car, along with Vickie and Colby. Now outside of the vehicle, they could hear a steady roaring sound coming from the frightening sight ahead of them. Young Colby became so afraid that his grandmother took him back into the car to comfort him. Betty stayed outside. In some strange way, she was fascinated with the unbelievable vision. As she stood watching the craft, suddenly the sky was full of helicopters. Betty assumed that they were from Tomball Airfield, northwest of Houston, or Ellington Air Force Base, south of Houston. The eerie object now began to lift into the air, and proceed to the southwest, the helicopters in pursuit.
As Betty returned to her car, the door handle was so hot she could hardly open the front door. Her hand was burned getting inside. She immediately turned on her air conditioner to cool off the inside of the vehicle. Making a fast trip home, all three of the witnesses of this event were extremely sick. Betty's head and neck were blistered, and soon her eyes were swollen shut. She was also terribly nauseated. After a couple of miserable days at home, she checked into a hospital where she was treated as a burn victim, remaining for 15 days. Colby and his grandmother also suffered similar symptoms. Colby had problems with his eyes, and Vickie was losing her hair, and her scalp was numb and painful. All three of the victims were treated for radiation poisoning, and their condition was listed by Doctors as life-threatening. Before long, skin sores developed, weight loss began, and skin cancer was diagnosed.
There would be several other witnesses to the strange craft of that night, as it slowly made it's way along Highway 1485 through the woods. The local air bases were questioned, but would not admit to sending any helicopters out that night. The black top road was badly damaged by the emissions from the craft that night, but it was very quickly repaired. Investigators were at a loss to explain the events of that night, except to say that Betty, Vickie, and Colby had encountered a craft from another world, or an experimental government craft. The three unwilling participants in this event sued the U.S. Government for medical damages, but during a congressional hearing, the Department of the Army Inspector General denied any military involvement in the case, which remains unexplained to this day.
