Dr. Sprinkle, Black, Schnell, and others were all present for the initial session. All of those in attendance reaffirmed their good intentions of keeping the wraps on the story until the three women authorized it's release. At this time, only one of three would consent to the hypnosis, Mrs. Stafford. A silence feel across the room as Dr. Sprinkle began his methodical, professional way of easing Stafford's fear. In a slow, cautious manner, Stafford began to recall the events of her night of terror. She was able to relive her interpretation of seeing what she thought was an airplane crashing. She was not able to go any further at this first session, as tears rolled down her cheeks, and exhaustion set in. After the session, Dr. Sprinkle stated that Stafford was still in a posthypnotic state, and that she should be questioned very carefully and cautiously.
After the first hypnosis, Black continued to ask questions of Louise and Elaine. Mona moved away from the others to rest. Another interviewer began to show Stafford some drawings of aliens. The word, "alien" had not been mentioned in the case before this time, out of respect to the three, and also to not coach in any way. Mona sat and silently looked at the pictures, and then in a dramatic fashion, she proclaimed, "This looks like the light I saw...It was shaped like that head!", pointing to a specific alien.
Again, Mona sat for a time, thinking.. thinking about that night. Then she added to her previous statement, "Yes... I can see the face now, but it doesn't seem solid. It comes and goes... I mean, fades and reappears like in a fog. It's eyes are far apart and at the bottom... the chin... is like that drawing." At this time, she had remembered all she could, but that was more than enough. A major breakthrough had occurred, the time lapse barrier had been breached. There was now no doubt that an abduction had taken place!
Dr. Sprinkle was notified the next day of the revelations from Mona, and was sent the alien picture she identified. Her statements were logged, and sent along also. There would be a lapse in the investigation at this point. Several months went by without probing any deeper into the hidden facts of the case. Investigators did keep in constant touch with the three women, albeit, in a friendly fashion, careful not to push them too soon. The three were still locked in fear, their physical problems continued, and so did the weight loss. Dr. Sprinkle and Dr. Hynek, all the while, were still dealing with the problem of funds, and trying to find a solution to helping the three ladies. Also investigators were constantly being prodded for more information on the Stanford case, and as per their agreement, they refused.
While others involved in the case were still trying to find solutions for the financial shortfall, it would be investigator Black who would find a solution. After lengthy discussions with the National Enquirer, he had struck an agreement with the tabloid. The Enquirer would finance a return trip for Dr. Sprinkle to complete his regressive hypnosis, and lie-detector tests would be conducted. If the results would verify an abduction, the Enquirer would have exclusive rights to publishing the story. Also, the three women would receive compensation. Black made the move because of concern to the health of the three women, and also to accumulate facts for the benefit of UFO research groups.
There was renewed optimism with the Enquirer deal, and there was hope that the hidden facts of that night would soon be uncovered. The next hypnosis session was scheduled for the Brown Motel in Liberty, Kentucky on June 23, 1976. Newly present at this meeting was well-known UFO investigator Bob Pratt of the Enquirer. Though the reputation of the Enquirer left much to be desired, Pratt himself was regarded as an honest, sincere man. Pratt had earlier attempted to get details of the Stanford case, but was denied access because of the earlier agreement of a news blackout. The first order of business on this day would be the lie-detector testing. A detective for the Lexington Police Department, James Young was hired to head the polygraph part of the session. Recognized as an expert in the field, Young began his testing of the three women, all done privately for each of the three.
Young was actually a great choice for the sessions, because he was a skeptic as far as UFO stories went. The tests themselves were lengthy, leaving no room for anything but a conclusive result, whether good or bad. After the tests were all completed, Young emerged from the room with an expression of utter amazement. All three of the women had "breezed through" their tests without a hint of deception. To his credit, Young was man enough to admit that his earlier prejudices were completely erased after the testing of the three women. Next would come Dr. Sprinkle's hypnotic session.
Sprinkle would first put Mrs. Smith under the evening of the lie-detector testing. The next day, all three would undergo regression, with each woman having two sessions. During the regressions, the faces of the three women showed the emotional turmoil they were enduring. The details of what occurred on that harrowing night came slowly..hauntingly..painfully. Some of the most fearful moments of their abduction were displayed by painful body contortions and movements. All of the details revealed in this article were observed by an eyewitness of the entire procedure, whose credibility is beyond question.
All of the women were taken aboard some type of craft, and subjected to physical examinations, sometimes harsh in nature, sometimes tortuous. There was not any sexual molestation during the abduction, but they were restrained in embarrassing, humiliating positions. Mrs. Smith would reveal that her exam took place on a table, Mrs. Thomas' was inside of a capsule with an unusual looking noose-like device around her neck, which tightened painfully if she tried to speak. Mrs. Stafford's exam was in a chair-like device. All of the abductees recalled having their bodies scanned, and instruments used which exerted pressure on their limbs. Mrs. Thomas recalled a tube with a bullet-like tip on it, which probed her chest, and she also recalled a warm liquid being applied to her face and body. Mrs. Stafford also recalled the warm liquid.
The sessions brought out other details as well. The characteristics of the alien forms themselves seemed to be vague, and often indescribable. All three related "shadowy figures," which floated or glided by them. They also recalled the frightening "one eye" or "two eyes," which also hovered over them. Mrs. Stafford made an unusual statement in describing an eye exam; "I could see a light at the end of a tunnel, which looked like a volcano with a jagged edge," at this point, she described great pain in her eyes, "...Just like they’ve been pulled out." Mona recalled a single bright purple eye that radiated lightning-like rays.
Elaine also joined the other two in describing the strange events. She remembered "two-eyes" from a round head in a deep darkness. One eye, she said, was a "beautiful blue," encircled by a blue membranous lid, like a turtle’s, and the other eye appeared dark. Louise saw several different forms of beings during her ordeal,but she was so frightened that she closed her eyes and didn't look at them. However, some months later, she described her vision of the humanoids in similar fashion to her two friends; adding that their hands looked like jagged wing tips. It would be Elaine who recalled the most about their captors, at one point stating, "There were several small figures about 4 feet tall."
One fact that all three agreed on was that the humanoids communicated with them by telepathy. Not once was an entity mentioned to have any type of mouth. Some interesting facts about the craft itself were revealed by Mona Stafford, when asked to elaborate on her description of the tunnel or volcano. She would now add to previous information that she was looking through a tunnel, with the room lit up brightly. She could see a square table with a helpless woman on it, surrounded by small figures clad in white. The small beings were closely examining the poor woman. In her own words, "I’m not sure if the person was Elaine, or Lou, or maybe even me!"
After all of the revelations of the three women, there remained no doubt that something very extraordinary happened on the night of Mona's birthday. Several profound facts were accepted; 1) the three women had encountered a flying craft of unknown origin. 2) they had been abducted by beings unknown. In all cases, no matter how believable, it always helps if other witnesses come forward. This case also had other observers of the UFO that night, independent of Stafford, Smith, and Thomas. These sightings occurred in Casey and Lincoln counties, Kentucky.
Within a couple of hundred yards of the abduction, one couple watched from the window of their home a "large, luminous object," which passed over the Stanford area. This occurred about 11:30 P.M. The couple wanted to remain anonymous. Other observers reported also, describing a ring of "reddish orange" lights around a disc-shaped flying object. Two teenagers, out for a joy ride, stated that they chased a low-flying UFO after it had hovered over the Angel Manufacturing Plant in Stanford. They chased the strange object all the way to Danville, and there they reported the object to Police.
Another very significant report came from the owner of the property where the three women's abduction took place. The farmer stated that "down the road" from his house, he witnessed an unusually low-flying object which shot a white beam of light to the ground. Could this have been the precise time of the abduction itself? Although over 25 years have elapsed since the Stanford case, there has been not one negative comment on the details presented by Mona Stafford, Louise Smith, or Elaine Thomas. The Stanford, Kentucky abduction is still considered one of the best documented abduction cases.
