40 years and the Cash-Landrum UFO Case

 

The 1980 Texas Piney Woods UFO incident is one of best known, thoroughly documented cases in UFO history. Much of the enduring appeal of this story is due to the investigation of it led by John F. Schuessler, then deputy director of MUFON, but the other reason is the dramatic story itself and the apparent credibility and sincerity of the witnesses. 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the case, and this provides links to research, articles, and documents on the legendary Cash-Landrum UFO story.

 On December 29, 1980, friends Betty Cash (51), Vickie Landrum (57) and Vickie's grandson Colby (one month shy of 7) had been out for the evening. Betty was originally from Alabama, Vickie from Mississippi, and both had been living in Dayton, Texas, for many years. Betty had owned a truck stop cafe where Vickie was employed as a waitress. Colby lived with Vickie and she was his legal guardian. Although Betty had undergone heart surgery in 1977, all three were reported to be in good health at the time. 

For anyone unfamiliar with the case, Vickie’s call to report the UFO incident is a good place to start. 

Transcript at: Vickie Landrum's Phone Call to Report a UFO Encounter

Vickie and Betty eventually connected with UFO researchers and the media, but they got no real help or answers. In late July 1981, Senator Lloyd Bentsen replied by letter to Betty, advising her to contact Bergstrom Air Force Base (near Austin, TX) to make an official report and file a damage claim form. The three witnesses gave statements to AF officials during a lengthy interview. It was recorded and later transcribed, and it provides us with the closest thing we have to the witnesses giving their story in court.

From their own lips: Betty, Colby & Vickie tell their story

While they were in Austin, Vickie visited the office of state representative - Larry Browder, which led to an investigation of the UFO sighting in the fall of 1981 by the Texas Department of Health’s Bureau of Radiation Control. It was the first official investigation of the case, and the results were ignored by UFO investigators since they were unfavorable. 

The Cash-Landrum Incident: The Suppressed Case Files

Myths, Mistakes, Rumors, and Legends

In the absence of many solid facts, rumors and speculation flourished, and some of the stories took a life of their own. Here’s articles on some of the myths and misinformation, and how they were disproven. 

• The allegations that a stretch of road on FM 1485 was burned and secretly removed:

Cash-Landrum UFO Case: The Legend of the Scorched Road

•  Locating a CH-47 Pilot from the UFO mission:

Exonerating the Helicopter Pilot

•  The Helicopter SNAFU:

Cover-Up: 100 helicopters- Robert Grey airfield, came in, for effect

• The witnesses’ testimony was overwritten by UFO investigators:

The Cash-Landrum UFO: The True Picture

Despite all the exaggerations and distortions, most people familiar with the case think that there's still something genuine at the story's core.   

Where the Case Stands Today

The rumors, myths, and mistakes are piled high, and the problems with the case seem insurmountable. While the UFO investigation was flawed, it does not necessarily reflect on the credibility of the witnesses. Whatever happened, the story transmuted into legend long ago. All that has surfaced in the 40 years since amounts to stories. Even so, the case remains an enduring mystery, and there are lessons to be learned from studying it.

Since 2012, Blue Blurry Lines has been gathering documentation on the Cash-Landrum case, and in 2017, published files previously unseen from the original investigation. Readers can see for themselves the differences between the information that was gathered, and the story that was spun around it.

The Original Cash-Landrum Case File, 3/4/81: Transcript & Analysis

There's much more to the case than the original report, however. For the complete set of documents on the events, investigation and aftermath, see:

The Cash-Landrum UFO Case Document Collection

Flying Saucer Swindlers: Four Convictions

 

Hoaxing UFOs is not a crime. 

Bob Considine, from "The Disgraceful Flying Saucer Hoax!", Cosmopolitan magazine, January, 1951:

"However plain the hoax, the Air Force often feels that it must take samples of the 'wreckage' for study in its Wright Field laboratories... And nothing can be done about such frauds.  A man who pilfers a three-cent stamp from the Post Office Department can be fined and sent to a Federal prison.  One who turns in a false alarm that routs out the local fire department on a Halloween night can also be jailed, as can a man who writes a check for a dollar when he has no bank funds to cover it. Yet the most callous and cynical saucer­hoaxers will continue to go scot free, with a cackle of delight, until a penal act is created to check such offenses."

Unless the act involves something like public endangerment or filing a false police report, it’s not a matter for the law. There have been some notable exceptions, and they all involved money.

The Saucers That Time Forgot is a project by Curt Collins and Claude Falkstorm that looks at little-known aspects of UFO history. The specific focus is on events from the first twenty years of the era that shaped our knowledge, beliefs, and myths about aerial phenomena and extraterrestrial life. The STTF series, “Flying Saucer Swindlers,” examines the incredibly rare instances where UFO-related hoaxes or fraud resulted in arrest and convictions. Here are links to the four major cases:

Silas Newton and the UFO Crash

Harold J. Berney: The FBI's Flying Saucer Fugitive

Reinhold O. Schmidt: The Trial of a UFO Gold Digger

The Life and Legend of Otis T. Carr

There's a rich history to the UFO subject, and like the rest of the human experience, it's rife with frauds and counterfeits. Studying the past can prepare us to avoid the old pitfalls. In this way, we can make progress, entirely new mistakes.  

UAP Task Force: The Pentagon Responds to Questions

UAPTF: Pentagon Responds to Questions 

by Roger Glassel of UFO-Aktuellt

In a previous email sent to me back in May, 2020, the Pentagon stated that there was already a interagency team/task force under the cognizance of the OUSD(I) that was analyzing sighting reports, and as most of the reports were from Navy pilots, the Navy did much of the effort. In Pentagon's recent press release it is stated that the UAPTF, established on August 4, 2020, under the oversight of the OUSD(I) and lead by the Navy. This contributed to some confusion, and I contacted Susan Gough and Joseph Gradisher to comment on the contradiction. Here are their answers.

September 2, 2020

Re: Questions about UAPTF - Roger Glassel

Hi, Roger, sorry for the delay. Here are our responses to your questions, including your latest.

1) What is the difference between the newly established UAP Task Force and the previous running task force investigating Unidentified Aerial Phenomena?

Since the majority of recent reporting about UAP observations have come from naval aviators, since approximately 2018, the Department of the Navy has been leading assessments of UAP incursion into DOD training ranges and designated airspace.  Over the last year, DOD undertook efforts to formalize the good work done by the Navy for DOD.  This effort was an informal task force that I referenced to you earlier.  Deputy Secretary Norquist approved the formal establishment of the UAPTF on Aug. 4, 2020.

2) Why did the OSD/OUSD decide to establish a new UAP Task Force superseding the previous task force investigating Unidentified Aerial Phenomena?

The task force was established to meet congressional guidance, including the report directed by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.  Over the last year, DOD undertook efforts to formalize the good work done by the Navy for DOD in leading assessments of UAP incursions into DOD training ranges and designated airspace.  Deputy Secretary Norquist approved the establishment of the UAPTF on Aug. 4, 2020.

3) As the OUSD(I) was also the cognizant authority for the previous UAP interagency task force, was this the task force that former OUSD(I) employee Mr. Luis Elizondo was providing coordination and professional connections/liaison for?

No.  Luis Elizondo departed DOD in 2017. 

4) What was the name of the previous Task Force investigating Unidentified Aerial Phenomena?

There was no previous formal task force.

5) Will the newly established UAP Task Force look into other aspects of the nature and origins of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or will the UAPTF just look at the aspect of UAP being a potential threat to U.S. national security? 

The Department of Defense established the UAPTF to improve its understanding of, and gain insight into, the nature and origins of UAP incursions into our training ranges and designated airspace.  The mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalog UAP incursions that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security. 

6) Will the public be informed about any findings from the UAPTF of the nature and/or origins of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena?

Thorough examinations of any incursion into our training ranges or designated airspace often involves assessments from across the department, and, as appropriate, consultation with other U.S. government departments and agencies. To maintain operations security and to avoid disclosing information that may be useful to our adversaries, DOD does not discuss publicly the details of either the observations or the examination of reported incursions into our training ranges or designated airspace, including those incursions initially designated as UAP.

7) If an observer initially characterize an observation as unidentified aerial phenomena, that he or she cannot immediately identify, and the observation cannot later be explained after an analysis by the UAPTF, or any other component, what will such observation be categorized as?

Unidentified

Regards,

Sue Gough

Department of Defense Spokesperson