Budd Hopkins - Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

Copyright 1996 by Budd Hopkins

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

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ISBN: 0-671-56915-5

First Pocket Books hardcover printing September 1996

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Linda Cortile is, of course, the heroine of this piece, and her determination to make the truth known puts all of us deeply in her debt. She, her husband, Steve, and their two sons, Steven and John, have shown uncommon bravery throughout an extraordinarily trying time. But there are so many others whose openness of heart has allowed this story to be told (though many are pseudonyms): Janet Kimball, who sent me her drawings along with her vivid recollections of the events of November 30, 1989; Erica, who generously shared with me her experiences of that evening; and Cathy Turner, whose warm presence and feisty account lent so much credibility to these incredible events. And there is Marilyn, who attendedinvoluntarilyone of the most unusual conferences one can imagine, and Dr. Lisa Bayer, who persuaded Linda to be x-rayed. There are so many whose testimony added to the weight of evidence: Carmela, Francesca, Joseph, Peter, and Brian and his family, among others.

Special thanks are also due to Robert Bigelow, John Mack, Gibbs Williams, Charles Strozier, Christine Morciglio, Sal Amendola, and Lou Anne Columbo for their unique contributions, as well as to those patient friends who gave my manuscript attentive readings. First among them is David Jacobs, my compatriot and research colleague for many years, to whom I owe so much. Peter Robbins, Jerome Clark, Richard Hall, and Jean-Luc Rivera have given insightful criticism at various stages of this project, as have Frank Turner, Martin Jackson, and Sideo Fromboluti.

My agent Phyllis Wender's faith in my work in this strange field has sustained me through a decade and a half, and for this I owe her a great debt. Dona Chernoff, my editor, has endured my missed deadlines with tolerance and good humor, while offering invaluable editorial assistance.

A very unique kind of thanks must be offered, finally, to the anonymous Richard" whose letters, drawings, and desire to make these events public have from the beginning fueled the engine that drove the investigation. I also extend my gratitude to "the third man" for his decision to enlist me in bringing to light the events of November 30, 1989. It is my profound hope that he will now come forward and use his voice to help make the truth of that night known to the world.

Budd Hopkins New York City May 14, 1996

PART ONE

• PART TWO

• PART THREE

• PART FOUR

• PART FIVE

• PART SIX

• PART SEVEN

The story you are about to read, though true, is virtually unthinkable. In our familiar, everyday world it cannot have happened. Yet it did.

Over the past five years I have interviewed and communicated with nearly a score of individuals involved in this New York City UFO abduction case. After conducting many hypnotic regressions and studying the various types of physical evidence, I have come to a firm conclusion: This abduction event so drastically alters our knowledge of the alien incursion in our world that it is easily the most important in recorded history. No previous case has had such a profound effect on so many lives, and none has ever been observed by so many independent witnesses. Heretofore, UFO abductions have been conducted covertly, witnessed only by the participants. And yet in this one historical exception, Linda Cortile was floated out of her twelfth-floor window at roughly three a.m. in full view of anyone awake and near her lower Manhattan apartment. Among the many stunned observers was a political figure of international significance, whose presence was the likely reason for this demonstration of alien capability.

Opinion polls have consistently shown that a majority of the population accepts the physical reality of UFOsthere are too many photographs, eyewitness accounts, and radar returns to deny ityet no one seems ready to face the implications of such a fact. Typically we say, "I believe intelligent life exists out there, but I'm not sure they've made contact with us." This ambivalent attitude has become less supportable in the past three decades as reports of the systematic abduction of humans by UFO occupants have appeared more frequently in the mainstream media. Supported by a range of compelling physical evidence, many highly credible people have presented similarly detailed accounts of being paralyzed and floated aboard hovering UFOs for extensive physical procedures in an austere laboratory environment. An all-too-human response I hear virtually every day underscores the problem: "I know there's plenty of reason to accept these accounts, but the subject is so unsettling that I really don't want to think about it."

Nor do I. Nor do the thousands of people who have undergone such experiences. No one wants these things to be true, most especially Linda Cortile and the others involved to one extent or another in the events of November 30, 1989.

Investigation of her case has led to many disturbing new insights about the depth of alien involvement in human life. In one of these, we have learned that specific pairs of children have been repeatedly abducted over the years and brought together periodically in the same strange environment. The purpose, apparently, is to allow the UFO occupants to study systematically the way human beings form friendships and, eventually, sexual relationships.

None of the skeptics' psychological "explanations" and reassuring dismissals of the abduction phenomenon is relevant to this case not in the face of so many independent eyewitnesses. Instead, we are left here with only two options: either the events of November 30, 1989, took place as the many participants contend, or this is an intricate, cold-blooded hoax perpetrated by a large group of individualsa conspiracy theory for which there is not a shred of evidence. In the following pages one will find the information necessary to decide the issue. The final judgment is yours to make.

November 30, 1989

Outwardly the envelope was unremarkable, but the letter inside drove a spike straight through the heart of reason. It was postmarked February 1, 1991, and addressed to my home. The envelope had been marked "Personal and Important," though inscriptions such as this are not at all unusual in my daily mail; as an investigator of reports concerning unidentified flying objects, I have received literally thousands of "personal and important" letters from witnesses and participants in these encounters. But, as I soon realized, none had ever conveyed news like this: