'Unsolved Mysteries' Premiers with Berkshires UFO Encounter
Jun 29, 2020 8:23:35 GMT -5
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jun 29, 2020 8:23:35 GMT -5
Netflix Unsolved Mysteries Will Premier with Berkshires UFO Encounter
Unsolved Mysteries, relaunched by Netflix, will premier Wednesday, July 1, and “Berkshires UFO,” included in the very first episode, will feature an out-of-this-world encounter from Labor Day (September 1) 1969.
That night Thom Reed, then age 9, and his mother, grandmother and younger brother were returning from Ashley Falls along Route 7. As they were were crossing the old covered bridge (above) spanning the Housatonic River in Sheffield, Mass., they saw a bright light rising from the water. Shortly thereafter, Reed recalled being taken from the family car to a building that resembled an airplane hangar, where he saw what he described as large, insect-like creatures. The next thing he remembered, he was back in the car, but he and the others weren’t seated in the same positions and approximately two hours had passed. On that same night, dozens of people in the Berkshires called radio stations and law enforcement departments reporting unusual lights, loud noises and saucer-shaped aircraft in the sky.
According to Reed and his brother, this wasn’t their first or last alien encounter. Three years earlier, in 1966, the two were approximately 700 yards from their home when they were directed into a spaceship resembling a “large turtle shell.” A year later, the boys were in their bedroom when the bright lights appeared and they found themselves back on the spaceship. “The stuff happens very quickly,” Reed explained. “You’re not sure if it’s 2 seconds, or 10 minutes, or 20 minutes.”
However, following the 1969 abduction, it was 40 years before Matt Reed experienced a fourth encounter in 2009. On that occasion, Matt was driving to his home in Brownsburg, Indiana, when the lights appeared and, once again, he found himself aboard a spaceship, where, he said, “everything kind of glows.” On this occasion, the aliens weren’t all the same: one was the common type, another was reptilian and a third had elephant-like skin. “You can’t make sense of anything that’s happening,” he claimed. “They put me on a table. I had something on my head and it sounded like you were hearing a radio and someone was turning the dials left and right.”
Thomas Reed is aware many do not believe his family’s story. “I know it sounds nuts,” he admitted. “We have a lot of documentation that others don’t and we have a case that went to the UN.” Robert Blechman, the family’s attorney, presented the case to the United Nations on October 2, 1992. Exactly 14 years later, Howard Reed, Thom and Matt’s father and a member of the select board in Canaan, New York, died on October 2, 2006. He had planned to write a book concerning his family’s experiences and after his death, according to Thom Reed, the CDC discovered a vial containing a deadly virus in the air-conditioning unit of the place where he lived, after which the building was condemned.
The 91-foot covered bridge, constructed in 1837, where the Reed encounter happened, was burned down by teenage criminals in 1994, but was rebuilt from the original plans in 1996. Although vehicle traffic is no longer allowed on the bridge, the setting is as bucolic as ever and pedestrians are welcome. The park area on the eastern side of the Housatonic was paid for by private donations and Thom Reed assisted in its development. Unfortunately, the UFO monument commemorating the 1969 encounter was removed by the Town of Sheffield last year, despite the fact it attracted throngs of visitors and benefited local business establishments.
“The reason we put it [the Reed UFO encounter] first is because they’re just regular people who have had amazing experiences,” said Unsolved Mysteries producer Sally Karam. “I think their story is, for many reasons, very strong.”
The new Unsolved Mysteries will feature six episodes in July and six more in October.
Sources: Tyler Hersko, IndieWire, June 23, 2020; iBerkshires.com, June 18, 2020; "Controversy over Massachusetts Town's UFO Monument," WhatLiesBeyond, May 15, 2018, and November 1, 2019; Brian Brenner, Engineering News-Record, June 26, 2018; Evan West, Indianapolis Monthly, March 7, 2014; Adam Poulisse, The Berkshire Eagle, February 18, 2013; and Tripadvisor.
