William Steinman's Aztec "Investigation" Part II - The "Witnesses"

Now that we have established how Steinman discovered the Aztec "crash site" let us take a look at how he found his "witnesses" back in 1982, and what they had to say [again, all references are to UFO Crash at Aztec]

First up was "Mr. W.M." who was a Deputy Sheriff in Aztec in 1948. Steinman's new friends the Meltons suggested that he might know something. According to Steinman:

"I went up and confronted Mr. W.M. at his farm, on 8 July 1982. There, I introduced myself and immediately asked the question: 'What can you tell me concerning the crash and recovery of a flying disc by the U.S. Military out in Hart Canyon in 1948?' W.M. got down off his tractor and straightening himself up, stated, very belligerently, 'Nothing happened out in hart Canyon in 1948!! Why do you people from so far away keep asking about that flying saucer crash?' I stated, 'We just want to get to the bottom of the story, one way or another. The public must know the truth.' He snapped back, 'I don't know anything about it.' About that time his wife came over and made the statement, 'W, remember, we were gone at that time, maybe that's why we don't know anything about it.' I saw that W.M. was pretty upset, and thanked him for his trouble." [p. 256, emphasis added]

Steinman then goes on to speculate about whether W.M. had actually seen anything, and was covering up. "Did he see something that resulted in his having to leave at that time - or did something happen nearby while he was gone that he may have come into knowledge of which had the same effect? Could it be that W.M. heard rumours of the incident and asked too many questions about it at the time. Was he told by somebody in no uncertain terms to mind his own business... W.M. refused to discuss any part of this, nor would he give any good reason." [p. 256 - 257]

Here we see Steinman demonstrating his investigatory and interview skills - he wanders onto a man's property without calling first, walks out into the field where the guy is on his tractor working, and "confronts" him with (leading) questions about a crashed flying saucer! And Steinman wondered why W.M. was upset?? He's lucky he wasn't shot!

How about this for "speculation?" W.M. didn't see a thing, or hear about anything, just as he said.

Undeterred, Steinman moved on to his next target - "Mr. H.D." an 83 year old man who, in 1948, had owned the land on which the flying saucer allegedly crashed. Here's Steinman's account of that "interview":

"I confronted H.D. with questions pertaining to the alleged incident. He snapped back in a very upset voice, 'I don't know anything about what you are talking about - now leave me alone!!' I sensed a tenseness and a nervousness in his voice, almost as if he were at one time coerced and coached into answering in that way." [p. 257]

Tense and nervous? An 83 year old man has some "confrontational" UFO believer wander on to his property with questions about a crashed flying saucer, and we should be surprised that he was "tense and nervous?" I'm surprised Steinman's sudden appearance didn't cause a heart attack!

Still, unable to take a simple "no" at face value, Steinman continued to harass H.D. over the next 18 months, peppering him with several letters asking for the "truth." Not surprisingly, H.D. didn't answer any of them, but, finally, his daughter-in-law did. She wrote, in no uncertain terms, "My father-in-law is tired of receiving letters from you. He was not told to shut up by the Army. He is old, almost blind, and doesn't want to be bothered about that subject any more!!" [p.257]

And to think that the military gets accused of harassing and threatening witnesses?

And yet, Steinman's conclusion was, "H.D. proved by his very actions and responses, that he had had a very frightening experience with the military over the incident, and he wanted no more of it."

Huh?

Alas, the MIB / MJ-12 / AFOSI / CIA types have nothing on William Steinman, a UFO BELIEVER, par excellence, if ever there was one.

Steinman ran into others who stated that they had heard rumours, which no-one disputes were circulating throughout the area in the late 1940s, thanks to Silas Newton et al. One old-timer he came across, "F.G." when asked about the alleged recovery, simply "grinned and started talking about the weather," no doubt because he was amused by Steinman. I know I am, even today, reading about his "investigation."

Not having any luck in and around Aztec, Steinman headed off to nearby Blanco and Bloomfield in hopes of finding someone - anyone - who would corroborate the Aztec story.

Guess what? He finally found his "witness." At which point his "investigation" gets even more ridiculous (yes, it is possible).

To be continued...

Paul Kimball