Tad Jones' UFO

Tad Jones, with sketch. Charleston Daily Mail 20 January 1967
Photo by Ray Wheeler

January 19, 1967 started off as a typical Thursday morning for Tad Jones, an appliance store owner from Dunbar, West Virginia. He was traveling on Interstate 64 in his truck, headed to work. He was in the westbound lanes about six miles west from Charleston, and about one mile east of the Institute exit when something caught his eye. Although it was 9:05 am, there were no other cars on the fairly new interstate road. So, when he saw a light up ahead, he assumed it was some sort of road crew vehicle. 

As he got closer, he realized that what he was seeing was definitely not part of the WV DOH fleet. In fact, it wasn't even of this earth!

Right in the middle of the interstate, completely blocking the westbound lanes, was an aluminum-colored spherical craft. The craft was about 20 feet in diameter, and was hovering about 3-4 feet in the air. Some accounts claim that Jones got out of his truck and approached the craft, while others say that Jones stayed in his vehicle. Either way, he observed the object for about a minute. During that time, he noticed there was a single 'window,' but did not see any creatures or movement through it.A 'seam' down the center of the craft seemed to suggest that it was made of more than one piece of aluminum, perhaps, welded together. Two antennae stuck out of the top.  He noted that the craft was attached to four legs that had caster-like wheels at their ends, and that there was a propeller-like apparatus sticking out of the bottom of the sphere.  This propeller made no noise, and gave off no exhaust. At first, it was spinning slowly, then continued to increase in speed until the craft rose straight up, again with no noise or exhaust. Jones watched it ascend into the sky for another 60-90 seconds before it completely disappeared from view. 

Jones then traveled on to work, but would report what he had seen to nearby Guthrie Air Force Station. It would only be a matter of time before the local newspapers picked up the story and ran with it. 

But, Jones' strange close encounter would attract the attention of more than just local media. J. (James) Ralph Jarrett, a local UFO research working at nearby Union Carbide, reached out to Jones because he had had a similar UFO sighting a week or so before. The case would also attract the attention of researcher John Keel, who was in the area investigating the Mothman sightings and accompanying UFO flap in Pt. Pleasant, about an hour away. 

In fact, some interesting details about the Jones case that were left out of initial newspaper reports were discussed in John Keel's book, The Mothman Prophesies. 

Not long after Jones reported the sighting, he'd receive two notes. The first handwritten note was slipped under the door of his home sometime in the early morning hours. It read, "We know what you have seen and we know that you have talked. You better keep your mouth shut."  Later, a second note would show up in a similar manner. This one was written on a piece of torn cardboard with burned edges. It read, "There won't be another warning."

The Cumberland News, 20 January 1967

Despite being rightfully concerned about these threatening letters, Jones continued to work with both Jarrett and Keel. Jarrett found out that there was a major gas line running right under where the craft was spotted. Whether that is a significant detail or not is up for speculation. The same goes for another somewhat strange detail. About a week after he had spotted the craft, Jones was taking the same route to work at about the same time as his initial sighting. When he came to the area where he had seen the UFO, he saw a man on the side of the road. Thinking he needed help, Jones, pulled off and asked the man if he needed anything. The man was silent, and responded only with a wave of the hand. Jones saw him again the very next day in the same spot. He said the man was holding a box with some kind of dial on it and a wire coming out of it, that led to the man's other hand. He was wearing a blue coat and a blue cap with a visor, that was described as looking like a 'uniform.' The man was either flushed, or had a very tan complexion. Jones said he just seemed unsettling and 'off.' When John Keel investigated, he called several utility companies and road construction crews and found out that no one was working in that area on those days, nor did anyone on staff wear that kind of uniform. (Theresa's Note: Personally, I'm kind of wondering if this man wasn't some amateur ufologist who had heard about sighting and was out there doing some of his own readings. It would have been a huge missed opportunity if he had waved Jones off, not realizing that he was the one who had actually had the sighting!).

The Charleston Daily Mail
20 January 1967

But, the weirdness doesn't stop there. Apparently, John Keel did come to the area to investigate in person. When he examined the area around the sighting, he found what appeared to be two different kinds of tracks. There were what looked like HUGE dog tracks, estimated to come from a dog weighing 200 pounds!  Keel notes that he consulted with other researchers who noted that finding huge canine tracks near locations of UFO/paranormal activity was actually pretty common. In addition to the canine tracks, one single BARE human footprint was found. 

Tad Jones' UFO encounter is just one of many strange, out-of-this-world stories from West Virginia's rich, paranormal history! The Mountain State is full of strange creatures, ghosts and haunted places, and of course, some of the weirdest tales of UFOs I've ever heard. And, Theresa's Haunted History is a great place to read about all of these wonderfully weird subjects! 

Jarrett tries to make sense of the recent UFO sightings. 
Sunday Gazette Mail 29 January 1967