Startling revelations: June-July 1990

Ó Tim Printy June 2002

The summer of 1990 was going to be a hot one for Gulf Breeze when a model was discovered in Ed's old home that could unhinge Ed Walters claim to extraterrestrial encounters. The events surrounding this model are somewhat confusing but the basic story begins when Ed Walters decided he needed to move. The public attention had been too much for him and by the fall of 1988, he moved. Ed's house was put up for sale and bought in 1989 by Robert and Sarah Menzer, who had little knowledge of what had transpired in 1987-88. When Mr. Menzer decided to hook up the ice maker line for his new refrigerator, he noticed the line was crimped coming out of the wall. Figuring that the lines shutoff valve was located in the attic of the house, Mr. Menzer began to trace out the line in order to shut off the water to the line. As he removed some insulation, he discovered something odd. A nine-inch model of a UFO was hidden underneath the insulation! Mr. Menzer, oblivious to what this could potentially mean, simply placed it aside and continued with his tracing of the line. When he could not find the shutoff valve, he called Ed who promptly told him that the shutoff was outside the house. Robert did not see any reason to mention the model in this conversation and it would be interesting what would have transpired had he done so. Instead, the model sat in the Menzer's garage for a few months before something occurred to bring it into the public eye.

In June 1990, Craig Myers of the Pensacola News Journal, went to the new homeowners wondering if any UFOs had been seen near the house. After getting the expected "no" answer, Myers asked a few more questions, which included a query about finding any UFO models. Mr. Menzer then produced the model he had found. Craig, who had written a skeptical article in the newspaper in late April, had already received a lot of heat from the "inner circle" and several prominent UFO witnesses in the Gulf Breeze area. Now Myers added fuel to the fire by writing the article about the model of a UFO found in Ed's old home. When confronted with the news, Ed was indignant and denied that he had any knowledge of the model. According to Myers,

On Saturday, June 9, 1990, News journal Managing Editor Ken Fortenberry interviewed Walters in Fortenberry's office. Metro Editor Joedy Isert and reporter Nathan Dominitz witnessed the interview in which Walters denied any knowledge of the UFO model, but refused to take either a lie-detector test or a voice stress analysis conducted by independent experts. Walters did, however, sign a sworn statement denying any knowledge of the model. Walters said the model was obviously 'planted' in his former residence by debunkers, and intimated that the government may have been behind the debunking plan. (Randle 67)

The revelation of the model by Myers was big news and there was quite the uproar from the UFO community.

Ed denied making the model and then arranged a psychological stress evaluation exam to prove it. The results, as defined by the examiner Ronald J. Lauland, were:

Based on test results, it is my professional opinion that as a certified instructor, court-recognized expert, and licensed in the field of Psychological Stress Evaluation (Voice Lie Detection), Ed Walters truthfully answered all relevant questions. (Walters and Maccabee 2)

Ed now declared that "debunkers" had made the model and planted it in his home to discredit him in time for the upcoming MUFON symposium in Gulf Breeze. But it really was not that simple. The model's midsection was made up from a blue print with Ed's handwriting on it. Again, Ed had a ready-made answer. Some of the notations on the drawings suggested the prints were from a home designed in September 1989, which was before the Menzers had moved into the house. He now suddenly recalls seeing a vehicle stationed near his house during the same time period, which, apparently, was going through his garbage. These plans, taken out of the garbage were then used to construct a model and hidden in the attic of the empty home that was unlocked. Ed also drew conclusions that Myers was in on the "dirty trick" somehow:

The circumstances suggest those of a reporter who received a tip, but a tip from whom? My answer is, a tip from the persons responsible for making and planting the model in the house attic ... When questioned about the tip, the reporter denied that he had received one. The reporter also refused to take a lie detector test. (Walters 214-5)

Ed pointed out that the model did not resemble any of the UFOs in his photographs (but it did resemble a drawing he published in the book and in the MUFON journal). He also added the point that when he left the house the refrigerator line had a small shutoff valve on it and was uncrimped! Ed proposed a theory that debunkers had stolen the plans and constructed the model from them. They then went into the house before it was sold and hid the model in the attic. To insure that somebody would find the model, the valve was removed and the line crimped. Ed makes a lot of assumptions for this theory. He makes the "debunkers" not very bright. If they really wanted to place a model in Ed's home, wouldn't they have created a model from one of the photographs? Wouldn't they have placed the model in a location easier for Mr. Menzer to find? What if Menzer had not bothered to go up in the attic? Would Myers have asked to go up in the attic to look around if Menzer denied finding any models? It seems that the scenario that Ed has presented is something that takes a "leap of faith" but the "inner circle" accepted it and jumped to Ed's defense.

While the model had been big news, another shocker occurred just a week later when a young man revealed he was aware that the whole case was nothing but a hoax. Nick Mock and the other teens had mentioned that Ed was often a practical joker and sometimes employed kids to help him with his tricks. On June 17, one youth stepped forward to reveal that he had knowledge of Ed Walters hoaxing UFO photographs. Thomas Smith Jr. (Tommy Smith) was the son of a local lawyer and a friend of Ed Walters. Now he began to talk to Reporters from the Pensacola News Journal. Tommy told many interesting stories about what Ed Walters had told him and how he had faked his UFO photographs/videos. He also had photographs that Ed had helped him take that were double exposures. Ed had wanted him to give the photographs to the Gulf Breeze Sentinel back in 1987-88. At the time Tommy refused and told Ed that the prank was getting out of hand. Smith did not want to be involved further but did not reveal his story to anyone outside of his family. His father and lawyers felt that it was best to do nothing at the time. Zan Overall recounts why Tommy came forward:

When Smith told his attorney father about the hoax in January 1988, as Walters' claims and photos were first being publicized, neither of the Smiths was willing to go public. Both assumed Walters' bubble was sure to pop soon. Young Smith had--and has--good feelings toward Walters personally, "I had some of the best times in high school over there," he told the Gulf Breeze Sentinel (August 9, 1990). Smith's father confided his son's story to an attorney colleague and to Gulf Breeze Police Chief Jerry Brown. The Smiths went public only in June 1990, after the Walterses' book was on the mark and as the 1990 MUFON symposium , set in Pensacola, was about to give further exposure to something the Smiths knew to be a hoax. (Overall 16)

On June 19, Mayor Grey held a press conference and revealed the story to everyone. MUFON could add Tommy Smith on their list of "unreliable youths".

Tommy Smith spoke of Ed Walters telling him how Ed fooled everyone and that several key people were involved. The obvious participants were there in that Ed's son and wife were involved. However, Tommy added that Hank Boland (aka Patrick Hanks) played a role as well. Recall that Hank Boland was the one witness outside the immediate family that had seen the UFO appear to Ed. This was another blow to the Ed Walters case and more damage control was initiated. According to Craig Myers, Walter Andrus stated:

Smith is 'lying' about being with Walters when he faked UFO photos ... Andrus said he also believes Walters' story that Tommy Smith is lying to protect his parents religious beliefs, which do not allow for UFOs. (Randle 75)

I find it interesting that Tommy would lie about something in order to "protect his parents religious beliefs". Isn't that somewhat contradictory? Actually, their religion says nothing for or against UFOs, so the statement is a falsehood. Others attacked Tommy Smith calling him a liar and pointing out that such techniques described by Tommy would not create the images or that Tommy did not seem to have a lot of details on hoax techniques. Of course, they ignore the fact that his participation was limited and based on what Ed told him. Ed may not have completely revealed all the details or Tommy may not have remembered them exactly. Smith's revelations along with the model had hit deep and now MUFON had to address the ugly possibility that they had been duped.

Shortly after Tommy's accusations about Ed Walters, Walt Andrus ordered the investigation into the case reopened. He needed something to stop the flood of negative reports on a case he had once called "one of the most incredible cases in modern UFO history" (Christensen). Andrus began to look for qualified investigators that could check up on these new revelations.

For those that kept championing Ed's multiple lie detector tests, Tommy's interview was taped and examined later using a voice stress analyzer by two different experts. The first was Dale Kelly, who wrote:

At the request of and under the authority of Chief Jerry Brown of the Gulf Breeze Police Department, I analyzed a tape of a person known only as Chris [Tommy Smith] to me. The subject matter was the taking of photos of 'UFOs' and if the photos were faked. Based on the test results, it is the opinion of this examiner that 'Chris' was telling the truth when he described how he was told how the photos were faked. In answer to all questions put to 'Chris,' in my opinion he was telling the truth. (Randle 65)

Ed Halford, was the second expert and he stated:

I ran a test for the chief of police in Gulf Breeze, El., to determine the truthfulness of a statement made by a male identified as 'Chris' [Tommy Smith]. The statement was recorded by Chief Jerry Brown and Mayor Ed Gray of Gulf Breeze, with the permission of 'Chris.' "In my professional opinion, the answers to all the questions asked of this person were truthful. I used the Mark II Voice Stress Analyzer to arrive at this conclusion. "I have a degree in criminology, twenty years police experience, and thirteen years with the Mark II Voice Stress Analyzer. "This test was analyzed by the authority of the Chief of police, Gulf Breeze, Fl." (Randle 66)

So both Ed and Tommy managed to pass the voice stress analyzer tests making one wonder which ones were accurate or whether any of them were accurate at all. According to Zan Overall, "Smith offered to submit to a polygraph test administered by an independent agency if Walters, his wife, and his son (all alleged UFO witnesses) would do the same. The Walterses have yet to accept this challenge" (Overall 16). Ed had passed one self-sponsored test and seemed to be passing his voice stress tests. He would help his case out if he did submit to such a polygraph. Ed's reluctance to submit himself to an independent polygraph exam raises the question about the validity of these other tests.

Meanwhile, Mark Curtis of WEAR-TV Channel 3 was creating UFO photographs similar (not exactly reproducing) to that of Ed's Road shot using techniques similar (with some modifications) to those described by Tommy Smith. Recall that Curtis was quite impressed with Ed's photographs and Video in 1988 and seemed to have felt his story to be credible. Now Curtis began to look skeptically at Walters. Perhaps he was following the old rule "fooled me once, shame on you ... ". Now, Curtis openly stated, "It was quite easy to reproduce these pictures" ("Reason to believe"). It seems that most of the problems with exactly duplicating Ed's photograph was reproducing the precise methods/conditions he had used. As these photographers understood how it was done, they began to get closer and closer reproductions of the images Ed had taken.

By early July, Ed had managed to get his ducks in a row and issued a press release demonstrating that "debunkers" had planted the model. He had obtained a copy of the plans he had given to Mr. and Mrs. Lynn Thomas of Michigan back in September of 1989. The Thomas' both felt that these plans could have been the plans used in the model. The copy showed many important details but the main thing that Ed wanted to focus on was that the Living area of 1740 square feet and slab dimensions of 2393 square feet were the same numbers on the model blueprint paper. He was making sure everyone was convinced that this was the true "fingerprint" of the origin for the blueprints. Unfortunately, Ed left out many details. In the blueprint on the model, the address is partially hidden but the last digit is definitely the number "2" (with the apparent address of 712 Jamestown Dr). The Thomas plans were designed for 700 Jamestown Drive.

 

Courtesy of P. Klass SUN #6 Nov 1990 P.5

Another problem was that the outside exterior for the Thomas plans read they were using White Synergy but the model plans state the outside was to be brick (Ed later added that they originally wanted brick thus explaining this discrepancy). Even more revealing was that the garage on the model was parallel to the house with the opening being on the same side as the long dimension for the house. The Thomas house plans had the garage perpendicular to the house's long dimension.

Courtesy of P. Klass SUN #9 May 1991 P.7.

So, the Thomas plans were not a perfect match for the model. According to Phil Klass:

The "original" detailed house plan which Walters borrowed from Mr./Mrs. Thomas shortly after the UFO-model was discovered was never returned to them. Instead Ed sent them a photocopy. (Mrs. Thomas had jotted down the lot dimensions on the backside of their original. These dimensions were not on the copy Ed returned to them.) (Klass Bruce Maccabee 5)

Most important was that when asked about a specific "cut 2" notation on these plans, the Thomas' could not recall if it had been there prior to lending their copy (which was not what was returned to them) to Walters. This "cut 2" is important because it removed 2 feet from part of the house and changed the living area to the required dimensions. It seemed that the plans that Ed had used in his press release could have been altered to produce the required numbers to match those found on the model. UFOlogist Jerry Black talked to the Thomas' years later and discovered that they now were of the opinion that the plans were not for their home:

Ed Walters claimed the model represented the Lynn Thomas family home plans, and indeed they did say that early on. Incidentally, we know that the home was never built for them. However, during the past four or five years, we've stayed in touch with the Thomas family, who have moved to Detroit.

Mrs. Thomas took an extensive course to become a real estate agent after she left the Gulf Breeze area. To make sure that she was looking at the same plans that I was, I sent her a copy of the plans from Sarah Menzer's home. (We could all have this, by simply requesting it from Ms. Menzer.) Mrs. Thomas said the plans were basically the same thing she had received from either Walt Andrus or Ed Walters.

Now, though, since taking her real estate course, and realizing that her house was going to be built on the corner of Shoreline Drive and Jamestown, she said to me that she definitely now does not believe that the model plans she was sent represent the plans of the home that was supposed to be built for her. I asked her why she did not feel that way any longer. She said that, since she had become a real estate agent, and more adept at reading plans and diagrams, the plans she was looking at were for a house that would be much smaller than the home that was to be built for their family, which would have been situated on the corner of Shoreline and Jamestown. She reiterated, "I'm saying to you again, Mr. Black, these plans are not the plans that were designed for our home, to be built on that corner."

Mr. Thomas was on an extension phone during the conversation. He said to me, "Mr. Black, I never felt, all along, that these were our plans. But I bowed to my wife, because I felt she knew better than I." (Black)

Despite Ed's claims that the blueprints came from the Thomas plans, it seems that this was not the case.

An even more startling sequence of events came from city hall. Mayor Grey had already voiced his skepticism and now reports were leaking out that Ed and Frances had visited city hall shortly after the model had been revealed. These concerns had to do with a house designed by Ed "on speculation" (which was never built) for, you guessed it, 712 Jamestown Drive in January 1987 (11 months prior to the photographs). This application form had a living area of 1740 square feet but not the required "fingerprint" of 2393 square feet for the slab area. However, there seems to have been changes on the actual plans, which moved the slab area to 2393 square feet but reduced the living area size. The numbers which were actually listed on the lower right corner of these plans is unknown because, as Phil Klass reports, "... it was discovered that the lower right corner of the "spec" house drawing--where the Living Area and Slab Area figures normally are shown--had been torn off by some person unknown" (Klass Walters, Maccabee 1). Even though the plans did not have the two required dimensions at the same time, there is the possibility that the drawings could have had these numbers listed. The implications being the possibility was that these plans that were in city hall for a "spec" house could have been the source of the model blueprints. 

Courtesy of P. Klass SUN #10 July 1991 P. 2.

By July, Andrus had decided upon whom he was going to select to reinvestigate the Walters case. Rex and Carol Salisberry of Florida MUFON were considered the best candidates. These two were honored at the July MUFON conference for their "unsurpassed investigative skill" and "setting the standard for proper UFO casework" (Klass Award-winning 1). Most importantly, they did not appear to have an axe to grind and were inclined to believe Ed's claims about his encounters. Rex had actually seen one of the red UFOs that had recently frequented the area. According to Phil Klass, ".... Andrus emphasized that the new investigation would be based on the presumption that Walters is innocent until proven guilty" (Klass Ed Walters 2). It was Walt's desire that the Salisberry's would clear up the mess and restore the case to it's former status.

Works Cited

Black, Jerry. "Looking Back: A Review Of Gulf Breeze". On line posting. Available WWW: http://www.skiesare.demon.co.uk/looking.html

Christensen, Marge. MUFON, 1990 - An Organization At Risk. On line posting. Available WWW: http://www.skiesare.demon.co.uk/gb+mufon.html

Klass, Philip. "Ed Walters, of Gulf Breeze, Fla., charges that small UFO-Model found in his former home by its new owner was made by "debunkers" who planted it to "discredit the UFO phenomenon." Skeptic's UFO Newsletter, July 1990.

- "Award-winning MUFON investigators find evidence of hoax in Ed Walters' (Gulf Breeze) UFO Photos--But MUFON director Walt Andrus dismisses their findings." Skeptic's UFO Newsletter, November 1990.

- "Bruce Maccabee, Dan Wright, and Walt Andrus prove that P. T. Barnum was correct: You can fool some of the people all of the time." Skeptic's UFO Newsletter, May 1991.

- "Walters, Maccabee fail to explain "Garage entrance discrepancy" which challenges Walters claim that small UFO-model discover in former Gulf Breeze residence was made by "debunkers". Skeptic's UFO Newsletter, July 1991.

Overall, Zan. "The Gulf Breeze RUFOs". International UFO Reporter. Vol 17 No. 2 (March/April 1992). 14-18.

Randle, Kevin. The Randle Report: UFOs in the 90s. New York: M. Evans and Company inc., 1997

"Reason to believe" Exec Prod. Chris Haws and Steven Manuel. Prod. Jeremy Evans and Martin Belderson. Narr. Paul Anthony UFOs: Down to Earth. Discovery Channel 1996.

Walters, Ed and Frances. UFO Abductions in Gulf Breeze. New York: Avon Books. 1994.

Walters, Ed and Bruce Maccabee UFOs are real: Here's the proof. New York: Avon Books 1997.