The Odessa Radio Tower UFO Incident

Many UFO researchers who have studied it believe that the case of the hour-long sighting of a UFO over a radio tower in Odessa, Texas, in the summer of 1973 deserves more recognition in the annals of UFO history. No less important is the variety of witness accounts of the incident.

In fact, the experience was not reported until the early 2000s with the advent of the Internet, when the main witness and several other witnesses (all family members) would inform UFO investigators about the incident.

The encounter also took place during a year with an increase in UFO sightings. While the UFO wave of 1973 was still months away from its peak, there were frequent enough sightings in the first half of the year to keep most of America consistently looking up at the sky. One of the most striking features of the occurrence is that there appear to have been sincere and discreet measures taken to keep the incident hidden from the general public. And arguably the most alarming if true.

Back in the 1970s, when reports of UFO sightings and even abductions were pouring in, what exactly was going on in the skies over the United States, and indeed the rest of the world? And how far did the government go to cover up these incidents?

A UFO is coming your way!
Stanley Wilson was taking a nap at home on the evening of July 7, 1973, just after 6:00 am, after a particularly tiring day of work at the state department of transportation. He was dozing off when the Wilson family phone rang. Judy, Stanley’s wife, responded. She was her husband’s grandmother. A few seconds later, Judy was waking her husband and asking him to accompany her outside. Her grandmother, who also resided in southern Odessa, claimed that “a UFO was heading towards them”.

The Wilson family resided on the outskirts of the expanding neighborhood. As a result, his house was one of the few in the neighborhood. He got up and left because he knew his grandmother didn’t like jokes or prank calls.

He looked around, trying to spot anything odd. At first, all he could see was the blue color of the early evening sky. Then, though, a bright, shimmering, silver disk hovered over the city’s radio tower. It was, in his estimation, about a mile away from his home.

Stanley and Judy exchanged startled glances before turning their attention back to the hovering vehicle. He recalled that “they both understood that it was without a doubt an alien craft”. Stanley’s sister Georgia and her husband Jim’s automobile came “flying around the corner” as they both looked up at the futuristic craft hovering in the air. Did you see that? screams rang through the air as they both jumped up and ran towards Stanley and Judy.

Everyone got up and turned towards the enigmatic object flying over the KBZB radio tower.

A sudden stop about half a mile away!
The four of them were standing in the backyard of the Wilsons’ house when Stanley had the bright idea of turning on the radio. The CD jockey made a comment about “a UFO above the station was producing static” as they were leaving. At one point, Stanley even called the radio station to let the DJ know that they were seeing the UFO he was talking about.

After about 30 minutes, Stanley and Jim decided to try driving to the radio tower. On the path that would lead directly to the radio tower, however, they would stop the car when they were about a kilometer from it. They debated whether or not to continue there as the item glinted in the early afternoon sun.

They would eventually decide not to pass right under the UFO. They sat and watched the huge disc-shaped device for a few more minutes, and then it began to rise. Then, as it began to drift away to the west, it gradually disappeared from view.

When they returned home, they were both anxious to hear the radio report about the strange UFO. However, they stopped arguing. In fact, they made no mention of it at all.

Stanley would answer the phone again.

Government “asks” to stop reporting the incident!
He claimed to have spoken to the disc jockey off the air when he finally connected with the radio station again. He stated that they were immediately ordered to stop reporting on the UFO or risk losing their “(broadcasting) license” by the “government”.

He would also let Stanley know, however, that the episode was extremely real – as he already knew. Furthermore, a radio station worker who saw the object up close while investigating the cause of the static was being treated at the hospital because he was “so delighted and so disturbed”.

The disc jockey’s revelation to Stanley that the hovercraft had “hieroglyphs on the underside” was even more intriguing. On a third call, the disc jockey allegedly told Stanley that a news crew from a Texas TV station (KOSA TV Channel 7) had filmed what appeared to be the same UFO in the city’s central business district. But just like the radio station, government officials would seize the tape immediately and threaten to pull it down.

The disc jockey stated that he was forced to stop discussing the incident after learning this final detail because he feared “he would get in trouble”.

In the summer of 1973, a silver disc was circling Odessa, Texas at that time? There’s considerable reason to think the reunion is probably believable, although we must, of course, treat the story with a grain of salt.

Pedestrian Credibility Account Authenticity?
The fact that the incident occurred before a series of UFO sightings is undoubtedly a significant element. The report of the sighting came years after it actually happened. In other words, there didn’t seem to be any motivation to publicize the occurrence in order to receive a financial reward or recognition. If that were the case, a report would have been issued immediately at the earliest and certainly much closer to the event.

It is more likely that authentic contact took place, as a secret report to an Internet UFO group was made decades after the incident so that there would be “a record of it before (the witness) died”.

It also helps that several corroborating witness accounts, albeit from close relatives of the same family, support the main story. The truth is that several people used the same account on a public forum under their own names.

Furthermore, and although it is far from conclusive evidence, the somewhat “pedestrian” aspect of the account would point to genuineness rather than one that was created for some sort of ulterior motive. For example, if the story was fabricated or exaggerated, would people really have stopped their automobiles half a mile away from the UFO out of fear and apprehension? Or would they likely pass directly underneath it and provide an overly detailed view?

Remember Stanley and the radio DJ had a dialogue about hieroglyphs; Stanley didn’t really see them. We’ll come back to them in a moment. Yet another seemingly unimportant element that can immediately draw attention to a genuine account.

Strange and suspicious happenings continue for weeks afterwards!
While the Wilson family and their in-laws’ encounter with a UFO that night went unreported, more fascinating activity was taking place in Odessa about a month later.

Stanley claimed that the Smithsonian Institution suddenly appeared in the region. Furthermore, they were there to “take infrared pictures of UFOs at night”. When Stanley learned of this, he, Judy, Jim, and Georgia began taking night trips through the isolated country roads in an effort to find the group at work. One night, they managed to accomplish it. But they had no idea how the events to come were different from their expectations.

For example, there were cars parked on both sides of the road where they were working. A man in a dark suit stood beside each automobile. It was obvious that they would not allow anyone to pass. Stanley can remember:

…you could see people in the pasture, with cameras on tripods. You could see little red lights outside!

They were aware of enough local lore to avoid trying to access the area. Instead, they kept moving. All of them were aware of the reality of UFOs. In the weeks since the first sighting over Odessa, everyone had seen them. and would continue to do so for a few more weeks. But one episode stands out above the others.

The “Last Major Incident!” of the Wilsons
A few weeks after Judy and Stanley saw the silver disk over the radio tower, they had arguably the most emotional and disturbing encounter of all. When Stanley went out on this particular night, he saw a “low cloud that looked like a cigar”.

The cloud, he estimated, was between 100 and 150 feet high and about 50 feet long. The clouds dissipated more and more as he traveled along the road. It didn’t take long for Stanley to realize that the cloud was some sort of “cover” as the outline of the craft was now clearly visible.

So they could follow the UFO and watch where it went, he called out to Judy. He started the car while Judy kept an eye on the craft ahead of them. Before they reached the pasture, they covered several kilometers in their wake. Stanley was pretty sure the Smithsonian Institute had been working in the same meadow a few weeks earlier. The craft then began to descend before landing in the center of the field.

Almost immediately in front of the landing site, Stanley stopped the car. To his surprise, the cars on the overpass above them seemed oblivious to the strange activity taking place in the field below. Turning to Judy, he would say:

“This time, I will try to make contact!”

He then switched on his headlights and began blinking in the direction of the craft.

Abnormally tired and wasting an hour of time!
The next thing they knew, an hour had passed in what felt like a matter of seconds, but they were still sitting in their car. Stranger still, they both experienced tremendous and unnatural fatigue. Both took another look at their watches, baffled and worried that they couldn’t explain such a long period of time.

They returned home despite their bewilderment and the uncomfortable feeling that something wasn’t quite right. When they arrived, they went inside and quickly retired to bed. Everyone fell asleep almost immediately.

All agree that they remember chasing the strange item when they woke up the next morning and discussed the occurrence. And suddenly, before they knew it, an hour had passed, the UFO had disappeared and they were sitting in the parked automobile. What happened after Stanley flashed his lights on the enigmatic ship is still a mystery.

Another Puzzling UFO Encounter Nearly Suppressed?
Indeed, the episode involving the Odessa Radio Tower is fascinating. Not just for the sighting itself, but also for the ostensible measure to which government organizations went to stifle any reporting on the event.

The hieroglyphs are another fascinating aspect. Not least because they have appeared in several previous UFO sightings. The Kecksburg catastrophe, which occurred in Pennsylvania just under a decade earlier, is perhaps the best known of these. Many of the witnesses to this bell or acorn-shaped vehicle say that there were strange hieroglyphs around the bottom, despite the fact that the narrative is shrouded in mystery and conspiracy.

Undoubtedly, it is a fascinating nuance. And one that fuels speculation about the claims made by numerous ancient astronaut theories in the UFO field. What does that say about the power these unusual craft have over humans if they are still making appearances in the current UFO age? What justifies their continued existence in modern times?

The Odessa Incident could prove to be another intriguing case, as it often is. Just one of many amazing cases. However, it may turn out to be a close call that sheds light on previous occurrences of a similar nature and allows long-hidden facts to be revealed.