Like the stars of "The X-Files," Bouck and Soriano are very involved in the world of Unidentified Flying Objects, especially in the Wilton area where many have been reportedly seen in recent years.
When asked if he thinks UFO's are real and/or a government cover-up, Bouck of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) responds by saying, "Ok, first of all, there are too many witnesses that aren't crazy; I mean you've got three Presidents, Congressmen, Senators, actors, police officers and even military officials swearing up and down that what they saw was not their imagination."
Bouck, who is from Rotterdam, has been investigating UFO sightings since 1992, although he does sell real estate on the side. Mr. Bouck is a retired auditor for the New York State Comptrollers office in Albany. When I quip that he must have seen his share of aliens in Albany, Jim laughs out loud and admits, "Yeah, mostly politicians." (It would explain a lot of behavior in Albany)
Twenty-six years ago, Bouck did a stint as a police officer for New York State Parks, downstate at Bear Mountain State Park right in the Hudson Valley Area. Since retiring two years ago, he has kept himself busy by investigating for MUFON full time.
The Mutual UFO Network was founded in Texas in1969 by Walter Andrus.
Bouck runs the New York State branch and currently has approximately 41 investigators that work with him. This is all done on a volunteer basis.
Bouck says he gets as many as 100 reports of UFO sightings a year on his website. Some sightings involve alien abduction stories. Bouck looks over the reports and decides whether or not it is worth following up on. Although he feels a lot of people's stories are genuine, he also admits that he gets his share of quacks.
When asked what kinds of people generally have UFO sightings, Bouck says, "Sightings can happen to anybody."
Someone who has had many sightings is Frank Soriano of Wilton. Wilton has supposedly had many UFO sightings in recent years. In fact, Bouck and Soriano have written a book together entitled, UFO's - Witnessed and Reported by Law Enforcement Officers, and are currently looking for a publisher.
Soriano insists that there is a good reason why our government continues to deny the existence of UFO's. "If they continue to deny everything they don't have to answer any questions," Soriano says.
He does acknowledge the government runs the nuclear plant in nearby West Milton, but doesn't think they're doing any experiments at the plant's site.
Soriano is more intrigued rather than afraid of the idea of alien life than most people would be.
He has already seen his share of truly scary things as he is a retired State Corrections officer. "I come from a police family. I've seen inmates stab each other; I've seen a lot of things." Regarding UFO's he says, "I know they're real, but we don't know what their agenda is."
When asked why so many sightings have occurred in Wilton, Soriano says UFO's are seen
everywhere, including New York City, where his first sighting occurred in the Bronx in August of 1978. He has many sightings in Wilton, often in broad daylight which Soriano comments that daylight sightings are 'not as unusual as people think.' Believers include many of his former co-workers who still work in corrections and many of his neighbors who were once die-hard skeptics.
Soriano lectures occasionally and at one such lecture he received a standing ovation when he was regaling his audience of his experience of going to St. Mary's Church in Ticonderoga, New York with a photograph of a UFO he had taken in July of 1998. The photograph just happened to capture the steeple of St. Mary's Church.
Soriano was trying to figure out the calibrations and trying to ascertain how far away the craft had been from the steeple and Soriano asked the priest how high the steeple was and the priest incredulously asked Soriano, "You don't actually believe in those things [UFO'S] do you?" To which Soriano replied, "Do you have a photograph or video of Jesus Christ?" Not surprisingly, Mr. Soriano was asked to leave.
Soriano insists on the fact that real UFO's are silent and do not have wings. He also believes that it isn't our government because as he says, "If we had that kind of technology we would have been using it a long time ago."
If you would like more information of UFO's you can go to www.MUFON.com
Main Menu
Leave a comment