Shouts of “Government Cover-Up” are a common feature of UFO incidents and are, mostly, unfounded. However, on occasion, the evidence and the obvious honestly of the witnesses indicates that the true facts of the incident are being withheld either by the Government, the Military or similar agencies.  The Cash/Landrum incident does appear to be one of the occasions when the true facts were hidden by the U.S. Government and the U.S. Military.

Betty Cash - a successful business woman whose career and health were ruined by a UFO experience.
Vickie Landrum - also suffered terrible health problems after coming across a UFO.

The location of the Cash/Landrum incident
Dayton (Texas) in relationship to Houston. Click Image for larger version

The Incident:

On the evening of 29^th December, 1980, Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum and her seven-year-old grandson Colby Landrum set off to go to a bingo game in New Caney (Texas) but were disappointed to discover that the game had been cancelled. They decided to drive home to Dayton near Houston and at approximately 9-00 p.m., they were travelling on Highway FM1485, which runs through a forested area of oak and pine trees. Betty was at the wheel of the car and they were close to the town of Huffman.

At this point in time they observed a bright light moving over the tress ahead of them. This light grew larger until it seemed to be a “diamond of fire” from beneath which flames were bursting intermittently. Betty had to apply the brakes with some force when she realised that the object was right in their way, hovering some 60 yards away. On a number of occasions the strange object sank to within 25 ft. of the road surface, giving out a blast of fire and then rising again.

The three of them got out of the car in order to see the object more clearly and it appeared to be made of dull aluminium. The four points of its diamond shape were rounded and a row of blue dots ran across its centre. The object emitted an enormous heat and on occasion seemed to make a “beeping sound”.

The terrified travellers got back in the car which was now too hot to touch and were amazed to see a crowd of helicopters arriving from all directions, “trying to encircle the thing”.

After driving for a further 8 miles they reached a location where they could observe the UFO in the distance and that it was surrounded by a swarm of helicopters. On one occasion a giant, twin rotor CH-47 Chinook noisily passed right over them. In total they counted 23 machines of various types.

A Chinook helicopter typical of the helicopters observed by Cash and Landrum.

The Aftermath:

In the hours that followed their UFO experience the trio developed painful swellings and blisters on their skin. They also suffered severe headaches and upset stomachs and Colby developed a sunburn-like rash. Vickie’s hair began to fall out and Betty had to be admitted to hospital as her eyes became so swollen that she could not see. Over the weeks that followed their UFO experience all three of them lost some hair and developed eye problems. When their hair grew back it was different from their original hair.

Other witnesses, including a police officer and his wife, did confirm the flight path and appearance of the UFO. They also confirmed the presence of the large number of helicopters that were in the sky that night but local airfields and military bases denied that such a fleet of helicopters had been deployed or that any evidence of the incident appeared on Radar.

Vickie Landrum was convinced that they had come into close contact with a secret military craft which was responsible for their injuries and medical experts confirmed that the symptoms that the three unfortunate victims suffered were consistent to intense electromagnetic radiation in the ultra-violet, microwave and X-ray bands.

Both Vickie and Betty Cash sued the U.S. Government for $20 million but in 1986 the case was dismissed on the grounds that “no such object was owned, operated or in the inventory of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force or NASA”.

Landrum and Cash submitted a claim for damages against the U.S. Government.
The heat from the object, whatever it was, was capable of inflicting burns.

Photographic evidence of the loss of hair caused by their UFO experience.
Despite their claims that they knew nothing of the UFO, the U.S. Military tried to buy Betty Cash's car on a number of occasions. The roof of the car was damaged by the heat from the UFO!
About 3 weeks after the incident a number of men in unmarked trucks arrived at the scene of the UFO sighting and repaired the heat damage of the road. Several weeks later they returned and removed 6 inches of the surface material before repairing the road again. At the location where the Cask/Landrum incident took place there is evidence of new growth of vegetation in comparison with the well established nearby trees.

Since the incident Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum have both continuously suffered from the after effects of their injuries. The U.S. Government has never been legally obliged to confirm whether or not it knows what the “UFO” was regardless of who owned it.

What was it - Some Additional Comments?

Initially the Cash/Landrum incident attracted little publicity and because complaints were listened with deaf ears Cash and Landrum called on the UFO community to investigate their experiences.

Within a few weeks of the incident John Schuessler of MUFON carried out an in depth and professional investigation of the events. This was followed up some years later by another investigation carried out by expert investigator Ken Storch.

Both of these UFO investigators came to the conclusion that Cash and Landrum were being perfectly honest in their account of the incident.

There have been accusations made that the whole incident was a hoax. This seems highly unlikely as members of the medical profession have described injuries obtained during the incident as being symptomatic of 2^nd/3^rd grade classic radiation exposure. These injuries had a massive long-lasting effect and caused not only physical problems but also loss of income and the inability to work. To continue to carry out a hoax with all the symptoms displayed over such a long time period would also be very difficult. Also, there was the eye witness testimony which confirmed the claims of Cash and Landrum.

The parties involved in the incident came quickly to the opinion that the object they came across was some sort of secret craft belonging to the military. Obviously this has never been admitted but perhaps, at least in one respect, the U.S. Government are being honest when it is maintained that the object did not belong to them or the military.

Perhaps the object received so much attention from the military at the time of the incident because it really was an Unidentified Flying Object.

John Schuessler, eminent UFO investigator (MUFON)
Ken Storch, UFO investigator and full time policeman.