Aztec native Shriver debunks UFO crash at Hart Canyon
What: Monte Shriver discusses findings from his book, "It's About Time," on the alleged UFO crash in Hart Canyon
When: 6 p.m., Wednesday
Where: Bloomfield Multicultural Center, 333 S. First St.
Cost: Free
More info: Call 505-334-7136
Shriver will present his findings on the "other Roswell" at a meeting of the San Juan County Historical Society at the Bloomfield Multicultural Center on Wednesday.
He admits there is likely something out there, but is convinced it didn't crash land in Aztec - on March 25, 1948, or any other date.
The incident has been long debated, but Shriver hopes to finally dispel the stories of a 100-foot-long alien craft containing human-like bodies slumped over a control panel that was swiftly carted away to an undisclosed location by the military.
Last fall, he self-published "It's About Time," a book that questions the research of three books dedicated to the storied UFO crash event - Frank Scully's 1950 book "Behind the Flying Saucers," William Steinman and Wendelle Stevens' 1986 book "UFO Crash at Aztec: A Well Kept Secret" and Scott and Suzanne Ramsey's 2012 book "The Aztec Incident: Recovery at Hart Canyon."
All three lack verifiable evidence to be much more than fantasy, Shriver said.
"When I was nine, I camped out with the Boy Scouts right where the alien crash was supposed to have happened, in 1948 and '49, and nobody ever breathed a word about a UFO," Shriver said. "If they had, we would have certainly heard about it."
Shriver was prompted to start looking into the alien story after attending a UFO symposium, the last held to raise funds for the construction of the Aztec Library, in Aztec
"My first reaction was one of amazement, since I had grown up, graduated from Aztec High School and never heard anything about a UFO landing in Hart Canyon," Shriver said. "Intrigued, I went online and bought all three books and began to look into their claims."
With the support of his wife of 53 years, Shriver, a former college professor and accountant, stepped out of full retirement to begin his research.
He spent the better part of a year in the special collections department of New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, where he and his wife retired nine years ago.
"All three books say everyone at the site was sworn to secrecy by the military about the crash, then why did some speak?" Shriver said. "But, overall, much of the evidence and documentation presented in them is unexplained or not relevant to Aztec."
But Scott and Suzanne Ramsey hold firm to their findings, citing consistencies about eyewitness accounts culled from over 27 years' research.
"When you have multiple people citing the same specific details like the number of portholes - six - and the color - brushed-silver - of the disc, you begin to see consistencies that are telling," Ramsey said. "We (he and his wife) have followed many leads at great expense through the years and only go with what we can verify."
Possible leads that might shed even further light on the UFO crash and military cover-up - two people in Aztec and one in Durango - are currently being vetted by the couple, who currently live in South Carolina, Scott Ramsey said.
"Remember that ad, 'Where's the beef?'" Shriver joked. "I mean, really, where's the disc?"
Copies of Shriver's book will be for sale by the San Juan County Historical Society at the meeting Wednesday. All proceeds will go directly to the society.
James Fenton can be reached at jfenton@daily-times.com; 505-564-4621. Follow him on Twitter @fentondt.