The witness, who shall be called H. White for reasons of confidentiality, was a prison guard for the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio in 1966. On a clear night in the late fall of that year at approximately 2:00 AM, a very bright large circular object came up from the south across the nearby Scioto River at an estimated altitude of not more than 100 feet. The object had a domed section in the center. No windows or any other features were seen, if they were there, because of the brightness of the object. It came at a very high rate of speed and stopped directly over the penitentiary, lighting up the inside grounds as if it were the middle of a sunny day. The object was barely above the high stone prison wall. Mr. White was located in the tower at the northeast corner of the wall. The object hovered not more than 50 feet from him. There were reportedly 75 employees on duty that night and most of them saw the object. Many were screaming with fright. The object stayed in this position for two to three minutes and then went over the west wall and out of sight. Eight to ten minutes later it returned from the west and again hovered over the prison. It stayed for two to three minutes this second time and then sped away over the north wall and out of sight. As it left it made a "woosh" of air sound; there was no other sound. However, it left a carbon-like streak on the north wall about four feet down from the top and continuing over the top portion of the wall. This residue ran five feet from the northeast tower to within five feet of the northwest tower. He thought the object was wider than this, extending from the east to the west wall, a measured distance of 450 feet.
Mr. White was 31 years of age at the time of the sighting. Investigator Reams thought him to be a down to earth individual, not prone to exaggeration. He later returned to a military career, retiring from the US Marine Corps as a Captain. At the time of the interview he was blind and had had nine stomach operations over the preceding few years. He is adamant that his health problems have nothing to do with this sighting; he doesn't like to talk about this.
Mr. White worked at the prison for only three years from 1965 into 1967. He has not told his story before because he still followed the "gag order" that was in effect there - nothing that happened inside the prison was to be discussed with outsiders, including family. The prison captain on duty that night called Lockbourne Air Force Base and Port Columbus to see if they had any aircraft airborne or had anything painted on their radar. Neither did. As far as Mr. Black knows, no one ever officially reported the event nor did anyone ever investigate what happened. The responsible state agency for the guard force was the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The Ohio Department of Corrections was contacted during this investigation. Mr. Reams was told that if records still existed from the period they would be in storage and could not easily be found. The prison has been closed since 1971. The only name Mr. Black remembered form his work there was his captain, a man named Hunter, who is deceased. Later the name of the guard who was in the northwest tower was recalled and he has been contacted by Reams and Spellerberg. He has had several strokes over the past few years which seem to have impaired much of his long term memory. He vaguely remembers the event, in particular the light, but not much else. Other guard's names have been identified and the investigation will continue.
