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A few days later； another note was slipped under the door of Jones's home in Dunbar。 This one was written on a piece of cardboard which had been burned around the edges。 It repeated the earlier threat； adding； 〃。 。 。 there want ＇sic＇ be another warning。〃
I arrived on the scene several weeks later and during my questioning he remembered another incident which seemed unimportant to him at the time。 About a week after his sighting； he was driving along the same highway at the same tune in the morning when he came upon a man standing by the road in approximately the same spot where the sphere had hovered。 Thinking the man was hitchhiking and was stranded in this isolated stretch of road； Jones slowed his truck and called out to him； 〃Want a lift？〃 The man did not reply but merely waved him on。 The next morning this same man was in the same place but this time Tad did not slow down。
〃He was very tanned；〃 Jones recalled； 〃or his face was very flushed。 He looked normal and was wearing a blue coat and a blue cap with a visor 。。。 something like a uniform； I guess。 I noticed he was holding a box in his hand。
Some kind of instrument。 It had a large dial on it； like a clock； and a wire ran from it to his other hand。〃
Later we checked the local gas panies to find out if they had had a man 〃walking the line〃 in that area。 The answer was negative。 I also asked about instruments such as Tad had described。 No such instruments were in use。
When Mrs。 Hyre and I visited the spot on Route 64 we found a series of very strange footprints in the mud beside the road。 One group of footprints were identical to those I had found behind the power plant in the TNT area the previous December。 They looked like huge dog tracks and were so deep the animal who made them must have weighed two hundred pounds or more。 I couldn't relate them to Mothman； and there were a lot of dogs in the area； so I didn't think much about them at the time。 Tad made plaster casts of these new prints； however； and none of the local wildlife authorities could identify them。 They were not dog tracks。 Zoologist Ivan Sanderson later rejected the 〃big dog〃 explanation； also； and told me similar tracks frequently turned up in places where paranormal events had occurred。 And； in fact； I have since e across them myself in several separate spots around the country。
Aside from the dog tracks； we found a single footprint of what appeared to be a large； naked human foot。 This was planted in the center of a muddy section with no other footprints of any kind around it。 But a short distance away I came across some old friends 。。。 a type of footprint that has appeared at many UFO sites around the country。 They look like the prints made by ripple…soled shoes but their spacing is always peculiar。 They don't start anywhere and they don't lead anywhere。 Ripple soles had been in fashion in the early 1960s and then had faded out。 I once owned a pair myself。 But these phantom prints had a ridge around the edges。 Years later； when the first men walked on the moon； I realized the photos of the prints left by their moon…walking shoes were identical to the footprints I had seen over and over again in my travels。 Obviously； the Martians and Venusians buy their equipment from the same panies that supply our space program。
VI。
Connie Carpenter's sighting of Mothman in November 1966 triggered off a long series of weird situations。 She heard loud beeping sounds outside her bedroom window on several occasions。 Then； in February 1967； someone tried to abduct her。
Early that month she and Keith Gordon were married and they moved across the river to a house in Middleport； Ohio。 They did not have a phone and their new address was known only to their families and close friends。 Middleport is a town of about three thousand people。 Connie was still attending school。 An excessively slender girl； she would never win a Raquel Welch look…alike contest。
At 8：15 A。M。 on February 22； 1967； she started out for school。 Keith was already at work。 As she began walking down the quiet； tree…lined street a large black car pulled up alongside。 Since all young people are automobile conscious； she said she could positively identify it as a 1949 Buick。 The driver opened his door and called to her； asking for directions； so she walked over to his car。 He was a clean…cut young man of about twenty…five； she said later； and was wearing a colorful mod shirt； no jacket； despite the cold weather。 His thick black hair was neatly bed and he appeared to be very suntanned。 He spoke with no noticeable accent。 The car； though nearly twenty years old； was so well kept it looked like new。 Even the interior had a look of newness about it。
When she reached the vehicle； the young man suddenly lunged； grabbed her arm； and ordered her to get in with him。 After a brief struggle she managed to break away。 She ran back to her house and locked herself in； pletely terrified。 She cowered in the house until her husband came home from work。 And she decided to stay home the next day； too。 At 3 P。M。 she heard someone on the porch and there was a loud knock on the door。 She waited awhile then cautiously went to the door。 There was no one on the porch and no car in sight； but a note had been slipped under the door。 It was written in pencil in block letters on a piece of ordinary notebook paper。
〃Be careful girl；〃 it read； 〃I can get you yet。〃
That night Connie and Keith went to the local police。 The note was turned over to officer Raymond Manly。 In March 1967； I visited the police station； hoping to recover the note so I could pare the handwriting with other notes I had collected。 Manly had lost it somewhere along the way。 When I asked to see their file on the case they produced a printed form containing Connie's name and address and one scribbled line； 〃Dark Buick； young man。〃 The police chief assured me that no such car existed in Middleport and that it was obviously a case of some maniac trying to abduct a young girl。 Officer Manly told me he was keeping the house under constant surveillance。 I had to break the news that the Gordons had moved back to the West Virginia side of the river shortly after the incident。 Despite my sheaf of credentials and press cards； both men were overly suspicious of me and asked me repeatedly if I really wasn't 〃from the government。〃 This fear of government agents was already universal in 1967； long before the general breakdown of faith in the government of the 1970s。 The UFO enthusiasts had done then…job well。 Their twenty…year campaign against the air force had really shut the government off from many UFO reports。
In the mid…1950s I had experienced a variation of this paranoia while traveling through the Orient。 The CIA had already earned an odious reputation abroad； its butter…fingered agents often operating as wandering journalists； particularly in the Himalayas where they were trying to foment revolutionary activity against the Chinese who were then settling down in Tibet。 More than once I was openly accused of being a secret American agent provocateur。 Officials would 〃lose〃