Patrol car theory (Kevin Conde's hoax?)

[Bluebird]

Hi all I recently put the Rendlesham incident to an ex USAF airmen who I played golf with who was based at Bentwaters in 1980.I had to ask him about the UFO incident and He was adamant that it was the general concensus on base at the time that what the airmen saw on the first night was a patrol car in Rendlesham forest and the rest is shall we say b******t.He told me that it was rumour all over the base at the time that a UFO had landed in the forest, only to be scuppered by some security staff who were there at the time that what everyone saw was actually a USAF patrol cars red white and blue flashing lights and according to this guy that after a few festive drinks some decided in his words to "make a deal of it".
Anyone heard of this theory before?
Bluebird

[Observer]

Hi Bluebird

This theory has been well aired in the early days of this forum. The patrol car lights could have been mistaken for the Aleged UFO in the forest.

However, this theory has vertually been discredited as it was established that the Polce car was driving in circles with lights flashing on a perimeter road near East gate but within the boundaries of the airfield.

Secondly, the USAF were not allowed to patrol out side the airfield perimeter unless it was of the highest security significance. Thirdly, it would have been impossible to drive a patrol car into the forest to the spots where the UFO was seen. The forest was simply too dense.

Another reason that this has been discredited is that the dates and times do not match up.

Admin can probably clarify this theory better than myself.

Observer

[Bluebird]

Found this on the net; http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/east/ser ... ufos.shtml

[Observer]

Hi Bluebird

I've seen the Insideout programm before and it is just one of many conspiricy theories which this forum has been presented with.

What does it for me is the number of airmen in the forest who all witnessed the object and also witnessed its movements.

They all give a similar account and i personally have no reason to disbelieve them.
I am open to suggested hoaxes, and if you feel it was Kevin Conde fooling around with Police car lights, perhaps you could lay out your theory for us all to study.

Observer

[DoRayEgon]

IF the forest "was" managed in the same way other managed forests i've visited are there would be sufficient room to drive a car down the avenues of trees, BUT to get any effect or distortion the observers would (IMHO) need to veiw the car from the side (IE the car would drive left to right) with trees between the car and the veiwers, also the cars main body would be hidden in the small vally created by the the avenues (a managed forest looks like a ridge and furrow feild but on a larger scale with the trees growing from the tops of the ridges) giving the impression of the lights being lower to the perceived ground level.
Another theory that depends on the orentation of the forest cira 1980 this one would be best if the forest ran north to south (wronge way for my lighthouse theory though )

However as stated getting a patrol car outside (presumably leaving by another gate and driving round the base) and down the logging road with out lights seems rather far fetched (and i assume a seiriouse offence if caught) added to the date inconsistances to Keven Condes prank i think his incident was not the east gate sighting.
It could i suppose have been a copycat prank that went further but no evidence of another prank has come to light yet.

[Observer]

Hi Admin

Thanks for high lighting the alleged Police car lights hoax once again.
I must admit that i had forgotton most of the posts and witness statements concerning this.

Like the light house theory, i feel its about time we put this one to bed.

Re the UFO incident its self, one friend of mine has suggested that we are all to a point looking at the mystery from a too logical and linear perspective and we should be applying 'side ways' or lateral thinking!

Observer

[Bluebird]

Hi, Found Condes statment on the net,now there is nowhere where I can see that he admits actually driving on the runway,could there have been confusion in the fog by the guard at the back gate causing a wrong lead?I am not trying to debunk your UFO theory here but the guy I spoke to knew about the patrol car theory long before Conde owned up some 6 years ago.It was at the time on base the reason for the UFO rumour.
Condes statement.
http://www.ianridpath.com/ufo/statement.htm

[DoRayEgon]

As i said "i think his incident was not the east gate sighting"
i'm just open to the idea it could have been copyed at a later date and in a more involved way?
Far fetched yes but no more so than the idea Aliens can't find the "off switch" for the headlights

[Bluebird]

You know I think in time peoples memory of the night nights could be called into question how could you remember the weather conditions from years back,I am not saying Condes assumption of the weather was right or that of the Guards was right,but around xmas 1980 there could have been foggy nights and clear nights as suggested by the met office for Dec 25th evening.Didnt the two guards witness 3 different coloured lights when they drove away from the gate that started this all off,they say they saw the lights in the woods now if it was foggy and Conde wasnt on the taxiway they could have mistaken the location as the woods.I know a lot of you put down this theory as a hoax but Conde did what he did and its was widely known on base at the time
of the wind up,as for the airmens views of events Penniston,halt etc is that a hoax?,are they telling the truth?We dont know! Only time will tell.
I worked at USAF Lakenheath in restricted areas a few years back and the security guys are a crazy lot it seems to go with the job,I lost track of the amount of times I was "jacked up" by them and let me tell you its not a lot of fun having an assult rifle stuck in your face even though you know its a prank thing is you dont know until they own up!!
Bluebird

[Bluebird]

[quote="DoRayEgon"]As i said "i think his incident was not the east gate sighting" :)
i'm just open to the idea it could have been copyed at a later date and in a more involved way?
Far fetched yes but no more so than the idea Aliens can't find the "off switch" for the headlights :wink:[/quote]

Hi DoRayEgon, His incident he says was at the East gate,where the guards were.
Bluebird

[Bluebird]

[quote="Admin"]And that obviously wasn't Conde's full statement then...

http://www.ianridpath.com/ufo/rendlesham7.htm

[quote]?There was this one guy at the back gate, and he was known as a bit of a problem ? he was always seeing things,? Conde told the Daily Mail. ?It always turned out that it was a star or something. So I decided to play a practical joke.

?[b]I drove down the taxiway in my car[/b]. I stuck the spotlight on, after sticking red and green lenses on it. I then drove round in circles, in the fog, with the PA loudspeaker going, flashing my lights."[/quote]

According to the witnesses, neither of the nights were foggy. Jim Penniston said the first night was clear, and crisp.[/quote]

Hi Admin, In condes full statement he never mentions the taxiway he says quote;
"Like I said, the back gate at Woodbridge is out all by itself at the end of the runway. Just before you got to the gate there were a couple of revetments surrounded by high dirt berms. These berms would hide anything in them from the gate guard?s view.
It was dark, and a little foggy. I shut off my headlights and drove my patrol car into one of those revetments".

He drove his car into a "revetment surrounded by high dirt beams" that is off the taxiway,he should have mentioned this to the Daily Mail but he only said "drove down the taxiway" the mistake changes the whole complex of the story,the revetment surrounded by high dirt berms could have been mistaken for woods by the guards in fog.
Bluebird

[Guest]

Hi, Interestingly I recently heard that Kevin Conde first broke his patrol car theory to James Easton who I believe is very sceptical about the rendlesham incident,Did Conde chose a sceptic to debunk what the airmen saw?,I will reserve judgement on this theory for the time being.
Does anyone know where I can watch the interview with Conde on the BBC programme inside out that I believe was broadcast in 2003.

Bluebird

[Guest]

Condes statment still leaves him inside the airbase not outside where the lights were sighted.
I'm not sure he found James or if James found him?
Jame's has in the past come out with some "out there" explanations i know but any more out there than the base was visited by aliens and then they came back again? persumably they left their picnic box behind or something?

dorayegon

[Andy]

I saw the Harry Potter film with the magick bus, but a police car getting amongst the trees? The former was mere fantasy, the latter?.... convince me. Not convinced.

[Andy]

Also, granted Penniston initally (according to him) saw the lights a few hundred yards into the trees? An experienced law enforcement officer? Couldn't recognise an American base police car a few yards into the trees? Plus how did it manage to get there? Yes, i parked a limousine there only last week!....please. However, Halt went to the initial landing site before having his own experience? Was this not up near the farmer's field? Nowhere near a few hundred yards in the tree line off the road from East gate? Perhaps i'm missing something here?

[Andy]

Yes, i can see the scenario. Conde had just won the lottery, therefore not worried about his livelihood. Working on base as a professional, (now part time cos he didn't need the money) simply to fill his time, to stop him becoming bored. However, bored he sadly did seemingly become. What can i do? 'Oh yes, i'll take my police car and park it amongst the trees (not sure how i'll manage it?) in the forest. Turn it's lights on and shine a torch beam for good effect. Thick individuals working on base will think it's a UFO! How hilarious! Then i'll just drive off! What an excellent prank. Wish i'd thought of it. I love people who are genuine jokers as opposed to those who attention seek.

[ppulatie]

See my introduction,

Kevin Conde was a Staff Sergeant at the time of the incident. He was on the Bentwaters side, not the Woodbridge side. That is why Penniston was the initial one in charge for the first minutes. If Conde had been on Woodbridge, he would have been on site, not driving around.

There is no way that his lights could have been seen from the runway through the trees, if his story was true. Plus, it would have been a direction 180 degrees from where the lights were reported to be seen.

The area around the sighting did not allow for the Dodge vehicles to be driven in a manner through Rendlesham Forest for it to be Conde. Plus, to do so, he would have needed permission from the LE desk to go off base, if he were even on Woodbridge, which he was not.

He has claimed that he was unaware of what had happened until years later. Don't believe it. The morning after the event, Lt Englund walked into Ops where I worked, talking about what his troops had supposedly seen. He found it quite funny. (BTW< he was in charge of both LE and SP flights for the night, C flight.)