Person
Russell Yokum
Also known as Yokum, Sgt. Yokum
- Sergeant, St. Helens Police Department, Oregon (1981)
Russell ("Rusty") Yokum was a sergeant with the St. Helens Police Department in Oregon. Early on 17 March 1981 he reported a bright light over the Columbia River, which he and two Oregon State Police officers watched while the officers taped their radio exchange with a CB operator across the river. The recording was analysed by the Center for UFO Studies; in Greg Long's account, investigators who interviewed him recorded that he described the light as light orange. In 1981 he gave the story to the National Enquirer.
Some later accounts spell his name Yoakum.
Sources: National Enquirer (Joe Mullins), 1981 · Greg Long, "Tales from the Secret Study" (Pacific Harbor Publishing, 1996) · the tape, on YouTube
Facts and claims
- claimed On 17 March 1981 at 4:03 a.m., on patrol on Highway 30, his attention was drawn to a bright light moving upriver toward Portland Airport, “lighting up the river like daylight”; he radioed headquarters and drove to the county courthouse in St. Helens for a clear view. — Russell Yokum Source: youtube.com (archived)
- claimed He told the National Enquirer in 1981: “I thought it was an aircraft landing light — but it was brighter than a normal landing light would be.” The light then disappeared, he said, and an Oregon State Police officer told him by radio he could still see it in another spot. — Russell Yokum Source: bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com (archived)
Connected files
Incidents
- St. Helens, Oregon, police sighting over the Columbia River (witness) — On patrol on Highway 30 at 4:03 a.m., he saw the light over the Columbia River and radioed headquarters
Videos
- St. Helens, Oregon, police radio tape (17 March 1981) (appears in) — Recorded by the officers on a portable tape recorder next to their police radio