Video · 17 March 1981
St. Helens, Oregon, police radio tape (17 March 1981)
Eyes On Cinema · 17 March 1981 · 3 min · Watch the original
A short excerpt (about three minutes) of the radio exchange the officers taped that morning, as uploaded to YouTube in 2022. It runs from the glow fading toward dawn, through the sound at about 4:29 a.m. and the officers' description of it, to the time check. The speakers are not identified on the tape. The transcript is a local Whisper transcription of poor audio, and the moments quote only words that are in it.
The case is told in the incident entry; the CUFOS analysis mentioned in the sound moment is as reported in Greg Long's 1996 column "Tales from the Secret Study".
Source: the tape, as uploaded to YouTube by Eyes On Cinema (2022)
Key moments
- 0:46 As the light fades toward dawn, one officer says it is “just an orange glow”, and another, of the idea that it is the rising sun: “I don't think the sun would just be in that one spot.”
- 1:26 The sound begins on the tape. An officer: “Well, listen”, then that it is “revving up its engines”.
- 2:05 On the tape: “I hope you're taping this, you guys.” “Yes, we are.”
- 2:19 An officer describes the sound: “a power plant diesel motor and a screeching noise in between it there”. CUFOS's later analysis found two strong frequency peaks, near 1000 and 3000 hertz, with no even harmonics (as reported in Greg Long's 1996 column).
- 2:30 A speaker logs the time: “4:29 a.m. Just for the record.”
Transcript
From machine transcription (Whisper); names and terms may be misspelled. Check the original video before quoting.
0:00 We've got a capability sitting here by a radio whenever they're ready. We'll keep it running. I just didn't want to think we all had a screw. We've got water. We're all going to bed. Yeah, that's all it is now. It's just an orange glow. That's all I can see. The sun is just coming up. It better not be. Go for it again.
1:00 Where do we put the sun into a paper, Joe? I don't think the sun would just be in that one spot. I think it's low without you guys. I don't want to watch it. We moved up to a higher vantage point, so you tell us what it does. Well, listen. Somebody is revving up its engines. Can you hear it? I hope. Because it's your call out here.
2:05 I hope you're taping this, you guys. Yes, we are. Sounds like to me a power plant diesel motor and a screeching noise in between it there. Are you with it? Okay, we're listening. 4:29 a.m. Just for the record.
Connected files
Incidents
- St. Helens, Oregon, police sighting over the Columbia River (recording of)
People
- Russell Yokum (features) — Recorded by the officers on a portable tape recorder next to their police radio