There are cases throughout UFO history that continue to inspire debate, even though they’ve been declared hoaxes by most of the people who have looked into them. One such case came up early on near the beginning of the UFO mystery. It was investigated by Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, then head of Project Blue Book, and 2nd Lt. Robert M. Olsson. In his 1956 book, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, Ruppelt tells the reader that it was officially labeled a hoax, and calls it “the best hoax in UFO history.” Even so, there were a couple of unexplained details that have left some researchers, such as Karl Pflock, wondering.

According to Ruppelt in his book, he got a call from Air Technical Intelligence Command (Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, where Project Blue Book had its office) while he was in the shower getting ready for work. An “operational immediate” wire had just come in and Ruppelt was told that he should come in as soon as he could. When he got to ATIC, he learned that the wire was from an intelligence officer at a Florida airbase. It told of a report of a UFO encounter by a scoutmaster and three boy scouts. The scoutmaster was reportedly burned after getting too close and was described as a “solid citizen.” According to Ruppelt, transport on a B-25 was arranged, and he and Olsson headed to Florida. Read more →