South Texas UFO Conference Focuses on Roswell Incident and Betty & Barney Hill Abduction

EDINBURG, Texas - May 9, 2014 - PRLog -- Dr. Kevin Randle, one of the first investigators of the “Roswell UFO Incident,” and Kathleen Marden, niece of world-famous UFO abductee Betty Hill, are among the speakers for the second annual “Out of This World” UFO Conference & Festival to be held at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, 118 Paseo Del Rio, in Edinburg, Texas, on June 14, 2014. Sponsored by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, Edinburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Edinburg’s Sekula Memorial Library, last year’s event drew over 700 people. Complete information is available at EdinburgUFO.com.

Keynote speaker Randle is considered one of the world’s top experts on the Roswell Incident, having written the bestselling 1991 book UFO Crash at Roswell. In 1994, the book was adapted into the critically-acclaimed Showtime motion picture Roswell starring Kyle MacLachlan, Martin Sheen, and Dwight Yoakam. The movie, with introduction and comments by Randle, will be shown during the conference, at 4:30 p.m.

A prolific writer, Randle began writing for UFO magazines while still in high school and later moved on to authoring books. He has appeared on countless radio and television programs and has hosted his own radio show. He has written books about UFOs, science fiction, action adventure and even a vampire novel. His newest book, The Government UFO Files: The Conspiracy of Cover-Up has just been released.

Randle is a retired lieutenant colonel who served in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot and in Iraq as a battalion intelligence officer. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star, the Air Medal for Valor, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry for his service in Iraq and Vietnam.

Also speaking at the “Out of This World” Conference & Festival will be alien abduction expert, Kathleen Marden of Florida. On September 20, 1961, Marden received a phone call from her aunt, Betty Hill, who stated that she and her husband Barney had encountered a flying saucer in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In the years that followed, Marden became a first-hand witness to the Hill’s amazing story, which unfolded during hypnotherapy.

A primary witness to the evidence of the encounter and its aftermath, Marden has intimate knowledge of the Hill’s biographical histories, personalities, and the previously unpublished historical files pertaining to their sensational story. For the first time ever in South Texas, the complete, behind-the-scenes story of the Betty & Barney Hill Alien Abduction will be told by someone who was involved in it from the start.

The Hill story remains one of the world’s strongest, most fully-documented UFO cases involving abduction. The story has appeared in countless books, newspapers, magazines, television shows, and web sites. The John G. Fuller book, Interrupted Journey: Two Lost Hours Aboard a Flying Saucer, was a bestseller in 1966. Kathleen’s own book about the incident, Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience, continues to receive high praise for its scholarship and readability.

The Betty & Barney Hill story was made into a 1975 Universal Television Studios motion picture, The UFO Incident. The Hills were portrayed by James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons in the movie, which was adapted from Fuller’s book. The abduction was also featured in the 1996 television series Dark Skies, in which the Hills were portrayed by Basil Wallace and Lee Garlington. The Hill case was also mentioned briefly in The X-Files episode “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” and in the TV miniseries Taken.

The “Out of This World” Conference & Festival also features a talk by researcher Melanie Young about a mysterious, 900-year-old humanoid skull found in Northern Mexico many years ago. Young, the owner of the skull, believes it belonged to an extraterrestrial being. She has appeared on the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens and has spoken at events all over the U.S. about this strange artifact. Her presentation, titled “The Mystery of the Starchild Skull,” will explain how the skull was found, how she came into possession of it, and the results of DNA testing that has been conducted on it in recent years.

The “Starchild Skull” is a bone skull that was found partially buried inside a cave in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, in the 1930s by a young Mexican girl. The girl brought the skull to America and kept it her whole life. In 1998, the Starchild Skull was given to Young, who at that time was a neonatal nurse. She immediately suspected that it was not a “deformed” human skull, but rather, that it belonged to a creature not from our planet.

Also at the “Out of This World” event, authors Noe Torres and Stephen Andrasko will present a talk about UFO sightings in the 1800s. When the Steven Spielberg movie Cowboys and Aliens was released in 2011, many people wondered if UFOs were really ever seen by the cowboys and ranchers of America’s Old West. Torres answered that question in his recent book, The Real Cowboys & Aliens: UFO Encounters of the Old West. During their presentation at the conference, Torres and Andrasko will present a number of incredible tales of encounters between real cowboys and real UFOs.

Former Star Trek and Stargate screenwriter David Bennett Carren will also speak at the “Out of This World!” UFO Conference & Festival. Carren has directed, written or produced more than 200 films and television shows, including many science fiction shows. His presentation is titled, “Close Encounters on Film and TV.”

Although the bulk of the conference events will be held on Saturday, the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library, 1906 S. Closner Boulevard in Edinburg, will hold a “Meet and Greet” with all of the authors and speakers on Friday, June 13 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  The public is invited to this free event.

Also on Friday is the Jardin del Arte “Out of This World!” UFO Festival in the courtyard behind Edinburg City Hall, 415 W. McIntyre. The public is invited to enjoy food, fun, music, and a laser light show. Admission is free.

The conference itself will be on Saturday, June 14, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, 118 Paseo Del Prado. Complete information is available at EdinburgUFO.com or http://roswellbooks.com/edinburg.

General admission for the entire day starts at $20. Tickets are available for purchase at the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, 602 W University Dr. (cash, check, or credit card), or by telephone by calling the Chamber at 956-383-4974 or toll-free at 1-800-800-7214.