Aurora, Texas Commemorates 1897 UFO Crash And Recovery Of Alien Body With April 16 Festival

FORT WORTH, Texas - March 26, 2016 - PRLog -- New Mexico may have the world-famous Roswell UFO crash, but Texas has dibs on the very first story of a crashed UFO and the discovery of an "alien" body. It happened way back in 1897 in Aurora, Texas, near Fort Worth, and on Saturday, April 16, 2016, the city is holding its first ever official commemoration of the "Aurora Alien Encounter." Sponsored by the paranormal group VORTEXAS and the City of Aurora, the event features guest speakers on the topic of UFOs, along with other activities, including tours of the UFO crash site and the burial site of the "alien."

The keynote speaker will be the world's most famous UFO abductee, Travis Walton, whose story of being taken aboard a UFO for five days in 1974 was the basis for the hit Paramount movie Fire in the Sky. While working with a logging crew in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona, Travis and six companions saw a silver, metallic disc-shaped aircraft hovering in a nearby clearing. Suddenly, the UFO shot out a bright, blue-green beam of light, striking Travis in the chest. Fearing for their lives, the other men fled, leaving Travis behind, and later reported the incident to law enforcement. Despite an intensive search by lawmen and volunteers, no trace of Travis was found for five days. Then, he suddenly reappeared with an incredible story of having been aboard a UFO.  To obtain tickets for the Aurora Alien Encounter, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aurora-alien-encounter-ticke....

Also appearing at the Aurora event will be bestselling author and renowned conspiracy theorist Jim Marrs, an award-winning former journalist with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Marrs is best known for his New York Times bestselling book Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy, which served as the basis for the Oliver Stone movie JFK, for which Marrs served as the chief consultant. The Aurora UFO case, though, has remained a passionate point of interest for Marrs over many decades, and he has been interviewed about it for countless television documentaries, books, newspaper articles, and websites.

Another speaker will be prolific writer Nick Redfern, an expert on the paranormal who has written dozens of books on UFOs, cryptozoology, and other arcane subjects. He will give a presentation about famous UFO cases in Texas including the Lubbock Lights, the Levelland UFO case, the Cash-Landrum UFO Incident, and the Stephenville Lights. Redfern has been featured on numerous TV shows including the BBC's Out of This World; the SyFy Channel's Proof Positive; and the History Channel's Monster Quest, America's Book of Secrets, Ancient Aliens and UFO Hunters.

Also speaking will be Texas author Noe Torres, who will talk about another UFO crash in Texas similar to the Aurora case but 58 years later. Torres' book The Other Roswell: UFO Crash on the Texas-Mexico Border first disclosed the amazing story of Air Force Reservist Colonel Robert Willingham's encounter with a crashed UFO near Del Rio, Texas, in 1955. Willingham said he visited the site of the saucer and saw three non-human entities through a hole in the ruptured hull of the ship. The strange beings, two of which were badly mangled, appeared to have died in the crash. "It didn't look like humans to me," Willingham said. The retired aviator said the beings had large heads, slit-like mouths, and "arms like broomsticks." World-renowned UFO investigator Dr. Bruce Maccabee calls the case "One of the world's most interesting UFO crash retrieval stories."

Another guest speaker will be Texas UFO researcher Stephen Andrasko, who will talk about UFO sightings in the 1800s, as featured in the recent book The Real Cowboys and Aliens: UFO Encounters of the Old West, for which he assisted with the research. 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. The answer is a resounding "YES," according to Andrasko, who will present a number of incredible tales of encounters between real cowboys and real UFOs.

Also appearing will be Tui Snider, a writer and travel blogger specializing in offbeat sites, overlooked history, quirky travel destinations, and haunted places. Among the places Snider has written about is Aurora, which was featured in her book Unexpected Texas: Your guide to Offbeat & Overlooked History, Day Trips & Fun things to do near Dallas & Fort Worth.

Also as part of the Aurora Alien Encounter weekend, shuttle tours will be offered of the sites where the 1897 Aurora UFO crash occurred and where the "alien" was later buried. Serving as the tour guide will be Aurora native Dr. Toni Wheeler, whose grandfather Clyde Idell was born in Aurora shortly after the crash and heard stories about it from eyewitnesses. Dr. Wheeler, who currently serves as the city administrator, is a wealth of information regarding first-hand accounts told by Aurora's "old timers" about the incident.

The Aurora Alien Encounter will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Aurora's MD Resort, a unique guest ranch which contains a spacious meeting facility and other features. The resort is located at 601 Old Base Rd in Aurora and can be found right off of Highway 114. Persons unable to attend can purchase live streaming of all the lectures via YouTube. For more information and to order tickets, visit http://roswellbooks.com/?page_id=1031.