Potpourri News No 208

Magazine Overview

Title: POTPOURRI NEWS
Issue Date: December 3, 1979
Issue Number: 208
Publisher: JOHN F. SCHUESSLER
Country: USA
Language: English

This issue of Potpourri News features two prominent reports on unusual phenomena: a baffling case of a vanishing man in France and a pilot's encounter with unidentified flying objects over Spain.

French Authorities Baffled by Story About a Vanishing Man

Authorities in Cergy-Pontoise, France, are attempting to determine whether to charge Frank Fontaine, 19, and his friends Jean-Pierre Prevot and Salomon N'Diave, both 25, with criminal mischief or to investigate a mysterious glowing unidentified flying object. Police Chief Roger Courcous expressed disbelief, stating, "This is just too fantastic."

Fontaine, who had been the subject of a police search since the previous Monday, reappeared on December 3rd in the exact spot where he disappeared a week prior. His friends reported that he was wearing the same clothes and had the same amount of money as when he vanished.

The three young men consistently repeated their story under questioning. They claim that at 4 a.m. last Monday, while loading a station wagon with clothes for an open market, they saw a brilliant light, about the size of a tennis ball, to the right of the car. The light grew larger and came to rest on the car's hood, causing their eyes to burn. From that moment until his reappearance, Fontaine claims he remembers nothing.

Prevot and N'Diave had gone home to get a camera, and upon returning, found Fontaine gone. They described the car as being there with the door open and a halo of light surrounding it, which then suddenly disappeared. Fontaine reappeared at 4:30 a.m. that day in the same spot. Believing his car had been stolen, he rushed to N'Diave's house, only to find his friend in pajamas, leading to confusion about the time elapsed.

Police conducted a geiger counter sweep of the area where Fontaine supposedly disappeared but found no trace of radioactivity. Fontaine's clothes and shoes also showed no signs of mud. Police Chief Courcous noted that Fontaine has not altered his story, which aligns with his friends' accounts. However, police remain skeptical and have involved experts from the Group for the Study of Non-Identified Aerospace Phenomena, a section of the French National Space Agency.

Red Flying Objects Chased Plane: Pilot

In a separate report from STAR, Indianapolis, IN, dated November 15, 1979, the pilot of a Spanish jetliner reported an emergency landing after being "pursued" over the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. Pilot Francisco Lerdo de Tejado stated he was forced to dive 14,000 feet to avoid a collision with unidentified flying objects.

The Spanish transport ministry launched an official investigation into the incident involving the Caravelle jet, which made an emergency landing at Valencia airport in eastern Spain. The plane was carrying 109 passengers, mostly German and Austrian tourists, on a flight from Mallorca to Tenerife.

On Sunday, bright red flying objects appeared to buzz the aircraft. Lerdo de Tejado said he requested permission to land in Valencia because his plane was in danger of colliding with an unknown object. Technicians confirmed the plane was in perfect working order.

Lerdo de Tejado recounted that while climbing from 23,000 to 33,000 feet shortly before midnight Sunday, he saw "two parallel red lights so strong that they hid their ship, or whatever it was, from sight." He described them as being on a collision course, traveling at a speed beyond conventional aircraft, before suddenly stopping very close to the Caravelle.

Other crew members corroborated his description. Lerdo stated the objects "played with us for some 10 minutes." Crucially, the nearest control tower reported that the objects did not appear on its radar.

When the objects appeared to initiate a "much more precise" second collision course, Lerdo said he dove from 29,000 to 15,000 feet and radioed for permission to land at Valencia's Manises airport due to "pursuit by an unidentified plane with risk of collision."

Sources at Valencia airport indicated that the red lights were visible around and over the airport for several hours after the plane's landing.

Information, Data, Commentary and Speculation

This section is attributed to JOHN F. SCHUESSLER, P. O. BOX 58485, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77058.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are unexplained aerial phenomena and mysterious disappearances, presented through news reports. The editorial stance, as suggested by the publication's name "Potpourri News" and the inclusion of such speculative topics, appears to be one of interest in unusual and unexplained events, presenting them for reader consideration without explicit endorsement or dismissal, though the skepticism of authorities is noted in the French case.