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URECAT - UFO Related Entities Catalog

URECAT is a formal catalog of UFO related entities sightings reports with the goal of providing quality information for accurate studies of the topic. Additional information, corrections and reviews are welcome at patrick.gross@inbox.com, please state if you wish to be credited for your contribution or not. The main page of the URECAT catalog is here.

JANUARY 9, 1990, TOQUILLA, BOYACA, COLOMBIA, IVAN NARANJO, CONSUELO NARANJO, HERNAN GALLEGO, ULLISES MOLANO:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

An astonishing but fragmentary story found on the web, as well as in the form of short summaries even more fragmentary and with occasionally a big date error, relates to a close encounter of the third kind in Colombia, just as extraordinary as it lacks credibility.

The story tells that in the area of Boyaca, on January 9, 1990, at 06:00 p.m., a group of people went up the Valley of Toquilla, in the "Piedmont Llanero". On bosrd a Nissan Patrol car were Ivan Naranjo, a dentist, his sister Consuelo Naranjo, apparently graduating in biology, Hernan Gallego and Ullises Molano, described as students in some versions, and driver Pineda.

There was a weather of fresh breeze coming from the mountains. The travelers had been advised to cross the valley at full speed, but did so at average speed.

They first observed that their car was escorted by a pair of small luminous spots; which the dentist thought to be bioluminescent insects, known in the area, but his sister disagreed because of their size and their erratic behavior. The were stunned when these luminous spots entered the car through the windshield, without perforating it, crossed the car and left by the back without perforating the fabric of the hood nor burning anything.

They had hardly recovered from this, when the car that had functioned perfectly started to "cough", and a few moments later, the lights and the engine died out. When they tried to restart it, they saw on the darkness of the horizon a huge red, green and yellow gleam. They decided it was thunderflash nor fire lit by someone who would have burned some undergrowth, but something abnormal, so beautiful that the sister grabbed her camera.

This gleam appeared to move towards them, getting bigger and bigger, and in a few seconds, it was practically overhead and they clearly saw that they were the lights of a flying saucer, larger than a Jumbo Jet, which rocked from one side to another, as if it had lost control.

It appeared that the saucer was about to crash right unto them and they thought they would die. The dentist felt his muscles being affected of a "tiredness" and he could not run away, and instead could only try to shout to the others that they should run for safety.

Unable to run, he looked up in fascination and suddenly, he saw another huge saucer emerge from nowhere, and firing a powerful beam of dense white light at the other saucer, which stopped the latter from falling down, all in a matter of seconds.

Half-recovered from the panic, the dentist saw three occupants emerge from the "rescuing" saucer. Two of them appeared normal beings, with the head packed up in a bubble of opaline aspect which prevented from seeing their faces, and the arms and the legs were clad in a sort of brilliant mesh, very tight-fitted and like flocculent. On their helmet, they carried a "headlight", which, at times, launched sparks of green light.

The dentist noted that the third occupant was different, much smaller, and looked like a mechanical or biological robot, that he later speculated to have been used by the occupants for the riskier tasks. This robot moved with enormous ease, wrapped in a ray of light which came out of the rescue saucer, indifferent to gravity, levitating noiselessly, constantly hung by this sort of umbilical cord. He said the robot moved all across the valley, sometimes at a long distance, while stopping on the thin water wells of the valley, to the damaged vessel which hovered some 150 meters high.

Once the apparent repair operations were done, the repaired saucer started to rotate "at a vertiginous speed" and deviated in a thick fog which only let see a ring of yellow lights. The other saucer probably disappeared in the middle of this whirlwind which tore off the vegetation, sand, dust. Then, absolute calm again reigned in the valley.

The witnessed were not wounded, but the dentist tells that the driver, Pineda, had superficial burns and would die later in Venezuela in rather unclear circumstances, victim of a sudden disease which could not be diagnosed.

The witnesses could hardly sleep, and at sunrise, with aching bodies, hungry and stiff from the cold, they looked for traces, and found that the wells were completely dry, covered of a thick mud with an abundance of a vitreous and compact unknown material that the sister sampled. The ground appeared burned as if fire had rained from the sky, and the undergrowth appeared torn off on all sides. There were corpses of valley animals, snakes, rats, lizards, which they thought had been killed by the radiations produced from the saucers.

The sister adds to the story that she had scoffed at UFOs but didn't anymore, that the whole episode took 45 minutes, and has some remarks about the photographs "escaping from the inquisition" of people who "diabolised" them and officials who wanted to destroy them.

On his part, Hernan Gallego adds that he was close to one of the beings who was deprived of any protection, and he clearly saw his face as he stood on the ground instead of floating like the others. The being approached him almost at breathing distance and calmly looked at him without a word. After he had examined the witness, he extended his hand as if to invite him up on board. Gallego tells he instinctively moved back little by little and quickly left the place, and feels sure that the being understood the reasons of his rejection. Raising the arm, the being was then absorbed in the red-gilded nebulosity which preceded the disappearance of the saucer. Gallego tells of a pleasant feeling of peace and understanding that remained with him.

Gallego states that the creature was made in the image of God, like all men, with nothing abnormal about him, with long chestnut hair with some grey patches. The eyes, the nose and the ears were like those of any normal human, his face was pleasant and full of vitality. He stood 1.85 meters approximately; the body was thin, the members long and the musculature light. He was clad in a very tight-fitting silver suit, without buttons nor closings.

Gallego goes on claiming he saw him or other UFO occupants on several occasions later; some of them walking in the street, mingling with earthmen who did not particularly notice them. He tells that in "a certain locality", he saw the being come out of a hotel, though the gatekeeper saw nobody and the hotel was temporarily empty.

Gallego claims to have seen one while he was measuring a road in the north of Boyaca accompanied by a topographer, his collaborators and workmen of the public construction machines: suddenly, by day, an unknown man appeared that he recognized as the UFO occupant because he appeared to greet in the distance. He said nothing to the others, that he is sure also saw the space man, but as very superstitious peasants they must have believed that he was some ghost.

The above encounter is confirmed by alleged witness Ulises Molano, who adds that he was taken of a very strange dizziness when he looked at the space man, who turned back very fast and disappeared in the shade.

Basic information table:

Case number: URECAT-000337
Date of event: January 9, 1990
Earliest report of event: Not known.
Delay of report: Days, years.
Witness reported via: Not known.
First alleged record by: Ufologist of the country.
First certain record by: Ufology article by Scott Corrales.
First alleged record type: Ufologist of the country.
First certain record type: Ufology article.
This file created on: November 5, 2007
This file last updated on: November 5, 2007
Country of event: Colombia
State/Department: Boyaca
Type of location: Desert valley.
Lighting conditions: Night
UFO observed: Yes
UFO arrival observed: Yes
UFO departure observed: Yes
UFO/Entity Relation: Certain
Witnesses numbers: 4 or 5
Witnesses ages: Not reported, adults.
Witnesses types: Dentist, sister biologist, 2 students, chauffeur.
Photograph(s): Allegedly, not available.
Witnesses drawing: No.
Witnesses-approved drawing: No.
Number of entities: 3 or 4
Type of entities: Human and 1 robot
Entities height: 1.85 meters, robot small
Entities outfit type: One piece tight fitting, shining, flocculent, opaline helmet with lamp flashing green sparks.
Entities outfit color: Silver.
Entities skin color: Not reported.
Entities body: Normal.
Entities head: Normal.
Entities eyes: Normal.
Entities mouth: Normal.
Entities nose: Normal
Entities feet: Not reported.
Entities arms: Normal.
Entities fingers: Not reported.
Entities fingers number: Not reported.
Entities hair: Long normal chestnut hair.
Entities voice: None heard.
Entities actions: Came out of UFO, repaired other UFO, departure.
Entities/witness interactions: One occupant makes inviting gesture.
Witness(es) reactions: Observed, photographed, took ground samples, went.
Witness(es) feelings: Frightened.
Witness(es) interpretation: Extraterrestrial visitors.
Explanation category: Possible hoax.
Explanation certainty: Medium.

Narratives:

Boyaca, January 9, 1990.

It was six hours of the afternoon when we went up the Valley of Toquilla, in the "Piedmont Llanero", with a weather of fresh breeze coming from the mountains. Although we had been advised to cross the valley at full speed, we did it at an average speed. In the valley, I had already observed that the jeep was escorted by a pair of small luminous spots. I had thought that they were codonts (a variety of coleopters, of some three centimeters of size, with two phosphorescent spots emitting a bluish light), which thrive in this area during the hot tropical summer, but my sister Consuelo - on the point to graduate in Biology - did not agree. For her, they weren't codonts because of their size and their erratic behavior. What is surprising is that these spots of light penetrated in the jeep by the windshield, without perforating it and crossed it until leaving by the back without perforating the fabric of the hood nor burning the hands.

This totally stunned us.

We had hardly recovered from this disconcerting visit, when the Nissan Patrol, which until this moment functioned perfectly well, started to "cough". A few moments later, the lights and the engine died out. When we tried to restart it, we saw in the distance, in the middle of the darkness, an immense red, green and yellow gleam on the horizon. They were not thunderflashes nor fire lit by somebody who would have burned some undergrowth; it was something of abnormal, so beautiful that Consuelo did not delay in grabbing her camera. This gleam, far from remaining motionless, appeared to move towards where we were, while increasing in size and intensity every moment. In a few seconds, it was practically above us and we could clearly see that the light came from a discoid object larger than a Jumbo Jet, which rocked from one side to another, as if it would have lost control. It appeared inevitable that we were going to be crushed by the huge craft and I thought that my last hour had come. Against all logic, a sort of muscular tiredness prevented me from moving me to try to flee. Driven by despair and this paralysis, with the little breath which remained in me, I shouted "save yourselves while you can!", but my words were drowned in this thick saliva which chokes those who will die.

With my legs weak and trembling with fear, I remained standing, without being able to escape what fell onto us from above. I looked up, fascinated, to see when the frightening crash of the craft on us would happen, when suddenly, appeared I do not know from where, another flying machine of big size which went above the one that was falling and stopped it short by means of a powerful beam of very white and dense light. All this occurred in a matter of seconds. I then recovered from the fright: hadn't somebody not just saved us of a horrible death?

Half-recovered from the panic, I saw something that I would never forget: from the recently arrived ship, three occupants came out, and placed themselves around the UFO which remained immobilized on our heads. Two of them, which appeared of physical nature and normal structure, had the head packed up in a bubble of opaline aspect which prevented from seeing their faces, and the arms and the legs were clad in a sort of brilliant mesh, very tight-fitted and like flocculent. On their helmet, they carried a "headlight", which, at times, launched sparks of green light. The third of these beings was different, much smaller, and by its appearance, it must have been an automat or a biological robot, later I deduced that maybe it could act as a mean for the others to perform high-risk work. The robot moved with enormous ease, wrapped in a ray of light which came out of the second ship, indifferent to gravity, levitating without any noise, constantly hung by this sort of umbilical cord. It moved all across the valley, sometimes at a long distance, while stopping on the thin water wells that are located there, as I know, to the damaged vessel, motionless some 150 meters high.

Once the repair finished, if that's what it actually was, the object, which had remained motionless above us, started to rotate at a vertiginous speed and deviated in a thick fog which only let see a ring of yellow lights. The other apparatus probably disappeared in the middle of this whirlwind which tore off the vegetation, sand, dust. Then, absolute calm again reigned in the valley.

Gathered again, we touched one another to make sure we were alive, without serious wounds nor contusions. The only one who presented surface burns was the driver, Pineda, who months later died in Venezuela in rather unclear circumstances, victim of a sudden disease which could not be diagnosed.

We could hardly sleep, and at sunrise, with aching bodies, hungry and stiff from the cold, we decided to look for traces of what we had lived hours ago. Although a dark and wet fog covered grounds in the first gleams of the morning, we started the exploration of the premises to prove to us that all had been only been a collective nightmare. We were not long in finding: in my life, I never examined like that each square centimeter, the wells were completely dry, covered of a thick mud, and in there was an abundance of a vitreous and compact unknown material that my sister Consuela sampled. The ground appeared of copper, burned, as if fire had rained from the sky, and the undergrowth appeared torn off on all sides. On the zone of the damage, there were corpses of snakes and small animals of the mountain, probably killed by the radiations produced from the saucers which, thanks God, did not transform us into heap of ashes, we do not know why.

IVAN NARANJO

Before what happened in the Valley of Toquilla, I hated the subject of UFOs, so belittled in the academic world. I always avoided it, with the conviction that it was only a collective pathology. Now, I conclude that when certain facts are revealed against this assumption, I will do without this one, even if it is supported by the most famous scientists.

From the moment we saw the gleam in the mountain until the departure of the UFO with its "partner", no more than forty five minutes had run. I calculated this later, because in such circumstances fear takes over and one does not know what is going on.

I had resigned myself to the worst and, sincerely, I admit the human incapacity to react when facing something so extraordinary; the instinct of self-preservation, the intelligence, the capacity to improvise..., nothing remains of all...

[...]

These photographs were saved from the Inquisition! There was no shortage of people who diabolised them, nor of officials who wanted to destroy them.

CONSUELO NARANJO

[...]

I was close to one of "them" who was deprived of any protection and I could see his face very clearly, [...] he was standing on the ground and unlike the others he did not float [...] while approaching almost at breathing distance and he remained calm, while looking at me without a word. After he had examined me he extended his hand with benevolence, as if he invited me to go up to where the UFOS remained motionless. I instinctively withdrew mine and I moved back little by little, to quickly leaving the place. I am sure that he understood the reasons of my rejection and while raising the arm, as while being drawn aside, he was absorbed in the red-gilded nebulosity which preceded the disappearance of the ship. He went without leaving a trace, but a pleasant feeling of peace and understanding remained with me.

This creature was made in the image of God, like all of us; no abnormal cranium nor absence of hair, on the contrary, it had long hair, of chestnut color, with some grey patches. The eyes, the nose and the ears were like those of any normal human. As opposed to what is said about other extraterrestrial beings, his face was pleasant and full of vitality. The stature could be one meter eighty five. The body was thin, the members long and the musculature light, clad in a very tight-fitting silver suit, without buttons nor closings.

[...]

I saw these beings on several occasions; some of them walking in the street, mingling with earthmen who did not particularly notice them. Once, being in a certain locality, I saw him coming out of a hotel, the dismayed gatekeeper was unable to give any explanation, he had simply seen nobody leaving; moreover, the establishment was temporarily empty for lack of water.

[...]

When I measured a road in the north of Boyaca accompanied by a topographer, my collaborators and the workmen of the public construction machines, suddenly, in the light of the day, an unknown man appeared that, because it appeared to greet in the distance, I immediately recognized, and I refrained the emotion I had in seeing him again. Obviously, I refrained from any comment or suspect attitude in the presence of the workmen. Those, good peasants, but very superstitious, believed that it was about some "fright" who, according to old rural legends, sometimes appear. And as it is the custom in such circumstance they continued to do nothing. I am sure that all of them saw him.

HERNAN GALLEGO

I was also with the engineer and the companions the time when we saw him on the slope discovered by the tractor. I fixedly stared him from the distance, when I was taken of a very strange dizzy spell, and then, the man turned back very fast and disappeared in the shade.

ULISES MOLANO

Note: missing parts ([...]) are missing in the original source.

[Ref. sc1:] SCOTT CORRALES:

[... Other cases ... ]

January 9th, 1990: odontologist Ivan Naranjo and two passengers were traversing Colombia's lonely Toquila Valley at night when their vehicle, a Nissan jeep, began to experience engine trouble. The utility vehicle soon ground to a halt by the roadside as its electrical system went dead. Stranded in the middle of the Andean darkness, Naranjo was doing his best to get the vehicle in motion again when one of the passengers gasped involuntarily at what was taking place in the night sky. In the horizon, headed their way, was an amazing interplay of red, green and yellow lights which did not correspond to any atmospheric phenomenon they could identify.

In spite of their situation, the stranded humans could only look on in sheer astonishment as the array of colors lit the sky and grew closer, increasing in size as it closed the intervening distance. Within seconds, a huge disk shaped vehicle, much larger than the largest airliner, was hovering unsteadily in the blackness over their heads. The object was out of control, and to their horror, about to crash-land right on top of them.

While their instincts screamed at them to run for cover, Naranjo and his passengers found themselves paralyzed by what he characterized as "muscular sluggishness". He clearly remembers trying engage his legs into a last frantic, hopeless dash to safety before an object apparently weighing tens of thousands of tons fell on him. Then the incredible happened.

Out of nowhere, another massive, disk shaped craft entered the scene. Gliding into the space immediately above the dangerously wobbling craft, it fired what Naranjo described as "a dense beam of white light" at the vessel, stabilizing its erratic motion immediately. The surreal event became even more so as two ufonauts emerged from the larger craft to ostensibly perform repairs on the now-stabilized saucer.

The occupants paid no attention to the shaken humans below as they performed their duties. After an unspecified period of time, the repaired saucer began spinning furiously on its axis, vanishing in a thick fog. The rescue ship (if so it was) vanished amid a powerful whirlwind that stripped earth, rocks and dust from the surface below.

Exhausted by the ordeal, the shocked humans spent a night of fitful sleep in the wilderness. But the landscape that met their eyes the following morning made them think they had awakened to a nightmare: the rocky desert gave the appearance of having been blasted by divine fire; water ponds adjacent to the highway had been turned into grim troughs of mud, and the carcasses of small desert rats and lizards littered the landscape, roasted by some form of radiation. One of the passengers would later die of an unknown malady, possibly related to the strange energies released by the alien vehicles over the Toquilla Valley. This haunting almost-crash was originally investigated by researcher Miguel Forero.

[... Other cases ... ]

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Toquilla, Colombia, on January 24, 1979, at an unknown time, a dentist and three students were traveling by car when suddenly the motor engine stalled.

They then saw two metallic objects land nearby and three men wearing tight fitting silvery outfits and large helmets come out.

There was a sudden whirlwind that surrounded their vehicle and they no longer could see the figures and the objects. When the "whirlwind" went away the figures and objects were no longer there.

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is Miguel Forero, Centro Investigacion Ovni Colombia.

[Ref. ar2:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Toquilla Valley, Colombia, on January 9, 1990, late in the night, deontologist [sic] Ivan Naranjo, and two passengers were traversing a lonely valley when their vehicle, a Nissan jeep, began to experience engine trouble. The vehicle soon ground to a halt by the roadside as its electrical system went dead. Stranded in the middle of the Andean foothills, Naranjo was doing his best to get the vehicle in motion again when one of the passengers gasped involuntarily at what was taking place in the night sky. In the horizon, headed their way, was an amazing interplay of red, green and yellow lights, which did not correspond to any atmospheric phenomenon, they could identify. They watched in sheer astonishment as the array of colors lit the sky and grew closer, increasing in size as it closed the intervening distance. Within seconds a huge disc-shaped device, was hovering unsteadily in the blackness over their heads. The object was out of control, and to their horror, about to crash land right on top of them. Naranjo and his passengers found themselves paralyzed by what he characterized as "muscular sluggishness." Then suddenly out of nowhere, another massive disc-shaped craft appeared. Gliding into a space immediately above the dangerously wobbling craft, it fired a dense beam of white light at the vessel, stabilizing its erratic motion immediately.

The surreal event became even more so as two humanoids emerged from the larger craft to ostensibly perform repairs on the now stabilized saucer. Soon the repaired saucer began spinning furiously on its axis, vanishing in a thick fog. The "rescue" ship vanished amid a powerful whirlwind that stripped earth, rocks, and dust from the surface below. Exhausted by the ordeal, the shocked witnesses spent a night of fitful sleep in the wilderness. In the morning they were stunned to see a landscape that gave the appearance of having been blasted by divine fire; water ponds adjacent to the highway had been turned into grim puddles of mud, and the carcasses of small desert rats and lizards littered the landscape, roasted by some form of radiation. One of the passengers would later die of an unknown malady, possibly related to the strange energies released by the alien vehicles over the valley.

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is Scott Corrales, UFO Files #1.

[Ref. dj1:] DONALD JOHNSON:

Donald Johnson indicates that on January 24, 1979, in Toquilla near Tunja, Colombia, a dentist and three students were traveling by car when their engine suddenly stalled.

They then saw two metallic disc-shaped objects land on tripod landing gear nearby, and three men wearing tight fitting silvery outfits and large helmets exited from a hatch in one of the objects.

A sudden whirlwind surrounded their vehicle and they could no longer see either the figures or the objects. When the "whirlwind" abated both the figures and the UFOs were gone.

Donald Johnson indicates that the source is Larry Hatch, U computer database, case 13623, citing UFO Newsclipping Service, issue 119; Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1979 (electronic version), citing Miguel Forero, Centro Investigacion OVNI, Colombia).

Points to consider:

I have much difficulty in finding the story credible. It gives the impression of a fiction, with much elements sounding like clichés, and with the many details which could have constituted potential evidence that the event occurred as claimed, but for which the chance to present these evidences does not seem to have been seized.

Photographs are mentioned, but do not seem to have been released anywhere. Ground samples of a strange material are mentioned, but there is no clue of their fate. Multiple witnesses are indicated, but it does not seem that an investigator heard them directly. A mysterious death is mentioned, but it is unverifiable. The damage in the landscape is described as considerable and could have been shown, photographed, studied, but nothing of all that seems to have been carried out.

Other aspects of the case make my alarm bell rin: the fact that the UFO occupants are described as totally human, in typical "Adamski" style; the fact that the alleged witness claim to see them again here and there, for example.

I thus think that it is advisable not to take the history as necessarily true.

List of issues:

Id: Topic: Severity: Date noted: Raised by: Noted by: Description: Proposal: Status:
1 Data Severe November 5, 2007 Patrick Gross Patrick Gross Primary source missing and not identified. Help needed. Opened.
2 Ufology Severe November 5, 2007 Patrick Gross Patrick Gross Story only, no trace of investigation. Help needed. Opened.
3 Ufology Severe November 5, 2007 Patrick Gross Patrick Gross Numerous evidence mentioned, none is followed upon. Help needed. Opened.
4 Ufology Severe November 5, 2007 Patrick Gross Patrick Gross Adamski-type human UFO occupants description and repeater-witnesses. - -

Evaluation:

Possible hoax.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

Document history:

Authoring

Main Author: Patrick Gross
Contributors: None
Reviewers: None
Editor: Patrick Gross

Changes history

Version: Created/Changed By: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross November 5, 2007 Creation, [in1], [sc1], [dj1], [ar1], [ar2], [dj1].
1.0 Patrick Gross November 5, 2007 First published.

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