Doty Sends Fake APRO Letter About Pecos/Weitzel Sighting

EVENT TITLE: Doty Sends Fake APRO Letter About Pecos/Weitzel Sighting
EVENT DATE: 1980-09-01
EVENT TYPE: investigation
EXISTING SUMMARY: Richard Doty sends a fabricated letter to APRO about the Pecos/Weitzel UFO sighting. He later admits to Bill Moore that it was 'bait' to test how APRO handles information. Part of AFOSI's broader disinformation and monitoring campaign targeting civilian UFO research organizations.

SOURCE TEXT FROM RICHARD DOLAN "UFOs and the National Security State Vol.2":
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taken to an underground base, seeing human body parts floating in vats,
receiving an explanation from her captors as to what they were doing with
her and why they were on Earth, and felt some sort of device being
implanted in her body so that the aliens could monitor and control her
thoughts. Sprinkle also questioned her son, who recalled the actual sighting
and the panic of the cows, but little else. Sprinkle wanted to continue
further with the hypnotic regression, but Bennewitz was convinced Sprinkle
was a CIA agent and ordered him to leave.

How much, if any of this, was due to Bennewitz’s prior influence can only
be conjecture, but many years later another witness corroborated the UFOs,
bellowing cattle, and something horrible happening to one of the animals.
This was the wife of a Cimarron police officer who wanted to avoid
publicity because of her husband’s job. Only seven years later did the
officer confide the event to Valdez. So Hansen’s memories could not have been completely from Bennewitz. cdxxxiii
Especially interesting was Hansen’s reference to being taken to an
underground base. Underground bases were not a topic of discussion
anywhere among the general public in 1980. It so happens that Kirtland Air
Force Base has extensive underground facilities, most notably at its
Manzano Weapons Storage Area. cdxxxiv It is also believed to have been
the largest nuclear weapons storage site in the world. Sometime later, Air
Force Special Agent Richard Doty said that, while she was under hypnosis
with an Air Force psychologist, Hansen described and drew one of the
facilities at Manzano in great detail. “She even knew what the elevator
looked like.” cdxxxv Ultimately, the case deepened the already prominent
interest Paul Bennewitz had in UFOs over the Manzano facility (which was
visible from his home), and his growing conviction that there was an
underground alien base in Dulce, New Mexico. More on that later.

Close Aviation Encounters

Elsewhere in the wo
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1. In 1980, Air Force Special Agent Richard Doty sent a fabricated letter to APRO (Aerial Phenomena Research Organization) regarding the Pecos/Weitzel UFO sighting. Doty later admitted this was a deliberate act of disinformation. The purpose was to test APRO's information handling procedures.

The Incident

* Richard Doty, an Air Force Special Agent, created and sent a fake letter to APRO.
* The letter concerned the Pecos/Weitzel UFO sighting.
* Doty later confessed to Bill Moore that the letter was 'bait'.
* The goal was to observe and assess how APRO processed and managed the information they received.

Investigation

The source text does not describe an official investigation into Doty's actions. Doty himself admitted to the fabrication.

Significance

Doty's actions are significant because they illustrate the AFOSI's (Air Force Office of Special Investigations) active role in monitoring and potentially discrediting civilian UFO research groups. This incident is considered part of a broader disinformation campaign. The incident also highlights the government's interest in controlling the narrative surrounding UFOs and potentially manipulating public perception.