Francis Ridge

Francis Lee Ridge (October 13, 1942 – January 20, 2026) was an American ufologist with over 60 years in UFO investigation. Starting in 1960, he led Indiana Unit 1 for NICAP until 1971, investigating hundreds of cases. He served as MUFON State Section Director (1972) and State Director (1986), ran the UFO Filter Center (1973-1995), and was a CUFOS field investigator. Ridge created MADAR in 1970, a global sensor network detecting anomalies during UFO events with over 350 nodes. He authored 'Regional Encounters: The FC Files' (1994), built the Regional Sighting Information Database (4,000+ entries), led the Nuclear Connection Project (2003), Lunascan Project (1997), and re-investigated the Mantell case (2006), concluding it involved a real UFO. He developed the NICAP website, preserving key historical documents. Residing in Mt. Vernon, Indiana, with wife Carolyn, he left a profound legacy in UAP research.