The Portage County UFO Chase

On April 17, 1966, Deputy Sheriff Dale Spaur and his partner Wilbur Neff observed and pursued an unidentified flying object from Portage County, Ohio into Pennsylvania—a chase lasting over 30 minutes and covering more than 70 miles. The incident, corroborated by officers from multiple jurisdictions, became one of the most famous police UFO encounters.

The Initial Sighting

At approximately 5:00 AM, Deputies Spaur and Neff were investigating an abandoned car near Ravenna, Ohio when they noticed a bright light ascending from the tree line behind them.

As they watched, a huge, luminous object rose and hovered, illuminating the area with brilliant light. The deputies later described it as approximately 50 feet across, shaped like a football stood on end, with a pointed projection on top.

The Chase

Despite their disbelief, the officers radioed in and began pursuing the object, which stayed ahead of them at varying distances. As they crossed into East Palestine, Ohio, Officer Wayne Huston had been monitoring their radio traffic and saw the object pass overhead—he joined the chase.

The pursuit continued into Pennsylvania, where Officer Frank Panzanella in Conway witnessed the object hovering and the arriving Ohio vehicles.

The Object

All officers described:

• Large, luminous object (40-50 feet)
• Football or dome shape
• Brilliant illumination
• Able to hover motionless
• Capable of rapid acceleration
• Silent operation

The chase reached speeds of 100 mph at times, but the object easily outpaced the vehicles when it chose to.

Project Blue Book Investigation

The Air Force’s Project Blue Book investigated and concluded the officers had chased Venus and then a satellite. This explanation was rejected by all witnesses:

• The object was too bright and structured to be Venus
• The chase lasted over 30 minutes with the object in clear view
• Four trained observers independently confirmed the same object
• The movements were inconsistent with any satellite

Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Blue Book’s scientific consultant, later admitted the explanation was inadequate.

Career Consequences

Deputy Dale Spaur’s life was devastated by the incident:

• He was ridiculed and lost his job
• His marriage ended in divorce
• He suffered a nervous breakdown
• He died in poverty in 1983

Spaur’s partner and the other officers also faced skepticism and career difficulties. The cost of reporting a UFO truthfully was demonstrated clearly by their fates.

The Condon Report

The incident was later reviewed by the Condon Committee (University of Colorado UFO study). Despite attempts to explain it, the case remained among those with “no explanation.”

Cultural Impact

Director Steven Spielberg based the opening sequence of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” on the Portage County incident, depicting a police officer’s UFO pursuit through rural countryside.

Legacy

The Portage County chase remains significant for:

• Multiple trained law enforcement witnesses
• Extended duration of observation
• High-speed pursuit proving object’s reality
• Independent corroboration from multiple jurisdictions
• Official explanation universally rejected by witnesses

The case demonstrates both the reality of UFO encounters and the personal cost to those who report them honestly.