The Portage County Police UFO Chase

The Portage County Police UFO Chase of 1966

In the early morning hours of April 17, 1966, Deputy Sheriff Dale Spaur and Deputy Wilbur “Barney” Neff encountered a luminous, disc-shaped object while investigating an abandoned car in Portage County, Ohio. What followed was an 85-minute, 85-mile high-speed chase across two states as the officers pursued the object from Ohio into Pennsylvania, joined by police from multiple jurisdictions. The chase was monitored on police radio by numerous departments and witnessed by civilians along the route. The case became one of the most dramatic UFO incidents of the 1960s - and ultimately destroyed Deputy Spaur’s life.

The officers were a vital component of this extraordinary event. Deputy Sheriff Dale Spaur, the primary witness, was a Portage County Sheriff’s Office employee, an experienced deputy on routine patrol and a career law enforcement officer. Deputy Wilbur “Barney” Neff, Spaur’s partner, also witnessed the entire event, corroborating Spaur’s account. He was a professional observer, participating in the chase and providing consistent testimony. Officer Wayne Huston, a Conway, Pennsylvania police officer, joined the pursuit, acting as an independent observer, seeing the same object and confirming his sighting from a different jurisdiction. Finally, Officer Frank Panzanella, a Conway police officer, witnessed the object, serving as the fourth officer and observing the chase’s conclusion, watching the object’s ascent and filing a report.

The encounter itself began at 5:00 AM. Spaur and Neff were investigating an abandoned car when a brilliant light approached from the west. The object stopped overhead, illuminating the entire area, but was not a helicopter nor a plane. What they observed was a disc-shaped object, approximately 40-50 feet in diameter, possessing a brilliant luminosity and a structured appearance with a dome on top. The light’s quality was bright enough to illuminate the ground, steady and not flashing, self-luminous, and intense but not blinding, unlike any known terrestrial source.

The pursuit began when the object began moving east. Spaur and Neff followed, immediately radioing their dispatcher to initiate a high-speed pursuit. The object maintained a distance, allowing the officers to keep pace. The pursuit stretched across two states, beginning in Portage County, Ohio, progressing through multiple Ohio counties before crossing into Pennsylvania and ending near Conway. The distance covered was 85 miles. Officers drove at speeds of 80-100 mph, with the object consistently staying ahead, matching their speed, occasionally hovering, and always remaining in sight. Multiple departments monitored the pursuit via police radio, dispatchers tracking the events, and updates were provided in real-time through professional exchanges documented on radio logs.

Alongside the primary officers, several other witnesses contributed to the story. Officer Wayne Huston, hearing the pursuit on the radio, positioned himself ahead and saw the object approaching, confirming its description and subsequently joining the chase. Numerous civilians along the route also witnessed the object pass and the police in pursuit, providing corroborating testimony as independent observers. This established a pattern: multiple officers, multiple jurisdictions, a consistent description of the object, the object tracked across vast distances, and radio documentation supporting the events.

The chase concluded at Conway, Pennsylvania. The object stopped, hovered briefly, and Officer Panzanella arrived, joined by the four officers now observing it. The object then began rising, accelerating straight up against the dawn sky and vanished at an altitude. Exhausted and amazed, the officers filed their reports, certain of what they had seen, and awaited investigation.

The Air Force’s Project Blue Book investigated the case, with Major Hector Quintanilla briefly investigating the incident. The explanation offered was that the sighting was due to satellite observation, Venus in the morning sky, or a simple misidentification, ultimately leading to the case being closed. However, the explanation failed because satellites do not hover, Venus does not outrun patrol cars, and the four officers did not appear confused. The 85-minute duration of the observation and the consistent testimony of four experienced officers cast doubt on the offered explanations.

The human cost of the chase was devastating for Deputy Dale Spaur. He was ridiculed, his marriage collapsed, he lost his job, his health deteriorated, and ultimately, his life was destroyed. The price of telling the truth, he tragically paid. The fate of the other officers was similarly impacted, with their careers affected and personal costs incurred, though their experiences were less documented.

The evidence surrounding this case was compelling: four police officers, an 85-mile pursuit, an 85-minute duration, multiple jurisdictions, and radio documentation. The credibility was strengthened by the witnesses being law enforcement professionals, providing independent confirmation, and the extended observation period. Detailed descriptions and consistent accounts added to the narrative’s strength.

April 17, 1966. 5:00 AM. Portage County, Ohio. Dale Spaur is a deputy sheriff. He’s investigating an abandoned car. Routine call. Nothing special. Then the light comes. From the west. Brilliant. Getting closer. Stopping overhead. Illuminating everything. He looks up and sees it. A disc. Fifty feet across. Glowing. Real. His partner Barney Neff sees it too. They radio dispatch. They give chase. For the next 85 minutes, across 85 miles, through multiple counties, across state lines, they pursue something impossible. Other officers join. Civilians see it. Radio departments track it. Four police officers. Not hysterical civilians. Not attention seekers. Cops. The object stays ahead. Sometimes stops. Sometimes hovers. Always visible. Always there. Then, near Conway, Pennsylvania, it stops for the last time. The four officers watch. It rises. Straight up. Against the morning sky. And it’s gone. They file their reports. They tell the truth. They’re professionals. The Air Force says they saw Venus. Venus. For 85 minutes. Through 85 miles. Four police officers chasing Venus across two states. The officers are mocked. Dale Spaur loses everything. His job. His marriage. His health. His life, eventually. The price of telling the truth. The Portage County chase. 1966. Four cops. 85 miles. 85 minutes. And an explanation that explained nothing. Dale Spaur knew what he saw. He paid for knowing. And the object? Still unexplained. Still impossible. Still up there somewhere.

Sources

• Wikipedia search: “The Portage County Police UFO Chase”
• Project Blue Book — National Archives — USAF UFO investigation files, 1947–1969
• CIA UFO/UAP Reading Room — Declassified CIA documents on UAP