Phantoms and Monsters

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• Teen Girls Chased By Black Panther - Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, UK
• South Australian Police Raid 'Doomsday Cult' Properties
• BAASS 'Lending Insight' to MUFON Capri UFO Probe
• Beware of the Gold Peddlers!
• PAST Team Investigates Missing Person Mystery

Teen Girls Chased By Black Panther - Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, UK Posted: 20 May 2010 01:05 PM PDT Kim Howells, left, and Sophie Gwynne near the spot in the Forest of Dean where they saw the big cat they believe to have been a panther dailymail - A 15-year-old schoolgirl has told of her terror after being chased by a big cat she claims was a 'black panther' in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Kim Howells was enjoying a walk through the woodland on her 15th birthday with her cousin Sophie Gwynne, eight, when they came across the animal lying beneath a tree. Ms Howells, who described the 'panther' as about the size of a Great Dane dog, with big eyes, paws and a long tail, said the creature began following them after they spotted it at around 8.30pm on Monday night. She said: 'I saw something out of the corner of my eye and at first I thought it was a log or something. 'We carried on walking but then I looked back and it was sitting up looking at me. 'It was definitely a big cat. I've seen wild boar and deer in the Forest before and it definitely wasn't one of them. 'What makes me sure is that it was still light so I could see it really clearly.' Ms Howells added: 'Sophie was asking what it was and then we looked behind us and it was about five metres away, following us. 'I didn't know what to do so we cut through the brambles and just started running.' The pair then ran all the way back to Ms Howells's family home in nearby Ruspidge. Ms Howells's mother Cathy said: 'They were in a real state, their feet were all cut and Sophie was in tears. 'Kim is a very sensible girl and if that's what she says she saw, that's what it is.' Mrs Howells later showed her daughter a picture of a panther on the internet for her to confirm that was indeed what she had seen. Mrs Howells said she now has doubts about letting her daughter and niece play in the nearby woods. She added: 'I used to think that they were much better off there than a public park or somewhere but now I'm not sure, it is a real worry.' It is not the first time a big cat sighting has been reported near Ruspidge. In June 2007, milkman Robert Brinton got an early morning wake-up call when he encountered a big cat in Railway Road. Earlier the same year, firefighter Peter Bishop reported a black cat sighting in Cinderford and a lorry driver from Lydney also saw one on Valley Road. Teen Girls Chased By Black Panther - Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, UK

South Australian Police Raid 'Doomsday Cult' Properties Posted: 20 May 2010 12:37 PM PDT adelaidenow - They believe the Apocalypse is looming in 2012, but for the leaders of the Agape Ministries cult, their world yesterday tumbled down. After 90 heavily armed police swooped on 12 properties owned by the sect in Adelaide and south of the city, three church elders were last night being sought by police. Church leader Rocco Leo - known to his congregation as Brother Rock - was among those whose whereabouts were last night unknown. Leo, 54, has a criminal record for running a brothel in the 1980s. Former members say he is behind a fraud involving millions of dollars donated by sect members. Those sect members are required to pass on 10 per cent of their earnings. The Agape Ministries believes the world will end in 2012, and has attracted several hundred people to its "House of God" at Oakden, in Adelaide's northeast. Police charged four men after the raids yesterday and on Wednesday, but are still seeking at least three senior members. "Police have not been able to locate the leaders of Agape Ministries or its key personnel," Superintendent Jim Jeffery said. "We don't know of their whereabouts (but) there's nothing to cause us to believe they are not in Australia." Supt Jeffery said police were concerned that while ammunition was found in the raids, high-powered guns believed to be possessed by the cult were missing. An Upper Sturt man, 46, will face Adelaide Magistrates Court and a Mt Compass man, 49, will appear in Christies Beach Magistrates Court next month. Two other men - one, 38, of Oakden, the other, 48, of Aberfoyle Park - were reported for firearm offences and will be summoned to appear in court later. Fifteen illegal firearms and extendable batons were found in the raids, while Major Fraud detectives also seized financial records. A core group of about 60 believed the cult leaders would use their money to buy a Pacific Ocean island to build a Christian colony for the congregation, police said. A former cult member has told The Advertiser that church members are brainwashed into believing that life on Earth will end after microchips are implanted into everyone by the end of 2012. Supt Jeffery would not say if money was seized in the raids but he said the ministry had built up a substantial fund from pledges by the congregation. He said some members had sold their homes and given the proceeds to the church to buy the Pacific Island colony. He said police believed church leaders had been making arrangements to move offshore. Information from former Agape church followers and the criminal history of "some of the people involved" sparked the investigation, which included federal police and Customs dogs specially trained in locating firearms and ammunitions. Two weapons and two batons were located at the church's main headquarters in Oakden - which was bought by Mr Leo for about $500,000 but put on the market recently for $5 million. Batons, fuses, detonators, detonator cords and about 20,000 rounds of high-powered ammunition was found at a church-owned property on Blackfellows Creek Rd, Mt Magnificent, east of Mt Compass. Supt Jeffery said the ammunition was hidden inside the steel frames of bedheads and also in shipping containers.. "By the looks of the shipping containers there, they were having plans to relocate overseas but, of course, we don't know the reasons for stockpiling weapons or why they secreted ammunition inside those containers," Supt Jeffery said. "High-powered ammunition is very concerning and we haven't located the firearms that go with that ammunition, which is very concerning." At the Oakden church yesterday, neighbour and businessman George Kruszewski said one hectare of land was offered for sale to him for $5 million about three months ago, by church "financier' John Mouhalos. Last month, Mouhalos walked free from the District Court on a suspended sentence over a 2007 assault of a man who borrowed money from him, as well as over the discovery of two pistols inside his car. In sentencing, Judge Paul Cuthbertson found that Rocco Leo - who gave evidence in Mouhalos' defence - was an "unbelievable" witness. Mr Kruszewski said Mouhalos also said he could organise business loans of $10 million upwards and that the church owned properties in Queensland, Melbourne and the leaders were considering buying a island outside Australia. "It's probably more of a business than a cult . . . the inner circle of people there seemed to be involved in finance and business and that sort of thing," he said. The inside of the ageing building, which was originally part of the Hillcrest Mental Hospital, was renovated and furnished with expensive chandeliers, marble benches and other equipment plus a "huge" warehouse at the back", Mr Kruszewski said. "It's not the sort of place you'd say looked like a church when you've got lots of building materials, coldrooms and a commercial kitchen in there," he said. He said Leo and Mouhalos had been friendly and welcoming when they first moved in but the group had become progressively "secretive" and kept "a low profile" in recent years. Mr Kruszewski said about 100 people attended the Sunday church meetings with about 50 cars parked inside a large locked iron gate. He had attended several Sunday meetings in which "Brother Rock" had preached from the Bible. "He was putting himself up as a great healer and a person who's got authority," he said. "It didn't attract me, I could see right through it." Several neighbours said four German shepherd guard dogs always patrolled inside the fence at Oakden. Meanwhile, at the cult's Mt Magnificent property, an "Exclusion Notice - by order of the High Court of Australia" on the front gate suggested a lack of hospitality. With at least six main buildings and a stern warning that trespassers risked a $500,000 fine, it is unlikely any lost hiker would find their way on to the retreat, situated near Mt Compass south of Adelaide. Yesterday, the only people to pass the private property notice were police, who spent the afternoon scouring the farm for firearms and other evidence. A police diving team searched the murky depths of a large dam before moving to a rusting rainwater tank. Children's play equipment was set up metres from dormitory-style accommodation, although neighbours said they had only noticed adults come and go. "They never come near us," dairy farmer Geoff Anderson said. "We wouldn't have spoken two words in two years ... they're some kind of doomsday mob that's all I've heard." Mr Anderson said he had heard gunshots from the property but not enough to rouse suspicion. South Australian Police Raid 'Doomsday Cult' Properties

BAASS 'Lending Insight' to MUFON Capri UFO Probe Posted: 20 May 2010 12:09 PM PDT marcoislandflorida - Bigelow Aerospace has joined the investigation into the recent strange UFO sightings over the Isles of Capri. The nonprofit Mutual Unidentified Flying Object Network held a packed public town hall on May 11 on Capri, attracting residents and others who have seen strange objects in the sky. Gary Hernandez, field investigator with Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies, is interested in follow-up studies on the Capri UFO reports. Bigelow Aerospace, which has announced plans to someday enter the private space-flight industry, has expertise in alternative methods of propulsion. "We have a highly sophisticated system of investigative tools that can help lend insight into strange phenomena such as those seen by the residents in your area," Hernandez said in a phone conversation on May 13. Eyewitnesses "I was down in your area several years ago investigating similar sightings, and would very much like to return and speak with eyewitnesses there now," Hernandez said. "I'll do my best to objectively research and investigate each occurrence and gather as much supporting information to come to a potential conclusion," Hernandez wrote in an e-mail on May 13. Hernandez said he did not agree with MUFON's conclusion that the photo captured by the Isles of Capri Fire/Rescue Department's webcam was likely the moon setting. And the photo could not have been of the planet Venus, said Hernandez. "Although the photo was small, there is no way that the dates, time, and weather conditions would support that conclusion," Hernandez said. "On the night of March 27, it was raining sideways, the wind was gusting to 51 mph, and the sky was black," said Hernandez. "Skies were dark as well for the next two nights." Hernandez plans to study the photo further and speak with witnesses to gather additional information. Morgan Beall, state section director with MUFON, presented his conclusions after talking with eyewitnesses of the strange phenomena that appeared on and around the Isles of Capri from March 27 through early May. Beall's report was made on May 7. In Beall's words, "With great detail and correlating past reports and current continual reports, this case's disposition is unknown. It is the opinion of this investigator that the exact nature of the events of the March 27, 28, and 29, 2010 sightings is unidentified. "Historical cases show a similar pattern of sightings ranging back to 2007," Beall said. "Suspect sightings occurring after the March sighting dates from secondary witnesses contain plausible explanations such as being the moon setting and misidentification of conventional aircraft from the Naples air traffic or local air traffic." Recommendations Beall's recommendations: 1. Have witnesses participate in further investigation; 2. Continue to monitor the region for similar reports; 3. Collect more witness testimonies and 4. Create a working relationship with the witnesses and local community to establish a line of contact and evidence collection. Beall also advised residents to be vigilant. This area appears to be a "hot spot" for unusual phenomena, Beall said. _______________________ 'ISLES OF CAPRI' SIGHTING The mysterious UFO sightings that have been reported from the Isles of Capri have gained enough exposure for a town hall meeting to be setup for local's who have made reports to tell their stories. The town hall event is being set up by Morgan Beall who is a state section director for MUFON ( Mutual Unidentified Flying Object Network). MUFON has gone to the Isles of Capri for a full investigation of recent sightings. Beall spoke to local Capri Fire Chief Emilio Rodriguez who was one of the original people to report seeing the mysterious light along with members of his staff. Also interviewed was Mike Castellano who owns a local business called the Capri Fish House. Castellano and other workers stated that they also had sightings of the unidentified flying object on more then one occasion. Other residents of Capri have also called in with various sightings having the same description. During one sighting on April 20 workers from the Capri Fish House reported a sightings of the mysterious light and that a group of jets were attempting to approach it in the night sky. They said they jets seemed to pursue the strange UFO but it would disappear before they could reach it and then reappear in a different location. The aircraft would redirect back toward the lights new position but the object would disappear again and not return. A Weatherbug camera located on the Isle of Capri took a photo of what seems to be the light or unidentified object hovering on March 29. Since this picture was taken many local residents have reported sighting with the same type of descriptions prompting MUFON to launch an investigation and send in a director to hold the local town hall meeting. Sources: uforeported.com www.marcoislandflorida.com www.naplesnews.com NOTE: I'm going to reserve comment for now. Let's see how MUFON and BAASS handle this sighting and how the witnesses respond to the investigation...Lon BAASS 'Lending Insight' to MUFON Capri UFO Probe

Beware of the Gold Peddlers! Posted: 20 May 2010 12:16 PM PDT Please note...I did not post this as a political statement and/or personal view of Glenn Beck and the conservative media. Just a warning before you start sending me the emails...Lon mediamatters - Throughout Glenn Beck's meteoric rise to become king of all right-wing media, a once-obscure Santa Monica peddler of gold coins called Goldline International has been along for the ride. The support of Beck and other radio hosts -- mainly conservatives like Mark Levin and Fred Thompson -- who spend 55 minutes creating fear of an economic collapse and then five minutes telling you why coins from a company like Goldline are the only safe haven has helped Goldline become a $500 million company. This, for example, is what 2 million TV viewers who clicked on Beck's nightly Fox News Channel show heard on Oct. 6, 2009: You don't have any gold, right? This is you. This is you. This is your savings. How much did you lose if you had any money in your 401k? Did you lose, let's say, I don't know, 40 percent of it? So, that's gone. Now, did you know that the dollar has lost nearly 29 percent of its value in the last seven years? Twenty-nine percent. OK, that's gone. Just gone. This isn't an advertisement, although it may sound like one. It's the editorial content of the show, although at some point during the hour viewers are sure to see an ad for Goldline with their "800" number prominently displayed. Meanwhile, visitors to GlennBeck.com see a big ad for Goldline, while visitors to Goldline.com can see testimonials from Beck for Goldline. It's hard to know sometimes where Beck -- who famously told his viewers to get behind "God, gold, and guns" -- ends and Goldline begins. Never mind that anxiety-drenched radio listeners never got to hear the other side of the gold coin, which is that the industry is plagued by high-pressure sales tactics as well as high commissions which mean that gold -- already at a record high (although not when adjusted for inflation) -- would have to rise well beyond its current highs to see a reasonable return on their investment. Finally, a grown-up has stepped in to try to clean up this mess -- Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York. At this hour, Weiner is holding a news conference not only to call out Goldline as "a company that uses conservative rhetoric, high pressure sales tactics and tall tales about the future of gold to sell over priced coins that can be bought somewhere else for cheaper," but to ask regulators from the Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate its tactics. Weiner's staff investigated Goldline and found that the coins it sells are not the good investment that its salesmen -- who are not licensed investment advisers -- claim that it is to consumers, because the price of gold would essentially have to double beyond its current high to begin seeing any gains. Specially, the investigators found Goldline coins selling for 90 percent above the melt value of the coin, that is, its value by weight. The largest markup seen on a coin, Weiner said, was 208 percent above the melt value. "In the past there is always the "product" that is either the next big thing (the dot com boom) or the investment that will never go down in price (the housing market), and in the past much of the media has failed in its duty to conduct due diligence, but never before have they worked so hand in hand to cheat consumers," Weiner said in his prepared report. "Commentators like Glenn Beck who are shilling for Goldline are either the worst financial advisers around or knowingly lying to their loyal viewers." Adds Weiner: Goldline's high pressure sales tactics and fear mongering about big government as well as their ability to hire sales staff and spokespeople who misrepresent their roles are case studies in why entities like the SEC and FTC are necessary. The Brooklyn congressman sent letters to the heads of the FTC and the SEC requesting that some of Goldline's more questionable tactics be investigated. In addition, he says he will propose legislation requiring full disclosure of hidden fees, the purchase price/Melt value/Resale value, and how much the cost of gold will need to rise in the value for the customers' investment to be profitable. All common sense ideas. Look, no one but Beck himself -- whose made a career out of gaining trust from his listeners only to sell them a bad investment that also enriches him through endorsement fees -- and Goldline International are to blame for this mess. But of course, Beck is doing what he does best and blaming the messengers, accusing them of "McCarthyism" by going after his sponsors. That has nothing to do with this -- it's about consumer protection. If Beck endorsed companies that didn't use questionable sales tactics, there would be no story. And frankly, Weiner wouldn't even be involved if the SEC and the FTC had been doing their jobs in the first place. NOTE: I was shocked to see the prices that these dealers are charging for gold coins. They are touting their inflated priced coins as an investment when the collectible value is probably not or never will be much higher than the actually weight value. When the gold market plummets, which it will eventually, a lot of people are going to be stuck with shiny discs of gold metal that are worth only a small fraction of what they paid...Lon Beware of the Gold Peddlers!

PAST Team Investigates Missing Person Mystery Posted: 20 May 2010 10:50 AM PDT I received the following email on Weds. May, 19th from the PAST Investigators: Hello, We wanted to share some footage from a recent investigation. We are the Paranormal Anomaly Search Team located outside Chicago Illinois. Recently we were asked to investigate in Mendota Illinois. Just after midnight on September 20, 1990, Veronica Jill Blumhorst left her job to drive a few blocks to her home. Her car was found parked in the family garage the next morning, but she has never been seen again. There are many reports of paranormal activity around the area she disappeared, including a grocery store that was built at the time of her disappearance. Many believe the activity may be from Veronica. We went to many locations around town including the grocery store to gather evidence. The family was hoping for the team to contact her or to get answers. To this day a body has not been found and the case has no leads or suspects. It is believed her life ended that night. Our team is based on hard evidence. We thoroughly scrutinize our findings to ensure what we present is true paranormal evidence. The teams founder, John, also has an ability to sense things from the spirit world which helps lead us to the right areas and questions. We do not solely present what he senses if we can't back it up with hard evidence. We were amazed at our findings which include knocks, a voice that answers a question about her brothers name, gun shots and an amazing clip 4 word sentence response to a question. The PAST Team Click for video You can also find more videos and photos at Paranormal Investigation in Mendota Illinois PAST Team Investigates Missing Person Mystery * * * * * Rick Phillips has posted an interesting article on his UFO Disclosure Countdown Clock blog - UFO 'Knowledge' - Take Your Pick. Read the post and tell him what you think. * * * * * Have you had a close encounter or witnessed something unusual? Send us an email Become a fan of 'Phantoms and Monsters' at Facebook Listen to our segment 'Strickly Paranormal: For Those Seeking the Truth!' Anomalist Books - works on maverick science, unexplained mysteries, unorthodox theories, strange talents, and unexpected discoveries. Please check out their excellent and diverse catalog "The latest news from beyond the mainstream" Join Ben & Aaron for their weekly podcast! Check out Mysterious Universe Plus+ all access format! Join the Phantoms & Monsters Wiki A network for paranormal investigators, enthusiasts and those seeking the truth

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