SUBJECT: DETERMINATION OF ABDUCTION CASES                    FILE: UFO2648





                   Mutual UFO Network - MUFONET-BBS Network
                  ------------------------------------------

        John Komar       DETERMINATION OF ABDUCTION CASES      Copyright
        State Director  ----------------------------------       MUFON
                                     1990

   In  a  paper  delivered  during  a  MUFON  UFO International Symposium,
   researcher Budd Hopkins classified Abduction cases into five types:


   Type 1:  The  abductee consciously recalls parts of the full  abduction
            scenario:  The on-board experience,  the UFO,  it's occupants,
            it's interior, and so on. (In a clearly related sub-group, the
            abductee's conscious recall of this material is delayed.)

   Type 2:  The  abductee  recalls  the UFO,   the  circumstances  of  the
            encounter, and often the appearance of the occupants, but does
            not remember any of the actual on-board experience.  That part
            of the experience registers only as a perceived gap in time.

   Type 3:  The abductee recalls only a UFO and/or humanoids,  but nothing
            else.   He or she does not recall a time-lapse or dislocation.
            (This   type  may  include  a  good  many  so-called   bedroom
            visitations.)

   Type 4:  The   abductee  recalls  only  a  peculiar  time-lapse  and/or
            dislocation. No UFO is consciously recalled,  nor is any other
            part of the UFO scenario.

   Type 5:  The abductee recalls nothing of the usual abduction  scenario.
            Instead,   there  remain vague indications,  ranging from  the
            "feeling that something happened to me", to intense, unnatural
            fears  of  specific  locations or  sections  of  highway,   to
            physical  wounds  or marks of unknown  origin,   and  includes
            sometimes   recurring  dreams  of  a  temporally   un-anchored
            abduction experience.


     Type number five,  which Budd Hopkins concentrates upon in  his book,
   "MISSING  TIME",   is believed to be the most common.   This type  also
   presents the greatest challenge to an investigator.   The  descriptions
   above  can  also cover many situations that turn out to not  be  actual
   abductions.

     How can a researcher determine which reports to pursue and  which  to
   ignore,   taking into account the limited knowledge of the topic  by  a
   typical  researcher,   and the time constraints involved.  Hypnosis  in
   itself is an expensive and time involving endeavor,  not to be included
   with  the investigation of each case,  as a determining factor  of  the
   validity  of the abductee,  but only to be used as the  extreme  avenue
   after  much  time  and  work  has  been  expended  during  the  initial
   investigation of the case.

     As  a suggestion,  we should consider each case in the "quantitative"
   sense,  weighing the details as the facts present themselves.  The more
   specific and detailed the facts,  the higher the priority to be  placed
   on the case as a whole.

     Asking   the  witness  about  any  previous  experiences  or  unusual
   encounters,  any physical marks or wounds not associated with any known
   incident the witness can recall,  possibly a recurring bad dream, could
   add weight to the credibility of the case.

     Each  fact or detail,  by itself,  possibly would not provide  enough
   substantive  justification  to actively pursue the case,   but  coupled
   together  could  provide  enough detail and connecting  information  to
   warrant the time expenditure required. Other considerations of the case
   would be:

   1. The  volume  and content of the information as it  pertains  to  the
      case.

   2. The quality of that information.

   3. Is  the person who is citing the experience the only witness to it's
      happening, or are there others.

   4. The strangeness of the case,  whether it be the facts as  presented,
      or  the  witness itself,  or the location where  the  experience  is
      perceived to have happened.

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