We mourn the passing of Betty Cash. On December 29, 1998, Betty died of health problems associated with the injuries that were caused by her close encounter with a UFO exactly eighteen years earlier, December 29, 1980. During the intervening years, Betty suffered more than anyone can imagine. Never a year passed that she wasn't hospitalized and treated for complications arising from that initial extensive radiation exposure. Many times she was placed in a hospital intensive care unit. However, thanks to the excellent care given by doctors such as Dr. Bryan A. McClelland of Alabaster, Alabama, Betty survived to continue her quest for justice. She was a hero, patriot, and martyr.
Betty's problems began when she and her friend and employee Vickie Landrum and Vickie's grandson Colby were driving along a dark, narrow road near Huffman, Texas. It was just before 9 p.m. and the road was deserted. The first indication of something unusual was the presence of a very intense light several miles ahead just above the tall pine trees. Colby noticed it first and urged Betty and Vickie to look. Betty remarked that it was unusually bright but soon lost sight of it due to the many trees along the road.
hen, without warning, the sky seemed to split open and the object came angling down directly in front of them, settling swiftly between the trees just ahead of them and over the highway. It was a huge, diamond-shaped, brightly-lit vehicle and it was so hot they were afraid to attempt to go under it. Betty brought the car to a halt, not knowing this event would change their lives forever.
The car heated quickly, forcing Betty and Vickie to open the doors. Vickie stood briefly outside but quickly returned to the safety of the car to hold and console a terrified Colby. Betty, determined to get a better look, shielded her eyes with her arm and inched forward along the side of the car. Betty was fully exposed to the heat from the object for several minutes.
As the object flew away from the scene, the trio noticed helicopters flying near it. Later, they were to stop the car a bit further down the road and count as many as 23 helicopters, many of them with twin rotors on top. Several other people in the area also reported seeing the helicopters, as well as the object, in the sky that night.
As they proceeded homeward bound, they were relieved to get away, believing they had safely survived this very frightening event. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Before the night was over, they all started showing signs of medical problems.
Betty had a headache by the time she arrived home and was content to sit in a chair and recover. Unfortunately, she got worse, rather than better. During the next few hours her skin showed severe redness and she developed water blisters on her head and face. By morning she was extremely ill and couldn't get out of bed. Right after the New Year holiday, she was taken to a hospital in Houston, because she couldn't eat or drink. The hospital treated her as a burn patient. Now knowing what caused the problems, they ran a full battery of tests establishing a health status baseline for Betty. That would prove to be valuable later.
Betty remained in the hospital until January 19. She went home, believing she would get better, but had to be readmitted on January 25. During that period she lost much of her hair, continued to have horrible headaches, fought skin conditions caused by the burns, and had trouble eating and retaining food due to vomiting and diarrhea.
In February, when Betty left the hospital again, her wonderful mother Pauline Collins came to Houston to take Betty back to Birmingham, Alabama, to care for her. Fortunately, Betty found excellent medical care in Birmingham and was able to survive many emergency visits to the hospital.
Betty and Vickie, with help from MUFON, attorney Peter Gersten and others, tried valiantly to find out what they had been exposed to and what could be done to offset the effects of the exposure. Hundreds of letters and telephone calls to government officials were either ignored or given little more than lip service. Even after she knew it was too late to get answers that could reverse the damage her body had sustained, Betty fought on. She said it was important for the truth to be known. She didn't want other people to have to go through what she had experienced without having a place to go for help. She was unselfish to the end. Strangely, it was on the 18th anniversary of her close encounter that she gave up the good fight.
Betty had supporters throughout the world, hoping she would win the battle for truth and justice. Even though she didn't win, she did make a dent in the bureaucracy. Even more, she helped a number of medical doctors understand the serious nature of exposure to some UFOs. None of them laughed at Betty and as a result, they will be better prepared to deal with the problem the next time it occurs.
At Betty's and Vickie's request, all of the details of this incident have been chronicled in the book THE CASH-LANDRUM UFO INCIDENT. Information on how to order this book may be found on my web page at: http://home.mho.net/schuessler/.
Source:
UFO POTPOURRI
John F. Schuessler, 9862 West Unser Ave.
Littleton, CO 80128
E-Mail: schuessler@mho.net
Web Page: http://home.mho.net/schuessler/