The Dechmont Woods Encounter, 1979

On November 9th 1979 Robert "Bob" Taylor was going about his usual business as a forestry worker however what happened to him during that Friday morning in Dechmont Woods was far from normal and up until this day it is the only UFO encounter to be investigated by police and subject to a criminal investigation.

Taylor was a forestry worker and had been for quite some time. During the time of his encounter he was working for the Livingston Development Corporation. On the morning of November 9th 1979 at approximately 1000am - 1030am Taylor parked his truck at the side of the road which was adjacent to the M8 Motorway. It was alleged that Taylor went into the forest with the intention of examing some saplings which are basically young trees. Taylor was with his trustee dog and together they walked in to the Dechmont Woods. 



Taylor noticed something in the clearing up ahead, he was approximately 500 feet from the object. Taylor described the object as being sphere-like and twenty feet in diameter. It was hovering just off the surface of the forrest floor. It had a very rough texture to it, some parts were more dark and metallic than others and around the bottom of the mysterious object it had a metallic rim. The object also had stems with propellers.

Taylor was amazed by what he saw and approached the object. Suddenly two smaller sphere-like objects approximately three feet in diameter flew out from underneath the much bigger craft. Taylor described these objects as looking similar to sea mines in their texture and also making odd "plopping" noises as they hit the ground and rolled towards him. The two small sphere-like objects rolled around Taylor and then they flew off the ground and attached themselves to both of his trousers legs just below the pockets. There was a hissing noise coming from the objects and a horrible chemical-like smell which Taylor has always believed was secreted within the objects. Taylor began to feel that he was being dragged by these objects to the "mother ship" if you like. Taylor fell forwards onto his face and became unconscious.



Taylor regained consciousness and realised the mysterious objects had all gone. However, he could not get to his feet and had to stagger between 100 - 300 yards back to his vehicle. Taylor was unable to speak so when he used his two way radio to call for help, it was almost impossible. There is also some mystery surrounding how Taylor managed to get home. Some sources state that he had to leave his vehicle after driving it into a ditch and other sources state that Taylor had to crawl and stagger home which is why he later returned home covered in mud.

Taylor eventually reached home at 1130hrs. Mary Taylor, Robert Taylor's wife was extremely concerned about her husbands welfare and offered to call police and the local doctor. Mary assumed that her husband was attacked due to his injuries and called police. She also made contact with his work supervisor Malcolm Drummond who called the local doctor. Taylor was complaining of suffering from a headache and was extremely thirsty. These ill feelings carried on for a few days after the incident. When Drummond arrived he took Taylor back to the scene of the encounter and they both discovered strange markings on the forest floor. One set of markings were likened to ladder rungs, 2.5m across and the same in distance and both completely parallel. There were approximately 40 holes 2-3cms across and the same deep as well as being 10cms apart they were surrounded by the other strange ladder rung marks.



Taylor was seen by Dr. Gordon Adams who advised Taylor to go to the hospital. Taylor had grazes to his chin and his thighs but due to falling face first and being unconscious the director suggested that Taylor make his way to the hospital. To cut a long story short Taylor did go to the hospital but after waiting for a while he left without getting any medical attention. 

Taylor's clothing was seized by police for forensics but nothing unusual came back bar a white powdery substance that was caused by cross-contamination. The tears in his trousers suggest that he was lifted upwards. They were between 60cms - 70cms long on both sides of the pair of trousers that Robert Taylor was wearing on that day. 



Taylor's encounter was investigated by the Scottish Lothian and Borders police who until this day have not come up with a satisfactory conclusion to Taylor's experience. Taylor was very trustworthy and has always maintained the same story throughout. He has never received payment for any interviews he has done. Taylor sadly passed away in March 2007 aged 89 - at the time of the incident he was 61. To commemorate the encounter a plaque was placed in the exact spot the encounter took place, however that was stolen. Nonetheless a small statue is still located at the scene.

It has been suggested that Taylor was either abducted or unconscious - or both for approximately 20 minutes. The question remains what happened to him?

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Video interviews

Another great sighting, thanks for the thread

For some reason I am wondring what happened with his dog?

suuuuuuuuure buddy.... whatever you say old man...

My brother lives a few hundred yards away from the location of this sighting. I keep meaning to check it out when I visit him. Maybe next time........

reply to post by ProfessorT

This is one of my favourite close encounter cases. The chain of events was so closely linked in that even the most sceptical doubters are agreed that *something* happened to Bob Taylor and that he wasn’t making stuff up. Well, the devil is always in the detail and it’s working out what happened that causes the problems.

Was it a ‘hullaballusion’ like poor old Frank Mannor stood accused of? I often wonder if people involved in really close encounters are somehow seeing something that isn’t actually there? For example, if we could watch somebody interacting with a being and a landed craft…would we actually see that person standing alone and looking glazed? Would their interaction be wholly imaginary or triggered by something we know nothing about? Might there be something intelligent that patches itself into our reality via the symbolism of technology?

Whatever happened, I’ve great doubts about the certainties offered up by those who tried to explain the incident. There’s an argument that this experienced woodsman somehow ate a bunch of deadly nightshade and found himself tripping. Doesn’t work for me. The best one was spun from whole cloth and involved a temperature inversion reflecting Venus down into that Dechmont clearing – it’s in the Lothian Question video, but I can’t remember which segment.

Vallee would suggest that *something* presented itself to Taylor as something technological. He’d compare it *something* presenting itself in ancient times as faeries, goblins or elves. In the 60s he came up with a ‘law’ of close encounters that demonstrated how they always occurred in isolated rural spots. Bob Taylor’s experience certainly conforms to all the usual factors. The thing that is key is exactly how much faith to put in the tracks and torn pants? Well, if they *were* tracks and tears, we’re talking about a physical event that could be exactly as described. If they weren’t, we’re discussing something that might have been occurring in against a psychological landscape.

reply to post by dayve


The thing that strikes me the most about this particular case is that Robert Taylor has never sold his story. He has never accepted cash. Now if you compare this with other UFO abduction cases most of the abductees per-say tend to have been in the spotlight more often than not. The Betty and Barny Hill case for example has even had a film made about it and a book. What I am trying to get at is that Taylor has never had to change his story or twist it, in anyway shape or form. He has always been pretty quiet since his encounter and the days after it.