George Knapp: Dugway Proving Grounds

Thanks for the responses you have given us. Its been a real pleasure to have you here.

I have a couple more questions.

The first one is about what has been called "The new Area 51", aka Dugway proving Grounds in Utah. Do you know anything about this place? Rumor has it that they are moving alot of stuff from Groom lake to this new place, and that really weird things are afoot there. Is Groom lake still active, or as active as it used to be?

I've also heard that Utah is becoming a hotspot for alot of weird stuff. Have you had any investigation there?

Also, what do you know about the rumored underground base at Area 51?

Thank you much!

My first visit to Dugway came in the wake of the 9-11 attacks. When letters laced with anthrax started appearing in mailboxes, a reliable source of mine told me I should follow the trail to Dugway, a likely source of that particular anthrax strain. (Other journalists later followed up the same lead. The FBI was already digging around.) I still think there is a likely connection but couldn't prove it. My photographer and I were taken into military custody during our visit, were briefly detained, questioned, warned, and then released. It wasn't fun.

Dugway is a huge facility and, I'm sure, harbors many secrets. It is not the new Area 51, in my opinion. For one thing, the "old" Area 51 is alive and well and busier than ever. (I explained this is greater detail while answering an earlier question on this forum.) In a nutshell, Dugway is not an ideal candidate to carry out the same kind of research and development that is underway at 51. It doesn't have the facilities. I think there are UFO enthusiasts in Utah who WISH that Dugway would become the new Area 51, and they have seen some strange lights in the sky. I personally do not believe there is a connection to 51. I could be wrong.

Is Utah a new hotspot for strange phenomena? Yes and no. There certainly is a lot of very bizarre activity all over the state. The Utah UFO Hunters organization has been very diligent in reporting such events. They are a top notch group of civilian researchers in my view. There's an investigator named Ryan Layton who has really busted his butt in carrying out personal, hands on research into all sorts of weird reports all over the state, doing the kind of first person digging that few people anywhere have done, at considerable risk and expense. I think he is first rate, especially since he is not shy about debunking cases that deserve to be discredited. His work, and that of the UUFOH group, certainly convinces me that a whole lot of strange stuff is unfolding in the Beehive State.

But is it new? I'd say no. It's been going on for a very long time. Skinwalker Ranch is a prime example, and the same is true for the entire Uintah Basin. Frank Salisbury wrote a book about it back in the 70's, and the book I co-authored updates Utah's long legacy of paranormal activity. (Pardon the shameless plug.)

Are there underground facilities at Area 51? I believe this to be the case based on anecdotal statements from several former employees, including Lazar, but I can't prove it. It seems unlikely that the people who run Groom Lake are ever going to invite me inside for a tour.

Thnk you for coming back and replying to our questions. It is very much appreiciated here.

And I learned something new, too. I never knew about the anthrax/Dugway connection. This is the first Ive heard of it. Another angle to look at.

Thanks again!

It's amazing, isn't it, that the anthrax mystery was never solved but is never mentioned?

There are only a handful of anthrax strains. Each strain is identifiable, like a fingerprint. Our government doesn't know the source of the anthrax in those letters? Bet me.

I guess it will be one of those eternal, unanswerable mysteries......such as, where the hell is Bin Laden? Why haven't we busted his ass after five years of searching? Bad luck, I suppose.

Originally posted by GeorgeKnapp
It's amazing, isn't it, that the anthrax mystery was never solved but is never mentioned?

There are only a handful of anthrax strains. Each strain is identifiable, like a fingerprint. Our government doesn't know the source of the anthrax in those letters? Bet me.

I guess it will be one of those eternal, unanswerable mysteries......such as, where the hell is Bin Laden? Why haven't we busted his ass after five years of searching? Bad luck, I suppose.

As to Bin laden's whereabouts....Ill refrain from my own theories there.....

As for the anthrax, it is one of those missing stories from the news that seems to drop and become forgotten. Even though no answers were forthcomming.

I am pretty sure the government knew who and from where they anthrax came from (if one of their spooks didnt do the job himself).

Speaking of stories lost down the memory hole.....I remember, it was like 20 years ago, a story about some sort of Chinese root, related to ginger, that they found cured AIDS. Somehow, the chemicals in the root only killed HIV infected cells. The root was very poisonous and dangerous to use, however, people who took it and survived, were HIV negative afterwards.

Then suddenly, the story vanished. Like it never happened. I ask people and they look at me like Im an nut, and I have not found any reference to it anywhere. I feel like Winston in 1984: remembering that last week we were at war with eastasia, not Eurasia, but no one seems to remember...........

Do you have any recollection of this? I think the story was in 1988 or 1989.