Within Hayden Hewes
How Hewes Tracked Oklahoma's 1965 UFO Wave
Police radio, newsroom tips and rapid interviews gave Hayden Hewes unusual access to Oklahoma's 1965 sighting wave, but not always complete evidence.
On this page
- How police and journalists alerted Hewes
- The patrol tower observations and claimed triangular fix
- Why rapid reporting still left major evidence gaps
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Introduction
During Oklahoma’s intense 1965 wave of UFO reports, Hayden Hewes gained an advantage that most civilian investigators lacked: a fast-moving information network linking police officers, highway patrol personnel, journalists and local witnesses. Rather than waiting for newspaper stories to appear days later, Hewes often learned of sightings while events were still unfolding. That network helped make him one of the most visible UFO investigators in Oklahoma during the mid-1960s, but it also exposed a recurring problem. Speed brought access to eyewitnesses and fresh testimony, yet it rarely produced the kind of physical evidence needed to settle what had actually been seen.[Edmond Outlook]edmondoutlook.comEdmond OutlookMysterious EdmondAlso aware of recent events was a 20-year-old UFO researcher from Oklahoma City named Hayden C. Hewes. Tha…
Understanding how this reporting system worked is important because many of the best-known Oklahoma sightings associated with Hewes reached him through these police and media channels. The network shaped both the strengths and the limitations of his investigations during the 1965 flap.
How Police and Journalists Alerted Hewes
Hewes had spent years building contacts through his Oklahoma City-based UFO organisation. By 1965, those relationships extended into local law-enforcement agencies, newsrooms and broadcasting stations. When unusual aerial reports arrived through official channels, officers or reporters sometimes contacted Hewes directly, allowing him to begin interviews before stories faded or witnesses became difficult to locate.[edmondlifeandleisure.com]edmondlifeandleisure.comremembering a man who investigated the unusual p19337 7629, 1943, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. His family moved to Oklahoma City where he founded the International UFO Bureau in 1957.Read more…
A frequently cited example occurred during the large outbreak of sightings at the end of July and beginning of August 1965. According to later accounts drawn from contemporary reporting, television reporter Mike Buchanan telephoned Hewes after learning that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol had received numerous UFO reports moving towards the Oklahoma City area. Instead of hearing about the events after publication, Hewes was being informed while reports were still arriving.[Edmond Outlook]edmondoutlook.comEdmond OutlookMysterious EdmondAlso aware of recent events was a 20-year-old UFO researcher from Oklahoma City named Hayden C. Hewes. Tha…
The practical advantages were significant:
- Witnesses could be interviewed while memories were fresh.
- Police officers who had filed reports could be contacted directly.
- Separate sightings could be compared quickly.
- Investigators could travel to locations before physical traces disappeared.
- News coverage could be supplemented with additional witness statements.[Edmond Outlook]edmondoutlook.comEdmond OutlookMysterious EdmondAlso aware of recent events was a 20-year-old UFO researcher from Oklahoma City named Hayden C. Hewes. Tha…
This system effectively turned Hewes’s organisation into an informal clearing house for Oklahoma UFO reports. In an era before digital databases, mobile phones or online reporting systems, rapid personal contacts were often the fastest way to gather information from across the state.
The Patrol Tower Observations and Claimed Triangular Fix
One of the most ambitious aspects of Hewes’s 1965 work involved attempts to use multiple official observers to estimate the position of reported objects.
During the 1965 flap, reports came not only from ordinary citizens but also from police officers, highway patrol personnel and observers stationed at elevated locations. Hewes argued that observations from separate points could sometimes be compared to determine where an object might have been located in the sky. Accounts associated with his investigations describe efforts to correlate sightings from different observation points and patrol facilities, producing what was often described as a triangular or triangulated fix on an object’s position.[edmondlifeandleisure.com]edmondlifeandleisure.comin '65 Edmond abuzz with UCO sightings11 Sept 2014 — That Saturday, Hewes traveled to Wynnewood to interview Officer Sikes…
The basic idea was straightforward. If observers at multiple locations recorded the direction of an object at approximately the same time, the sight lines could theoretically be plotted on a map. Where those lines crossed would provide an estimated location. In principle, this method is stronger than relying on a single witness because it attempts to use geometry rather than impression alone.
However, the available records show major practical limitations:
- Exact times were not always synchronised.
- Witnesses often estimated directions rather than measuring them.
- Elevation angles were rarely recorded precisely.
- Distances remained uncertain.
- Most observations were made under night-time conditions.[edmondlifeandleisure.com]edmondlifeandleisure.comin '65 Edmond abuzz with UCO sightings11 Sept 2014 — That Saturday, Hewes traveled to Wynnewood to interview Officer Sikes…
As a result, claims of triangulated positions were generally suggestive rather than conclusive. They demonstrated an effort to treat sightings systematically, but they did not produce the kind of instrument-based tracking associated with radar or modern scientific observation networks.
Why Rapid Reporting Still Left Major Evidence Gaps
The greatest strength of Hewes’s network was also its greatest weakness. Reports arrived quickly, but most consisted of eyewitness testimony rather than hard evidence.
The Wynnewood sightings illustrate the problem. Contemporary accounts describe Hewes travelling to interview Officer Sikes after reports reached his organisation. Other witnesses reported unusual objects elsewhere in the state during the same period, creating the impression of a widespread wave. Yet even when multiple reports arrived on the same day, investigators were still largely dependent on personal recollections and descriptions.[edmondlifeandleisure.com]edmondlifeandleisure.comin '65 Edmond abuzz with UCO sightings11 Sept 2014 — That Saturday, Hewes traveled to Wynnewood to interview Officer Sikes…
Several evidence gaps repeatedly appeared:
Few Instrument Records
Many reports originated from police officers, which gave them a degree of credibility, but credibility is not the same as verification. Most cases lacked radar data, calibrated photographs or independent technical measurements. Witnesses could describe what they saw, but investigators usually could not prove distance, speed or size.[edmondlifeandleisure.com]edmondlifeandleisure.comin '65 Edmond abuzz with UCO sightings11 Sept 2014 — That Saturday, Hewes traveled to Wynnewood to interview Officer Sikes…
Selective Survival of Reports
The network preserved some cases in newsletters and correspondence, but many original notes, dispatch records and supporting materials did not survive in complete form. Later researchers often encountered summaries rather than full investigative files.[Scribd]scribd.comInterplanetary Intelligence Report vol 1 no 1Interplanetary Intelligence Report: May 1965 | PDFIt provides information about the IIOUFO organization, its goals of researching a…
Dependence on Human Observation
Even experienced officers can misjudge aerial objects at night. Bright planets, aircraft lights, meteors, atmospheric effects and unusual viewing angles can create convincing but misleading impressions. Rapid interviews improved accuracy compared with delayed recollections, yet they could not eliminate the limitations of eyewitness observation.[International UFO Bureau]internationalufobureau.comInternational UFO BureauThe 1965 UFO Sightings: A Historic Event InvestigatedDiscover the astonishing 1965 UFO sightings, spanning 7 stat…
What the Network Contributed to Oklahoma UFO History
Despite those shortcomings, Hewes’s reporting network remains historically important. It demonstrated that a determined civilian investigator could gather information from across Oklahoma faster than many official agencies were doing at the time. The system linked police departments, journalists and witnesses into a loose reporting structure that preserved accounts which might otherwise have disappeared.[Edmond Outlook]edmondoutlook.comEdmond OutlookMysterious EdmondAlso aware of recent events was a 20-year-old UFO researcher from Oklahoma City named Hayden C. Hewes. Tha…
The network also explains why Hewes became closely associated with Oklahoma’s 1965 UFO wave. He was not simply collecting old newspaper clippings after the fact. Through police contacts and media alerts, he often entered investigations while reports were still developing. That immediacy gave his files historical value, even when the underlying evidence remained incomplete.[Edmond Outlook]edmondoutlook.comEdmond OutlookMysterious EdmondAlso aware of recent events was a 20-year-old UFO researcher from Oklahoma City named Hayden C. Hewes. Tha…
For modern readers, the key lesson is that Hewes’s network was best at documenting experiences rather than proving extraordinary claims. It strengthened the historical record of Oklahoma’s 1965 sightings, but it did not resolve the central question of what many witnesses actually observed. The result is a collection of rapidly gathered reports that remain useful to historians of Oklahoma UFO activity while still leaving substantial room for sceptical interpretation.[edmondlifeandleisure.com]edmondlifeandleisure.comin '65 Edmond abuzz with UCO sightings11 Sept 2014 — That Saturday, Hewes traveled to Wynnewood to interview Officer Sikes…
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Endnotes
1.
Source: edmondlifeandleisure.com
Link:https://edmondlifeandleisure.com/edmond-underground-in-edmond-abuzz-with-uco-sightings-p10350-87.htm
Source snippet
in '65 Edmond abuzz with UCO sightings11 Sept 2014 — That Saturday, Hewes traveled to Wynnewood to interview Officer Sikes...
2.
Source: edmondlifeandleisure.com
Title: remembering a man who investigated the unusual p19337 76
Link:https://edmondlifeandleisure.com/remembering-a-man-who-investigated-the-unusual-p19337-76.htm
Source snippet
29, 1943, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. His family moved to Oklahoma City where he founded the International UFO Bureau in 1957.Read more...
3.
Source: scribd.com
Title: Interplanetary Intelligence Report vol 1 no 1
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/718106462/Interplanetary-Intelligence-Report-vol-1-no-1
Source snippet
Interplanetary Intelligence Report: May 1965 | PDFIt provides information about the IIOUFO organization, its goals of researching a...
Published: May 1965
4.
Source: scribd.com
Title: Hewes, Hayden
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/803216642/Hewes-Hayden-The-Intruders
5.
Source: edmondoutlook.com
Link:https://www.edmondoutlook.com/mysterious-edmond/
Source snippet
Edmond OutlookMysterious EdmondAlso aware of recent events was a 20-year-old UFO researcher from Oklahoma City named Hayden C. Hewes. Tha...
6.
Source: internationalufobureau.com
Link:https://www.internationalufobureau.com/pastinvestigations/1965flap
Source snippet
International UFO BureauThe 1965 UFO Sightings: A Historic Event InvestigatedDiscover the astonishing 1965 UFO sightings, spanning 7 stat...
Additional References
7.
Source: abebooks.com
Title: Abe Books Interplanetary Intelligence Report Vol
Link:https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Interplanetary-Intelligence-Report-Vol-July-1965/32264281845/bd
Source snippet
1. No. 2 July, 1965Published by Interplanetary Intelligence of Unidentified Flying Objects (IIOUFO), Oklahoma City, 1965... UFO sighting...
8.
Source: podcastufo.com
Title: hayden hewes and the international ufo bureau
Link:https://podcastufo.com/hayden-hewes-and-the-international-ufo-bureau/
Source snippet
UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the age of 13 in 1957.... ” Hewes and his group were convinced there was an alien pilot buried...
9.
Source: podfollow.com
Link:https://podfollow.com/mysterious-radio/episode/527b1f8af158ae92cb0662eb23a6c42f54a138de/view
Source snippet
Hayden Hewes and the International UFO Bureau25 Jun 2025 — Hewes (December 29, 1943 – September 13, 2017) was a pioneering UFO r...
Published: December 29, 1943
10.
Source: podmust.com
Link:https://podmust.com/ep/?epis=SGF5ZGVuIEhld2VzIGFuZCB0aGUgSW50ZXJuYXRpb25hbCBVRk8gQnVyZWF1&podcast=mysterious-radio
11.
Source: ora.ox.ac.uk
Link:https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid%3Acef7e8d9-27bf-4ea5-9fd6-855209b3e1f6/download_file?file_format=application%2Fpdf&safe_filename=Troops-Trolls-and-Troublemakers.pdf&type_of_work=Report
12.
Source: raf.mod.uk
Link:https://www.raf.mod.uk/what-we-do/centre-for-air-and-space-power-studies/aspr/apr-vol11-iss1-2-pdf/
13.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_K9I8bM_4s
Source snippet
Jimmy Carter's UFO Sighting and Hayden Hewes...
14.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/115957895581/posts/10165928422050582/
15.
Source: army.mil
Title: operation starlight a signals intelligence success story 15 august 1965
Link:https://www.army.mil/article/109115/operation_starlight_a_signals_intelligence_success_story_15_august_1965
Published: august 1965
16.
Source: youtube.com
Title: UFOs in Oklahoma: A History
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzXgCj_uXjY
Source snippet
Project Blue Book: The Oklahoma Wave of 1965...