Crop Circle Discovered in Wilbur, Washington

By Nannette Richford

Wilbur, Washington, is typical small town America. The town of Wilbur is located about 65 miles west of the City of Spokane and nearly 250 miles from Seattle. Its nearly 900 inhabitants find comfort in the small town atmosphere. In fact, according to 2005 statistics, the town is virtually free of violent crimes with a crime index of only 16.3 as opposed to the national average of 325.2, according to city data. It is populated by a predominantly white community of residents, most of whom were born and raised there.

What makes Wilbur different from the rest of small town America is the appearance of a crop circle.

On July 1, the National UFO Reporting Center was contacted by a resident of Lincoln County, Washington, informing them that a crop circle had been discovered in a field of wheat just outside Wilbur, Washington.

"The crop circle was first witnessed at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28, by two gentlemen who were driving back roads, inspecting the standing crop of wheat. One of the two witnesses works for a local agricultural chemical company, and the other is a local wheat farmer." Peter B Davenport, Director of the National UFO Reporting Center of Washington State, stated in an email interview.

By the time NUFORC arrived at the scene to investigate the appearance, an undetermined number of residents had already visited the scene and had created two or more paths leading to the crop circle.

The Crop Circle is approximately 150 feet long and 150 feet wide. The wheat has been flattened in a counter-clockwise fashion in both the large central ring and the eight outlying circles.

It is reported, but still unconfirmed by UNFORC, that a local resident photographed an unusual object (via his cell phone camera) which he observed hovering near him. There is also word of another resident witnessing a flash of light in the general vicinity of the crop circle on Thursday night.

Members of a family who live just to the southeast of the formation claim to have seen either a flash of light or a light that seemed to scan the area where the crop circle appeared. This report remains unconfirmed; NUFORC has not yet interviewed the family.

NUFORC is completing further investigations to confirm these statements.

Current research suggests that there may be a connection between crop circles and UFOs; however, at this time, there is no definitive answer as to exactly what causes a crop circle to form.

According to The Crop Circular, over 10,000 crop circles have been observed and documented in 29 countries and generally appear in grain fields. There have been over 80 witnesses to the formation of crop circles and there are claims that a crop circle can be formed in a matter of seconds. Many of these witnesses describe a shaft or ball of light that descends on the field during the formation of the crop circle.

Although there have been cases of forgeries and hoaxes by people who were trying to deceive others, genuine crop circles all have one thing in common. Plant stems are not broken; they are bent, usually about 1 inch from the ground in the plant's first node. There also appears to be changes in the electromagnetic field in a crop circle. Compasses have been known to spin, batteries drain, and cameras & cell phones to malfunction when used in a crop circle.

Residents of Wilbur may not know what caused the formation of their Crop Circle, but they do know that something unusual has happened in their small community. For now, they will await the investigation by NUFORC and hope that it will provide them with some answers.

To report UFO sightings, visit www.UFOCENTER.com