Allagash or Balderdash?
If you’re a connoisseur of UFO phenomena, then you are no stranger to the work of author and UFO researcher Raymond E. Fowler. He published his first book, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, in 1974 and has since become synonymous with the Betty Andreasson abduction, which resulted in Fowler writing three books on her experiences. He’s joined the ranks of researchers held in high regard, such as John Keel, J. Allen Hynek, Jerome Clark, Budd Hopkins, Jenny Randles, Linda Howe, Brent Raynes, Stanton Friedman, George Knapp, and many, many more. Currently retired from UFO investigations, Fowler now provides adult education courses in Kennebunk, Maine, that range from alien abduction to out-of-body experiences to the afterlife. He is also known for writing the definitive book on a Maine abduction tale, entitled The Allagash Abductions: Undeniable Evidence of Alien Intervention.
The following is an update to my story of “The Allagash Abductions,” featured in UFOs Over Maine: Close Encounters from the Pine Tree State.
The Recap
In 1976, two years after Fowler had published his first book, four friends traveled to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Aroostook County. The plan was for them to have a two-week vacation of camping and fishing, but they found themselves in the throes of an otherworldly experience, the events of which affected the four men for a lifetime. I wrote about their experiences in my first book: “In the summer of 1976, four men ventured north from their college in Massachusetts to the beautifully pristine Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Northern Maine for a long trip of fishing, camping, and living off the land.” The four friends—Chuck Rak, Charlie Foltz, and identical twin brothers Jack and Jim Weiner—spotted a UFO on the second night of their trip, along with other witnesses. A few nights later, while canoeing on Eagle Lake, they spotted another UFO and later claimed that a CE-4 (alien abduction) took place. Chuck Rak described this UFO as follows: “I could see a fluid pulsating over the face of the object as it changed color from red to green to yellow-white.” After they witnessed the UFO, the men finished with their fishing and headed back to shore. But when they arrived, the large fire they had built was reduced to embers, suggesting that they had been gone much longer than originally thought. Hours, in fact.
Years after the incident, with vague memories of the abductions, Jim Weiner attended a UFO conference and met Ray Fowler. Weiner disclosed having had seizures and as a result seeing visions of aliens surrounding his bed. He explained his UFO sighting years earlier, and Fowler agreed to help Jim and the others. Hypnosis sessions were set up, and the friends were surprised to learn about their abduction experiences while on the lake. As I then explain in my first book, “It was revealed that the four abductees had somehow been transported to the UFO from their canoes. It is assumed that a beam of light, which was witnessed by the men, was how this transportation occurred. Jim stated during a hypnosis session, the beam-it’s going to get us! It’s right there, right behind us. I know there’s no use. It’s no use paddling. The beam! It’s got us! It’s there. We’re in it! Once on board the unidentified vessel, the men succumbed to some sort of mind control or manipulation by very odd-looking beings. Forced to remove all their clothing, the four friends were then led to a plastic seating area. This is where a lot of the preliminary examinations took place. The gentlemen were poked and prodded … ”
Fowler published his book about the men’s experience in 1993, and their story was featured on the Joan Rivers Show and on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries.
The Update (Dissonance)
As the decades went by, Chuck Rak began to distance himself from the other abductees. He no longer made appearances at conventions, and stopped talking with his old friends all together. In 2016, the Fiddlehead Focus newspaper out of Madawaska, Maine, interviewed Chuck in an article titled “Subject of 1976 UFO Incident Casts Doubt on ‘Allagash Abductions’.” Chuck stated, “The reason I supported the story at first is because I wanted to make money. We were compelled to stay together, all speculating that this thing could go into the millions of dollars for each of us, we made very little.” Jim, Jack, and Charlie disagreed with Chuck’s statement, and it became clear that some sort of falling out had occurred. Chuck did admit to the newspaper that he did see UFOs while on their trip, but stated, “I don’t call it a hoax, just brilliant storytelling. It’s not the truth, but I have to admire the storytelling ability of these guys.”
One of the most interesting facets of the story is the purported “missing time” suggested by the large fire the men had built before leaving shore. They started the fire to help them navigate back to their campsite after they were done fishing. As discussed previously, they were gone for so long that only embers remained. Chuck again punched holes in the abduction story when he told the interviewer, “It certainly was a big fire, I agree with that. Those logs were maybe three inches. Some of them could have been almost three and a half inches, that’s the biggest they could have been; and most of them were smaller, and as such in that condition those pieces of wood would have burned off very quickly.”
This statement weighs heavily in the validity of the abduction scenario. It’s the crux, if you will, of the missing time. The abduction story all starts with the fire. The newspaper also reached out to Charlie Foltz, who responded to this claim by stating, “Some of the wood we put on there was about the diameter of my leg. I would say at least a good 10 inches in diameter easily.”
Chuck also brought up drug usage and explained to the interviewer that all of them were “stoned” during their trip. “Yeah, we were definitely stoned when we went out on the lake just before we got that sighting.” Wow! Another devastating blow to the story, putting the entire event into question. Charlie vehemently denied the accusation, however, and stated, “No. We bought an eight-pack of beer in Millinocket when we bought all of our supplies for the canoe trip. We each had one beer at Telos Landing the very first night and we each had one beer at Fort Kent the last day of our canoe trip. We carried those eight bottles in and we carried those eight bottles back out.” He also spoke out against Chuck’s character and described him as a guy with a “violent temper who has been banned from some UFO conventions. We definitely steer clear of him because the guy is a loose cannon and a mental disaster area.”
With all of this back and forth, how can one discern what really happened? Realistically, it’s in your hands. Who do you choose to believe? Do you even believe in alien abduction at all? I have an opinion, based on my research of the case. It is also based on my immense respect for Ray Fowler, and for the way Jim, Jack, and Charlie have conducted themselves throughout the years in interviews and conventions. Simply, I believe them.
The remaining friends insist that they were the ones who distanced themselves from Chuck, and they have continued to stand by their story. The event has changed the men profoundly, both emotionally and physically. They want to continue to share their story to help others cope with their own experiences. In a 2013 interview with the Bangor Daily News, Jim Weiner reinforced how the encounter continued to impact their lives: “This is not a club you want to be a member of. You want answers. You don’t get it from government, religion … it leads you on a quest. It forced me to revisit my outlook about the world and my community. It changes who you are. You are not the same after this.”
The Allagash Abductions played a large role in bringing me into the field of ufology. I watched the Unsolved Mysteries program as a child and was fascinated by their story. Having had my own UFO experience at five years old (you can read about it in my first book), I couldn’t believe that others in Maine had had experiences as well. I had read about witnesses from other states and countries, but nothing hit home as much as this landmark case. Still, despite my bias, I always and wholeheartedly welcome you to form your own opinion.