By Norio Hayakawa
1-30-07
1-30-07
Sometime during the mid 80's, a rumor began to circulate widely among some "ufologists" about an "underground U.S./alien base" near Dulce, New Mexico.The rumor had its beginnings even from around the late 70's.
With this fascinating thought in mind, in 1990 (the first week of March of 1990, immediately after coming back from Nevada to help produce a TV documentary on Area 51), a team of Japanese magazine and TV crew and myself flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico and drove all the way to Dulce to see if there was anything substantial to the allegation that there was such a "base".
We checked into the Best Western motel in Dulce. We spent a few days there looking for the base (which was allegedly located under Archuleta Mesa, outside Dulce). However, we could not locate any such base, partly because some roads leading to the mesa were closed off, due to the snow on the ground.
However, in town, we interviewed many locals, i.e., the Jicarilla Apache Indians, some of whom claimed to have seen strange lights in the night skies and some military helicopters in that area, especially during the late 70's to the early 80's. (While living in Phoenix, Arizona in the late 70's, I remember seeing newspaper clippings on the Dulce "lights" in various New Mexico newspapers which someone had sent me. But at that time I didn't care that much to pursue it.)
My conclusion, after being in Dulce, however, was that there was nothing solid to substantiate any such allegations, at least on the surface.
The only curious thing that happened to us while in Dulce was when we were detained by the Police Chief while interviewing people on the street and taken to his office. (The Police Chief's last name, if I recall, was Velarde, if I am not mistaken.)
We were there at his office for about an hour and a half, during which time he took down all of our IDs. We asked him why we were being detained. Was it illegal to interview people on the street? Was it because we were extremely curious? Was it because it was a strange sight to see about nine Japanese men with TV cameras interviewing people on the street in such a small Indian town?
He didn't give us a straight answer. It was only at the very end, right before he released us that he definitely said to us that he didn't want to talk about such thing (the base?) and that he didn't want to have anything to do (or even be associated) with such.
Outside of town, we also talked with some ranchers in that area, some of whom claimed that some of their cattle had been mutilated mysteriously, especially during the early 80's.
So, what is my conclusion to this?
I tend to be a healthy skeptic on the alleged Dulce "underground U.S./alien base", despite the fact that we were temporarily detained at the Police Chief's office.
It's been 16 years already, since my first visit to the area.
I have decided to re-visit Dulce this March, towards the end of the month.
If anyone would like to join me, just e-mail me at:
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