Carl Mets
Carl Mets was a Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal who responded to the 1965 Kecksburg UFO Crash site on the evening of December 9, 1965. Mets entered the crash area in the woods with another investigator and, upon returning, made a cryptic statement to radio journalist John Murphy that has become emblematic of the official deflection surrounding the incident.
| Role | Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal |
|---|
Response to the Kecksburg Crash
When reports of a fiery object crashing into the woods near Kecksburg, Pennsylvania began circulating on December 9, 1965, Mets arrived at the scene as part of the official state police response. John Murphy, news director at WHJB radio in Greensburg, had already arrived to investigate the crash after receiving a call from a distressed witness.
Mets entered the wooded crash site with another investigator. Upon emerging from the woods, Mets encountered Murphy, who asked what had been found. Mets' response was evasive and pointed:
"You better get your information from the Army."
This statement indicated that Mets had observed something unusual and that authority over the scene had already been transferred to military personnel. Mets did not elaborate further and refused to discuss what he had seen in the woods.
Significance
Mets' cryptic statement is significant for several reasons:
- Implicit confirmation: By deferring to the Army, Mets acknowledged that whatever was in the woods was under military jurisdiction, contradicting later official claims that nothing was found.
- Rapid military takeover: Mets' comment suggests that Army or Air Force personnel had arrived at the scene in a remarkably short time — within hours of the crash — and had already assumed control of the site before civilian authorities could conduct a thorough investigation.
- Official deflection pattern: Mets' refusal to provide detail mirrors the pattern of evasion and deflection documented throughout the Kecksburg case, from witness intimidation to Project Blue Book's dismissive meteor explanation.
Mets never publicly elaborated on what he saw in the Kecksburg woods, and no record exists of him being interviewed by UFO researchers in later years.
Later Observations at the State Police Barracks
John Murphy later visited the state police barracks in Greensburg, where he observed an unusual scene: the barracks were swarming with Army and Air Force personnel. Murphy, an experienced journalist familiar with normal police operations, stated this was entirely unprecedented and convinced him that something of major military significance had been recovered from the woods.
Sources
- Video - The 1965 Kecksburg, Pennsylvania UFO Crash
- John Murphy's "Object in the Woods" radio documentary (1965)