Discovery of Downed F-89 Scorpion and Unknown Object is Probably a Hoax!

This is a photograph of a F-89 Scorpion fighter jet 

It's March 15, 2007 and its time to reconsider the Kinross Incident in light of the lack of credible evidence supplied by Adam Jimenez and the Great Lakes Dive Company.

By now most of your realize that the Great Lakes Dive Company, through its spokesperson Mr. Jimenez, announced the discovery of a 1953 F-89 Scorpion aircraft and an unknown object laying on the bottom of Lake Superior. Their news release, supposedly reported by the Associated Press, but denied by that news agency, claimed the discovery in 2005!

Many investigators and writers have had contact with Mr. Jimenez attempting to get definitive proof of the find. Mr. Jimenez has been close lipped to the point of exasperation. He refuses to release the names of the members of the Great Lakes Dive Company. He will not identify the names of the boats used in their salvages. He will not release photographs of the boats and any of the personnel.

As proof he has released photos of what are reported to be images taken with side-scan sonar. Several experts have come forward calling these images as fakes.

I received many emails from readers concerning the remarkable discovery.

David Pawlowski writes, "No proof exists of this company, I've looked and found no public records for it beyond Mr. Jimenez registering from his website from his California PO box and that is a long long way from Michigan, my home state. No pictures of the boat are provided, or the crew, or anything for that matter beyond the so called side scan sonar images which can be easily hoaxed given an aquarium, a kiddie pool, some sand, and some scale models just like the F-89D offered in 1/72 scale by Hasegawa/Monogram. All that would be needed then is a website, a cell phone to talk to an excited producer at Coast to Coast AM, and jpegs of the so-called wreckage field taken from a fishing scanner converted to side scan which is also described on the WWW. So called ROV pictures have never been released of any F-89 cockpit or aircraft, only claims never proven."

David adds, "What surprises me is why the United States Air Force or American Aviation Historical Societies or clubs weren't tripping over each other for the opportunity of confirming the discovery of the almost pristine condition Scorpion lost in 1953.I would have thought that one of these organizations would want to raise the F-89 for historical preservation. The mystery surrounding the plane itself would guarantee increased revenue for the successful organization as thousands of enthusiasts would travel to witness this piece of history."

He asks the following logical question, "Next, why have not the U.S. Air Force not requested the bodies of the crew of the F-89 Scorpion - First Lt. Felix Eugene Moncla (USAF) and Pilot and First Lt. Robert L. Wilson (USAF), Radar Information Officer. With reports that the canopy of the jet fighter was still intact after more than 50 years the possibility exists that the remains of the crewmen are still onboard. Surely, the families would be like the bodies returned and finally interred as per military custom."

Brendon concludes, "When I do a people finder search on Jimenez, I find that he resided at the now defunct Wurtsmith AFB in northeast Michigan in the past. Of itself, that isn't incriminating, but I find the account of their search and imaging technology completely unsupportable, given the images provided. I expect that he acquired the unpublished military side scan images of a jet and a dislocated object and then constructed the story. He got a lot more attention from the hoax than he planned and has decided to go underground. I'll be very surprised if we ever hear from him or the Great Lakes Dive Company again. If I'm wrong, I'll eat my words, but Jimenez' story has too many problems that are apparent to those experienced with deep search technology."

I received the following answer to my email from Adam Jimenez October 7, 2006:

Thank you for the email. We have temporarily discontinued the website and message board due to security issues related to the project. Our email does work, and we are keeping in touch with a small group of people regarding the project.

Thanks again,
Adam Jimenez

Mr. Jimenez told me that their website was temporarily shut down due to threats they had received. I have knowledge of who made the threats, which really weren't threats at all. They were from a well known individual who was in the position to assist financially in the production of a documentary for the Discovery Channel. I personally believe Mr. Jimenez was embarrassed by the fact that he could not provide answers to questions posed by the caller! The only threat Mr. Jimenez perceived was the knowledge that if he honestly answered the questions his deliberate hoax would be exposed.

MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) did its own investigation into the Great Lakes Dive Company and discovered that Mr. Jimenez had provided a cell phone number to various film makers and researchers, but switched to a new cell phone number soon after the threats were made. When MUFON tried to trace either phone number through Intelius.com, both phone numbers proved to be untraceable.

I will admit I was hoping the story was true and tried to give Mr. Jimenez and the Great Lakes Dive Company every opportunity to prove their discovery. But if answers and indisputable proof are not forthcoming, then Mr. Jimenez has fabricated an elaborate hoax that injured UFO investigators, journalists, but more importantly the memory and families of the deceased pilot Felix Moncla and radar observer Robert Wilson.