Over the past few years, geologist Frank Kimbler has discovered approximately twenty metal fragments near the location of the alleged 1947 Roswell UFO crash. His experience in the area, and his success at finding objects there, led to his recent appearance on the National Geographic (NatGeo) channel’s show Chasing UFOs.
With help from the Roswell International UFO Museum and Research Center, Kimbler was able to have isotopic analysis conducted on one of his Roswell metal fragments in 2010. Kimbler explained to Open Minds that the results showed that “either the lab made an analytical error or the material is not from Earth.” Ben McGee, a research scientist and team member on Chasing UFOs, explained in a NatGeo blog post:
[W]hen subjected to an initial test, the magnesium isotopes found in one of Kimbler’s metal fragments appeared to indicate a non-terrestrial isotopic fingerprint. However, without further testing, such results could also have been the result of natural and statistical variability in the laboratory analytical process. So, while ultimately not conclusive of an extraterrestrial “find” without further analysis, communicating the idea of elemental isotopes and their role in helping scientists currently determine geological material of extraterrestrial origin makes this segment an important one!
And Kimbler, who teaches Geology and Earth Science at the New Mexico Military Institute, agrees with McGee. He knows that good science requires additional testing before any conclusions are drawn.
Kimbler led the Chasing UFOs team through the area where he has had success finding metal fragments in the past. He was excited to participate in the show because, as he claims, NatGeo agreed to have some additional analysis done on his unusual metal. But the testing did not take place. In a recent interview on the web series Spacing Out!, Kimbler explained:
National Geographic didn’t want to follow chain-of-custody protocols for it. They said they couldn’t afford to fly me out to have the analysis done. I didn’t want to give them a piece of the material to have it sit in their office for days on end, or even weeks or months . . . They said the lab said that they needed a month to do the testing, and I know that’s not true. It would take them maybe a day to calibrate it, and a day to run the test. It doesn’t take a month to do that.
But Kimbler is eager to have additional testing done on his metal, so he compromised. He said, “If we’ll sign papers and have people who can sign off on this . . . I will be more than delighted to do this, but guess what? They wouldn’t do it.”
His experience on the show left him disappointed that “that whole scientific aspect of this went by the wayside.” As a scientist, he says he is not invested in one outcome or another. He explains, “Either way, I wanted some good science done.”
Kimbler is hopeful that another show will come forward to make the testing happen, and to give the metals the attention he feels they deserve.
Watch the full interview with Frank Kimbler below:
