By Natalie Myers
It’s October 4th 2001 in Gundiah, a small village in Queensland, Australia. Amy Rylance, her husband Keith and a business partner Petra Heller are at their estate that is being renovated into a winery. Construction on the property meant that they had set up caravans as temporary lodgings across the site. A storm was brewing outside and so they settled in for the night.
Around 9:30pm, Keith was fast asleep in the bedroom whilst Petra was asleep in a room in the adjoining annex. Amy was in the lounge on the sofa drifting off. Petra woke around 11:15pm and came into the lounge area to a most surreal sight.
A beam of light was coming through the window and inside the beam was Amy, floating and motionless. A number of items that had been on the coffee table next to her were also suspended in the beam of light. Petra could see the light source was a disc shaped object hovering outside against the tree line. She then passed out where she was standing.
Awaking from his sleep by a loud scream, Keith then ran into the lounge where he found Petra who had just awoken. Still confused and dazed, she struggled to explain what she had seen.
Keith immediately noticed a tear in the fabric that covered the window. He frantically called out to find his wife but to no avail. She could not be located on the estate anywhere and at 11:40pm, Keith phoned the local Police. Three officers attended and searched the land, finding nothing. Finding the story somewhat implausible, they did examine the torn window fabric and took forensic samples. Records show they noted that a bush directly below the window outside showed signs of ‘extreme heat’.
Officers had no choice but to open a missing person investigation. Whilst recording witness statements, Keith received a phone call from a woman 500 miles away in the town of MacKay. The lady explained she had come across a distressed woman who was confused in a petrol station and taken her straight to the local hospital. Having found out who she was, she had called Keith to let him know she was safe and well. In sheer disbelief of what he had just been told, he handed the phone to the Police officer.
Recollection
Amy recalled lying on the couch back in Gundiah. She recalled nothing of Petra coming into the lounge or her levitating in a beam of light. As some memories came flooding back she remembered she woke up on a bench in an unfamiliar room. Light was coming through the walls and ceiling. A male voice spoke to her to offer reassurance and then via a door in the wall, a slender male approximately 6ft tall entered. He wore some type of full body suit and she recalled a type of face mask with space for his eyes, nose and mouth to protrude.
Amy alleged she was then told she would be returned not far from where she was taken, suddenly she found herself falling asleep again waking on ground with trees around her.
Disorientated and confused, Amy wandered around bushland for what she felt was hours. She recalls being able to smell the sea. Stumbling onto a main road she spotted the lights of a petrol station in the distance, but had no idea where she was.
Arriving at the petrol station she asked for some water. People asked her if she had taken any drink or drugs due to her confused presentation. It was then a kind woman decided to take her to the hospital for a check-up. Later she would then make the call to Keith.
Aftermath
Amy was interviewed in detail during her time at the hospital and her account entered onto record. Despite Police cautioning her that making false statements would land her in trouble, Amy freely told events as she remembered them.
She also recalled having seen a UFO during her teenage years.
Keith and Petra drove to a Motel where Amy had been given a room. Amy was in the company of officers who were photographing and recording triangle marks to her inner thigh, marks to each heel and her hair growth – which was significant given it had been coloured a few days prior to the incident. Her body hair also showed growth – more than just the few hours that had passed.
Not knowing much about UFOs or abductions, the couple purchased a magazine from a local store that had contact numbers for the Australian UFO Research Network. Reluctantly, they made contact and gave a statement agreeing for a formal investigation to take place.
Diane Harrison and Bill Chalker took on the role of lead investigators. Both spoke with Keith and Amy over the phone, however Petra did not want to speak out. Keith was very keen to get his story out into the wider population thinking that it would likely come out anyway. Chalker and Harrison were more cautious and advised of the possible ramifications.
The physical investigation took place on October 9th at the Gundiah residence. A neighbour had been letting the dog out at the winery since the incident and Chalker and Harrison were told the dog was friendly but liked to jump up a lot. Both would observe the dog jumping up at the window with the torn covering leading to the possibility it could have been the cause of the tearing.
The gardener also suggested that the heat damage to the plant under the window was a common occurrence and when checked, plants of the same variety in a different location exhibited the same damage from direct sunlight. The researchers found the Police to be very helpful in their investigation which was a welcome surprise.
Interviewing the witnesses face to face was not easy for investigators. Keith and Amy moved motels a number of times to avoid press attention and also stated they had “men in black” following them, resulting in a car chase at one point frightening all involved. No physical evidence was ever recovered from the scene.
To date there has been no rational explanation made for what happened that night in Gundiah. How could someone re-appear so far away from home? I guess we will never really truly know the answer…
