A former U.S. government adviser told the audience at an international conference in Amsterdam that a number of active UFO researchers in the 1970s and 1980s died in bizarre incidents
Timothy Hood, who is also an amateur astronomer, told participants at the extraterrestrial intelligence convention that he has studied the activities of UFO researchers for 30 years.
Hood noted that UFO chasers (those who report UFO sightings) do not suffer the same fate as professional scientists deliberately looking for extraterrestrial life. He cited professional astrophysics as an example.
For instance, American astronomer Morris K. Jessup, who was a prolific writer of books on intelligent life beyond Earth died of suicide. He reportedly locked himself in his car, leaving the exhaust pipe open and the ignition, turned on.
In another example, Professor James Edward McDonald, who had studied UFOs and worked at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Earth, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.