In 1982, Lt. Col. George Sarran of the Department of the Army Inspector General began the only thorough formal governmental investigation into the supposed UFO encounter. He could not find any evidence that the helicopters the witnesses claimed to have seen belonged to the U.S. Armed Forces. Sarran stated that "Ms. Landrum and Ms. Cash were credible ... the policeman and his wife claimed to have seen 12 helicopters near the UFO encounter site were also credible witnesses. There was no perception that anyone was trying to exaggerate the truth." (quoted in Clark, 177)