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Cottingham sees flying light
Flying Light of Umboi
Expeditions in the 1990’s
When the American Biblical creationist Carl Baugh visited Umboi Island,
Papua New Guinea, in the 1990’s, he found many eyewitnesses of the
strange flying light that the natives call “ropen.” Few of the natives,
however, had seen the ropen close enough to see any form or features. The
idea that the ropen is a living pterosaur comes from the descriptions given
by those eyewitnesses who have seen it from a close distance.
Attempted Grave Robbery in 1993
From the second edition of the book Searching for Ropens:
“Eunice, a school teacher’s wife, described to Carl Baugh an
attempted grave robbery. One night, in April of 1993, near the
northwest coast of Umboi Island, after a large funeral procession
arrived at the burial location, a creature with a glowing red tail came
from the sea. (The tail was described like the glow from burning
embers.) About two hundred mourners were awake when the
creature flew overhead. The villagers banged pots and yelled,
whereupon the intruder flew into a nearby swamp and the light
disappeared.”
Twenty-First Century Expeditions
Paul Nation and his son Nathanael, from Texas, were unable to see the
ropen light on their 2002 expedition on Umboi Island. They interviewed a
native man well acquainted with the local legends. Darius told them that
the ropen is “like the spirits of ancient times” that sometimes comes down
from the mountain to hunt game animals, but it always returns to the
mountain. It is said to be like a spirit but is also like a man.
Grave Robbery in Gomlongon Village in 1949
The American cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb, during his stay on
Umboi Island, in 2004, interviewed an old villager in Opai. Michael told
Whitcomb that a light came down to the “mat-mat” (grave) and when the
people looked in the grave the next morning, it was empty. Michael was
sure that the ropen took the body up to Mount Bel to eat it. No shape was
seen for the ropen, only the light.
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Other Online Resources
Mount Tolo, near Lake Pung
The indava light may come from a flying
creature similar to the ropen of Umboi
Near this peak, close to the crater lake that the
natives call “Pung,” the American explorer
David Woetzel observed, late in 2004, a light
flying behind a ridge, coming from around the
area of Mount Barik.
After the two Umboi Island expeditions of
2004, Woetzel reported to Whitcomb:
“My sighting was so quick that it was
impossible to get a video–maybe two seconds.
The light was very different from what Garth
and Pastor Jacob saw. I suspect theirs was a
meteor. I also saw some meteors while on
night watch. They were whitish in color and
had a tail. But this thing was different. It went
about as fast as a meteor, but it was very
different in coloration . . . almost golden and
shimmering around the edges. It looked like
an old-fashioned street light in the fog. There
was no tail and it was flying horizontally from
Mt. Barik toward Mt. Tolo.”
Whitcomb concluded that Woetzel had indeed
observed the ropen light on October 28, 2004.
Ropen Sighting by Cottingham
Pterosaur Bioluminescence
The ropen is sometimes seen to fly to or from Mount Swal on Umboi Island
The opinions expressed are those of Jonathan
David Whitcomb. Media professionals may use
these paragraphs in whole or in part for news
distribution. All of the images on this page may
also be used by the news media.
The ropen flies at night, often from a mountain to a reef and back
More Images for Media
Abram, of Opai Village, saw the light
flying down to reef of Umboi Island
This south coast of Umboi Island may be
near the reef where David Mokay was
fishing when a bright light appeared