Travis Walton case: Crew boss confesses hoax

[Charlie Wiser]

Source: https://youtu.be/QlTirK9mgiY


Mike Rogers was the crew boss driving the truck that night. In this brief informal interview he says Travis discussed with him creating a UFO hoax, and that "it was all deliberate, it was all a staged thing."

Along with the Betty & Barney Hill case, this is often touted as one of the "best" in UFO abduction circles because of multiple witnesses who haven't recanted in 46 years. Given Mike's role in controlling the truck (i.e. how long the crew were able to actually view the UFO - about 30 secs) and the way he hyped them up ("Did you see that!?!?!") it seemed clear to me that Mike and Travis hoaxed the rest of the crew (with the help of Travis's brother). Mike is now confirming this.

This case is about to be blown apart and is a great example of how a prank for cash (the National Inquirer prize money in this case) snowballed out of control over the decades and came to define the lives of all 7 crew members, 5 of whom were deceived, and those still living have just been told they were suckers.

How do you think the hoax was perpetrated?

 

[jackfrostvc]

Mike had been posting on Facebook in March/April that Travis Walton was a UFO hoaxer, see below.

I managed to interview Mike Rogers in March, he talked about how Travis had owed him money and he was upset about that, and because Travis was lining up a new movie and hadn't told Mike.

Later on Facebook I noticed Mike had come to an agreement with Travis and they were friends again
In case you don't know, Mike was not just Travis's best friend back in the day, but his sister is married to Travis

Here is my interview with Mike Rogers:
Source: https://soundcloud.com/jack-frost-969109415/interview-with-mike-rogers-24-03-2021/s-ZaJKzaGEE75


Writeup on Travis/Mike here including a balloon UFO you could buy back then that looked very much like Travis's UFO
https://threedollarkit.weebly.com/travis-walton.html

This story by Jeff Wells who was one of the first to interview the crew when Travis re-appeared is well worth the read.
https://debunker.com/texts/walton.h...gtBs3VpyIohcNEUNgge4rd8yYxP_U1pgl6ipXH3E-en38


Years ago Travis had failed a lie detector test on game show called "The Moment of Truth" . I wont post it n case of copyright. But if you have streaming rights to the show, it's well worth a watch. Travis was asked he was abducted to which Travis answers yes. Then they show the polygraph result of that same question they had asked him earlier - and.... it said he failed it

 

[Nilbog]

If what he's saying is true...that was a really daring hoax to pull off with so many witnesses. Seems like a lot could go wrong.

 

[Robert Sheaffer]

A lot has been happening on this case, and quickly: https://badufos.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-travis-walton-ufo-abduction-story.html

A new website, ThreeDollarKit.com, walks you through the operation of the hoax.

Mike Rogers was on Erica Lukes' "UFO Classified" Friday evening for two hours. He affirmed 100% that there was no hoax, then a bit later says he is starting to have doubts! He said Travis and I did not hoax this, but I didn't actually see Travis abducted.

Then after Mike's interview was finished, producer Ryan Gordon was interviewed for another two hours. He provided maps and charts and photos of the sites, with drone footage, illustrating his explanation of the hoax.

 

[Charlie Wiser]

UPDATE March 2026: Mike Rogers (crew boss) died in February. His daughter Michelle directed me to a Quora post in which she explained he called her to his deathbed and confessed to being part of the Travis Walton hoax. She has since deleted the post but tells me she'll give more details in time.

I'm collecting here some related sources. The relevant part of her Quora post:

On Friday, February 6th my father died... His name was Michael Howard Rogers. He was best known for his role as the crew captain in the movie Fire In The Sky. And, of course, for his role in that UFO story...

On January 12th he was released to Hospice home care, as he wished to die at home surrounded by his family rather than in a medical facility.
He called and asked me to hurry over saying that he wished to speak to me about a matter of great importance. He said that I needed to get to him before they began the morphine and other drugs...

From where I live, it is a three hour drive up to the White Mountains of Arizona - where I came from and where my father lived all of his life.
This is a very long story, but I will condense it down here for you, my Quora friends, intending to tell the entire story some time later and on other platforms and possibly by some other means in the near future.

My father wished to confess to several hoaxes that he carried out beginning in November of 1975. Yes, that UFO incident, one of the best known UFO stories in the world, was a hoax...

In any case, the point of this post is to confess on behalf of my father for all of his hoaxes that he carried out all over the world from November 1975 til at least March of 1997...

He wanted me to confess and apologize to the world for his hoaxes, and then for all of his lies right up until the very end of his life. He hoped that telling the truth finally could make things better somehow. I don't know if that's possible, but I promised to try.

Michelle Detras
Owner of S.N.A.R.K. space on Quora
and daughter of Michael Howard Rogers

Screenshot of the entire post:

Steve Pierce, then 17, who spent 5 days living under suspicion of murder while Travis was missing, and was then considered a joke when Travis returned, had to leave town. I've been corresponding with Steve on and off for 5 years, and after a year he did come around to the idea it was a hoax at the Gentry Fire Tower (previously he thought it was a government craft that took Travis to Area 51). When I told Steve that Mike had confessed before dying, his response was "wow" - he then posted this on Facebook on 13th March 2026 (para breaks added for clarity):

There are many things that a person can keep secret , many dark truths that they never talk about, or won't ever admit , and inevitably they end up taking these hidden truths to the grave. Some things were meant to stay covered , and somethings need to be shared, no matter how ugly they may seem. If it's meant to be known, the truth always has a way of coming out.

The passing of Mike Rogers has finally truth behind Fire in the Sky and what really happened to Travis. Upon his deathbed, his last words revealed the ugly truth that has been the subject of much speculation for so many yrs. He revealed that the abduction was indeed a staged hoax. The whole set up was orchestrated in the disturbed minds of Mike and Travis. This horrible plot to gain popularity has ruined the lives of so many that were involved. I for one have dealt with the backlash over this for many many yrs. It has destroyed my life and the lives of those that were close to me.

Since I was 17 , I have lived with the horror of what I witnessed that night in the woods. It has haunted me in every aspect of my life. I have lived with the tumultuous chaos every day. My whole life has revolved around Fire in the Sky and to finally have validation that it was all a hoax, has sent me on the road to utmost devastation.

How dare Mike and Travis live with this secret all these yrs. knowing what it has done to the lives of those involved , not to mention the public. This lie is of epic proportions.

How dare Travis gain popularity and monetary gain at the expense of myself and a few others. He is nothing but a liar, a fake ,a phony ,a thief and abominable human being.

Perhaps Mike had to confess so that he could finally have peace. But I ask you ,what about my peace? My peace was stolen from me and I've not known anything else in my life. I have lost everything I've ever had , because I couldn't move passed the trauma that this has caused me. John died believing this was all true. He too lived with the trauma , never knowing what was real. I hope now he rests in peace. As for Mike, you have a lot to answer for, as for Travis your day of reckoning is coming, and that is something I will take to the grave.
Steve Pierce

Source: Steve Pierce on his Facebook page (he now goes by Jeff, his legal name)

Steve also posted a couple of Reels:

Last time we talked he told me everything. He told me, "I'm gonna confess when I die." I asked him, I said, "What are you gonna confess?" He wouldn't tell me."
It was a hoax. It was the tower.*

Source: Steve's Reel, 13 Mar 2026
*Gentry Tower

Fifty years you've been slandering my name, Travis Walton and Mike Rogers... It's nothing but a hoax.

Source: Steve's Reel, 18 Mar 2026
Note: Steve is under the misapprehension that Mike's sister (Travis's wife) Dana "spilled the beans".

 

[JMartJr]

Would that more hoaxers who fool a lot of people would have similar moments where their conscious prompts them to tell the truth at last.

My condolences to Mr. Rogers's family and friends.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

This has no value.

I myself am pretty skeptical of this story. It has too much of the "Grandpa's Confession" trope feel to it. And it can be easily dismissed by anyone so inclined.

It also contains dumb stuff like this...

One of his last hoaxes includes what is known as the Phoenix Lights...
He said that he did not intend to fly his UFO over the enormous city of Phoenix...

Oh, brother...


Lastly, the TW case was an obvious hoax in the first place. Beating a dead horse.

 

[NorCal Dave]

This has limited value. I myself am kind of skeptical of this story. It has too much of the "Grandfather's Confession" trope feel to it. And it can be easily dismissed by anyone so inclined.

This case was an obvious hoax in the first place. Beating a dead horse.

Agreed. Unfortunately, this is a classic deathbed confession being passed on 2nd hand. And we have Rogers taking credit for the Phoenix Lights, which was in large part some A10s with flares. Maybe Rogers happened to be attempting a UFO hoax for unknown reasons at the same time some Maryland Air National Guard A10s were traing with flares, but that seems a stretch. Possibly a bit of confabulation. Possibly putting Rogers, posthumously at the center of 2 of the biggest UFO stories in Arizona.

Walton will carry on and the UFO crowd will carry on.

 

[John J.]

I'm collecting here some related sources. The relevant part of her Quora post:

The statement by Michelle Detras is rather odd, I think.
Consider,

On Friday, February 6th my father died... His name was Michael Howard Rogers. He was best known for his role as the crew captain in the movie Fire In The Sky.

But the real Michael Rogers didn't have a "role as the crew captain in the movie Fire In The Sky", the role of the crew captain in the movie Fire In The Sky (listed as Mike Rogers) was played by Robert Patrick (Wikipedia Fire in the Sky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_in_the_Sky, also IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106912/?ref_=fn_t_1)

Maybe I'm being overly pedantic, but I feel this is odd phrasing. Surely his actual part in whatever took place- and (allegedly) the fact that he lied to his family for decades- would be more important to her than his portrayal in a movie. Sure, maybe mention the film, but still.

There's this,

...he was terrified of going to jail or prison- most specifically for the Phoenix Lights hoax- because the military got involved to investigate what was definitely seen as a potential threat to millions of people

(my emphasis) which seems, perhaps paradoxically, to chime with the Ufology belief that the military take UFOs desperately seriously as possible- if not probable or proven- alien spacecraft.
I doubt that there's any documentary evidence that anyone in a relevant position of authority ever raised the possibility of millions of people being threatened by the Phoenix lights.

Then the claims of additional hoaxes:

It also contains dumb stuff like this...

One of his last hoaxes includes what is known as the Phoenix Lights... He said that he did not intend to fly his UFO over the enormous city of Phoenix...

Oh, brother...

I think we can be fairly confident about the probable causes of the "Phoenix lights". I agree with Z.W. Wolf's sentiments.
Unlikely coincidences do occur, but like @NorCal Dave (post #8) I'm not sure I buy that Mr. Rogers happened to "fly a UFO" at the roughly the same time and location as a likely known cause for (at least the main part of) the observed lights.

And

This includes several crop circles in England beginning with an intricate snowflake design in 1994.

Transatlantic flights aren't that expensive, but lots of crop circles (many hundreds, perhaps thousands) were made from the end of the 70s to the early 2000s in England, about half of them in Wiltshire and neighbouring Hampshire (they continue to a lesser extent).
Why go to the expense of flying over just to add a few more? Why not do it in the States?

Almost all scientific, and most journalistic, curiosity about crop circle's origins largely evaporated around 1991/ 1992, when it was demonstrated that designs as complex as any claimed to be from "real" crop circles could be made by very few people using very simple, very cheap tools, and that those who claimed that authentic circles had unreproducible physical characteristics couldn't in fact tell known hoax circles from circles of unknown origin that they believed to be "real" (brief notes about this in post #123, "Are All UFO Reports Wrong, Or Are They Evidence That UFOs Exist?" thread, see also Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_circle).
Maybe a crop circle in 1994 would be entertaining for the numerous summer campers who used to congregate at Honeystreet and other Wiltshire locations for the purpose of finding crop circles (maybe they still do), but post 1992 or thereabouts it wouldn't get much attention outside of woo enthusiasts (and others who just enjoyed the designs).

This is from the current website of The Barge Inn, Honeystreet, "Local Attractions" https://thebargeinnhoneystreet.uk/local-attractions/

 

[jackfrostvc]

Although you can question the death bed second hand nature and phoenix light stuff of this from Rogers daughter . It should be noted that Rogers years ago had posted that Travis was a UFO hoaxer.