Two officers chase a fast-moving shadow through a closed area
A caller on the telephone says they were with “another officer.” They describe entering a closed area through a gate, seeing something there, and chasing it in a truck. They report that a shadow ran in front of the vehicle at an estimated 70 miles an hour. They rounded a corner and found no one. The caller ends by saying they do not know what to say and thanks the host.
This clip comes from the source recording. AI chose where it starts and ends, so it may start or end a little early or late. The word-for-word transcript is not published. You can hear the source recording on the Internet Archive (file “Ghost to Ghost 1998.mp3”, starting at 3:23:40). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller gives no name and no location. They say that “recently” they were with another officer, and the two of them went into “a closed area.” They call it [quote withheld] They went through a gate and closed it behind them. In the caller’s telling, both saw something. They quote their companion asking [quote withheld] and say they agreed there was something there. They got into a truck and accelerated after it. They estimate the figure [quote withheld] They explain that they meant to catch [quote withheld] and find out what they were doing in the area. They stress that the ground is open enough to see [quote withheld] and call it strange that two people saw the same thing. The shadow, as the caller calls it, ran in front of the vehicle [quote withheld] The caller first puts the distance at [quote withheld] and then at “about thousand yards” in front of them. The two officers looked at each other in disbelief. Finally, the caller says, they [quote withheld] They tell the host they do not know what to say, thank the host, and say [quote withheld] After the call, the host says he believes them and remarks that law enforcement officers are trained observers who work at night in pairs.
Reported events, in order
- 0:00
The caller says they were recently with another officer and they were going to a closed area where nobody should be.
- 0:04
They went through a gate and closed it behind them. They looked up and both reportedly saw something. The other officer asks [quote withheld]
- 0:14
They got the truck and accelerated after it.
- 0:17
The caller says the person [quote withheld] or had gotten away from them.
- 0:22
They note the area allows you to see everything within about four square miles, and call it strange that two people saw the same thing.
- 0:34
The shadow ran in front of the vehicle, early in the morning before sunrise.
- 0:44
They put the distance at four or five hundred yards, then at about a thousand yards ahead of them.
- 1:00
The two officers looked at each other, unable to believe what was happening.
- 1:03
They rounded the corner and, the caller says, there was nobody there.
- 1:07
The caller says they don’t know what to tell the host, thanks him, and says a lot of people listen to the show.
Claims
Each claim is labeled as something the person telling the story noticed (observation), what they made of it (interpretation), something others told them (hearsay), or something the host said (host statement).
- observation· 0:00
The caller says that recently they were with another officer and they were going to a closed area.
- observation· 0:04
The caller says that the caller and the other officer went through a gate, closed it behind them, looked up, and both saw something there.
- hearsay· 0:04
The caller reports the other officer asking whether the caller saw the same thing. The second witness does not speak on air.
- observation· 0:17
The caller estimates the figure could run about 70 miles an hour.
- observation· 0:34
The caller says a shadow ran in front of their vehicle before sunrise.
- observation· 0:48
The caller gives two different distances for how far ahead it ran: four or five hundred yards, then about a thousand yards.
- observation· 1:03
The caller says that when they rounded the corner there was nobody there.
- interpretation· 0:53
The caller treats the target as possibly a person whose business in the area they wanted to find out. The caller does not say what it was.
- host statement· 1:35
The host asserts that law enforcement officers are trained observers and should be given more credibility.
Scores, with reasons
An AI model gave these scores using a fixed set of scoring rules (scoring-v1). They are editorial judgments and rough guides, not the odds that anything paranormal happened. How scoring works.
This is a firsthand story that holds together in sequence, with a few concrete details. But it has no names, place, or date, and one distance figure shifts. Several ordinary explanations fit easily, and the caller does not address them. Estimate by part: source proximity 21, specificity 8, internal consistency 12, alternative explanations 5, calibration 10, total 56.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand: the caller places themselves in the truck during the chase.
- Concrete, though unverified, details: a gate, a truck, four square miles of open view, and a time before sunrise.
- The caller separates what they saw from what they concluded, calling it “the shadow” and [quote withheld]
- No names, no location, no date, only “recently.”
- The distance shifts from [quote withheld] to “about thousand yards.”
- The 70 mph running speed is extraordinary, and the caller does not repeat it.
- Ordinary explanations (an animal, a person, the vehicle’s shadow, a dark object in the headlights) are not ruled out.
- The automatic labels showing who is speaking switch between the caller and the host on lines that seem to come from the same speaker, so who said what mid-story is not certain.
- The distances and the 70 mph figure may be transcription or rounding errors.
- 0:00
- 0:22
- 0:53
What the model inferred (not said on air): The weights for each part are my judgment, based on the transcript content only. Nothing here tests whether the events occurred.
This is the caller’s word plus a claimed but silent second witness, with nothing checkable. By the scoring guide that places it just inside the 11 to 25 range. There is no on-air backing and no material to examine.
Evidence for and against
- The caller’s own account of being present.
- A second officer is claimed to have seen the same thing.
- No documentation, recording, photograph, or physical trace is mentioned.
- No names, dates, or place that could be checked.
- The claimed second witness never speaks on air.
- The second officer’s part rests entirely on the caller’s report.
- 0:22
- 0:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): Scored strictly by the scoring guide. A story like this cannot exceed 50 without an outside check.
The story has an eerie premise: something outpacing a truck at night in an off-limits area and then vanishing. But there is no threat, contact, or escalation, and the caller sounds matter-of-fact at the end. It rates middling to low.
Evidence for and against
- A dark shape keeping pace with a chasing vehicle and running ahead of it is an unsettling image.
- The chase ends with nothing there, leaving the event unexplained.
- The setting is an empty restricted area before sunrise.
- No threat, injury, contact, or menace is reported.
- The encounter is brief and ends in mild puzzlement, followed by a friendly sign-off.
- Nothing is described beyond a dark running shape.
- The caller’s tone may have suggested more alarm, but that cannot be judged from the transcript.
- 0:34
- 1:03
What the model inferred (not said on air): The rating is my read of the mood of the story as told, not of any real danger.
The core motifs are familiar: a shadow shape that cannot be caught. The frame is not: a law enforcement truck chase at speed in a restricted area, ending at an empty corner. That puts it above a stock haunting but well short of unique.
Evidence for and against
- The frame is a vehicle chase of the figure by two officers in a closed, off-limits area.
- A speed estimate of about 70 mph for the figure is an unusual detail.
- A dark running figure (a black mass) and an unresolved disappearance are standard ghost-story elements.
- No comparison with the rest of the archive was available for this run, so the score comes from the model alone.
- 0:14
- 0:17
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a provisional score from the model. The published originality score is computed against the rest of the archive and will shift as the archive grows.
Scoring confidence 0.50 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand word by telephone.; A second witness (the other officer) is claimed but does not speak on air.; No photographs, recordings, documents, names, dates, or locations offered..
Ordinary explanations to consider
These are possibilities only. None is a finding about what happened.
- An animal (deer, coyote, feral dog) crossing in front of the vehicle could look like a fast dark shape at close range in headlights. A steady 70 mph, though, is far above typical animal speeds. · The caller says the shadow [quote withheld] in the dark before sunrise while they were driving a truck after it.
- A shadow cast by the truck, its passengers, or roadside objects, or a dark object or plants caught in the headlight beam, could be mistaken for a moving figure at speed in low light. · The caller calls it “the shadow,” and they were chasing it in a truck with its lights on.
- A person in the closed area (a trespasser or worker) who moved out of sight, or was never as close as estimated. The caller’s own words treat this as the first assumption. · The caller allows for [quote withheld] and says that after they “round the corner” nobody was found.
What stands out
The story is an on-duty vehicle chase: two officers, a gate, and a truck driven at speed after a figure that reportedly outran it and then was not there. The caller never calls it a ghost. The caller describes it instead as “the shadow” and [quote withheld]
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.