FBI Records Cast Doubt on Actions of UFO Author Frank Salisbury

FBI records responsive to the late Frank Boyer Salisbury (1926-2015), a writer widely recognized as helping popularize paranormal and UFO legends of the Uintah Basin in Utah, indicate he was investigated for potential obstruction of justice charges. The records, recently obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration and compiled by the FBI from December 1966 to June 1967, document investigations of physical assault and intimidation as apparent attempts to stop fraud-related lawsuits from moving forward. During the course of investigation, FBI agents were told about questionable stock acquisitions, illegal profiting, possible unauthorized removal of heavy equipment from the Queen of Sheba Mine in Death Valley, and other controversial actions linked to Salisbury.

The late Frank B Salisbury

Multiple witnesses interviewed by the FBI described Salisbury as a self-centered man prone to outbursts of anger, whose actions and statements were often erratic and without reason. One individual, the FBI documented, “said he personally believes that Salisbury is 'crazy' as he does things which are completely illogical.”

“He said Salisbury has many lawsuits against him,” the FBI Special Agent wrote further, “but he almost ignores these matters and does what he wants to do regardless of the consequence of harm it may cause others.”:

Salt Lake City officials ultimately chose not to pursue obstruction of justice charges because two key witnesses were military personnel who were transferred repeatedly and not fully accessible. The absence of those specific witnesses made a conviction impossible, as one prosecutor put it.

Frank B. Salisbury earned degrees from the University of Utah and a doctorate in plant physiology from the California Institute of Technology. He served as the head of the Department of Plant Science at Utah State University from 1966-1970 and retired from the university in 1991. Salisbury was an avid writer, authoring some 24 books and countless articles and papers on UFOs, religious faith, and related topics. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Salisbury was a major influence in shaping and increasing public belief in alleged paranormal phenomena in the Uintah Basin. He authored the book, “The Utah UFO Display,” of which the late Junior Hicks was a principal contributor and source. Each of the men gave numerous interviews and presentations on UFOs and Skinwalker Ranch.

Records recently received from NARA are 54 pages of FBI file number 72-HQ-1763, the contents of which are obstruction of justice and perjury investigations involving Gary Stewart Buckley and James David Woodward. They were implicated in the attempted assaults and intimidation of A. Reed Reynolds and Parker Martin Nielson. Both the victims were Salt Lake City attorneys in the process of representing action against Salisbury as indicated in the following 1966 newspaper clipping:

During the course of the investigation, it was further discovered that unusual activity – if not an outright scam – had taken place with stock investments. This involved Salisbury and an associate, as well. More about circumstances pertaining to complaints brought against Salisbury by such sources as Reliance National Life Insurance Company concerning “secret and unlawful profits” may be found in a corresponding 1967 Utah Supreme Court brief.

Meanwhile, Salisbury ran into disputes with a business partner at the Queen of Sheba Mine during the 1960s. FBI agents tracked some of this down because select witnesses indicated the same men were involved as were being investigated in the stock fraud case for potential obstruction of justice and perjury charges.

Numerous people were interviewed by the Bureau, including witnesses to select activities and circumstances in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Death Valley, the location of the Queen of Sheba Mine. Salisbury was consistently described in unflattering terms, including a description of him threatening to kill someone in one instance. He was also described as a “phony bigshot” by a woman who claimed to see him intentionally dump cereal in a cafe floor:

Others the FBI attempted to interview, including Salisbury, were much less cooperative. He denied relationships with some of the accused, but also declined to provide the names of the men he was with when witnesses placed him in the company of what FBI increasingly suspected were fellow conspirators.

Expanding Frontiers Research initially requested records on Frank Boyer Salisbury from the FBI in June 2024. The Bureau advised EFR of the existence of responsive records in the custody of NARA. Those records were parts of file 72-HQ-1763 and file 116-HQ-241417. A request submitted to NARA revealed the first records, recently obtained and shared in this post, consisted of about 54 pages and were part of an obstruction of justice investigation. The second file, subject Frank Boyer Salisbury, was compiled as part of a Department of Energy applicant investigation, created between 1951-1973, and consists of an estimated 40 pages.

EFR reduced the scope of the initial request to the obstruction of justice records in order to receive the 54 pages much more quickly than if the files, totaling nearly 100 pages, were requested simultaneously. EFR has now requested the second file, the applicant investigation, and will publish it when received.