Just in case anyone's interested... someone claiming to be Mel posted this message just this year. Who knows if it is really him, but it's interesting.
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“Hello to all of you. This is Mel. I’m sorry I’ve been inconspicuous for so long, but you see, I had to put my life back together after my experiences with the hole. I returned to Australia to renew my efforts with my wombat refuge after finally receiving a large settlement from the BLM [Bureau of Land Management.] I have not spoken of the hole or its properties since my last conversation with Art on Coast to Coast, as part my agreement with the U.S. Government. I can however, discuss generally, the second hole I discovered in Nevada while living among the Basque people there. I can assure you all that everything I told Art and his listeners regarding THAT hole was true. Out of respect for the local culture though, I cannot reveal its location without their consent and they do not wish it to be so. The elders there see the hole as a sacred place and would not want it compromised by outsiders and media. I can say that my experiences there changed my life and I don’t regret any of them. I hope that some day I will be able to reveal everything in a way that will allow the public to know the truth, but I am not in a position to do that at present. I will say that I believe the truth will be known one day, but I can’t say how. I could prove my story but the risk to myself is too great, and I’ve learned from my experiences that when I get an offer, its best to take the money and run. I hope you all understand and maybe you’ll hear from me again, sooner or later…”
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Really nothing new. But that would be cool if it really is Mel. I live not too far from where the hole is supposed to be. It's just over the mountains from me. The original posting is here.
Mel's Hole had to be my favorite all-time yarn on Coast. It rates right up there with "War of the Worlds," for great radio theater.
I'm really skeptical about the existence of the "hole" and have been up on that ridge southwest of Ellensburg, WA where Mel said it was on several different occasions and damned if I could find it. It's not a real big area and with GPS and Google Earth mapping, you can zero in on something pretty quickly.
And I know a number of people who're locals there, grew up in the area, etc and they never heard of it. It seems to me if "a little Mexican fella" working for a tire company would know that the "hole" was a good place to dump old tires says to me that it was pretty well known locally. And if that was the case, every high school kid in Kittitas, Grant and Yakima county would have known about it too.
There's an 11,000 student public university close by in Ellensburg -- Central Washington U -- with a pretty well respected Geology dept. -- if you're studying that science, this is an area to be -- and they won't respond to any inquiries about the "hole," at all.
And don't you think a "hole" over 15 miles deep would probably have ended up being at least a National Monument?
But the yarn was so carefully crafted -- and "Mel," whoever he is -- played it so well that I have to admit, I still have 2nd thoughts.
And here's another one: Washington state doesn't have hardly any BLM land in comparison with it's neighboring western states. Not much at all, really. But, in Kittitas County, there are small patches of BLM land -- right near where "Mel's Hole" was supposed to be. And so we hear from "Mel" that the BLM paid him off and told him to keep his mouth shut.
Interesting....but still the burden of proof remains with "Mel."
So, maybe we'll never really know the truth about the "hole" or even "Mel," but it damn sure was one hell of a story. Mel, if you read this, here's a toast to either a great acting job or one hell of an experience. We hope all is good with you wherever you are.
