Bigelow's research operation¶

Bigelow's research operation is the private UFO and paranormal study run by billionaire Robert Bigelow at Sherman Ranch near Ballard, Utah, with scientists, a couple of ex-Navy staff, instruments and armed security.


Type	Organization (private research group)
Aliases	Bigelow's research group; ranch staff; Bigelow's estate security; Bigelow's security force; Coyote's ranch group
Leader	Robert Bigelow
Members	Walt "Coyote" Murphy; Ponytail Lady; Marina; an unnamed staff psychiatrist; armed guards
Base	The big house at Sherman Ranch
Status	Robbed of its recordings and three employees in Walkers 07; still at the compound in Walkers 08
First appearance	Walkers 02

Overview¶

Bigelow rents the big house and barn on Alberta Wilmarth's ranch. The FBI agents in Salt Lake City told the team he had "some security people out there and some scientists and, I think, a couple of Navy guys" (Walkers 02). His team records electromagnetic and electrical phenomena and heat signatures onto big tape reels. Many staff are away on university rotations, and Bigelow buys food for the maximum headcount (Walkers 03). The ranch has cameras on the big house and the utility sheds, but none on the guest house where the team stays (Walkers 04).

Bigelow reported many unexplained heat signatures and electromagnetic events plus exploded sheep, confined to the ranch and about half a mile around, with nothing in town. He dismissed the nearby substation as unrelated (Walkers 02).

Members¶

Robert Bigelow. Sour-faced and expensively dressed.
Walt "Coyote" Murphy. Gate guard and patrol driver.
Ponytail Lady. The security woman at the big house, who sets the house rules: keep Bigelow happy, keep the goose happy.
Marina. A staffer with recurring drowning nightmares (Walkers 05).
A staff psychiatrist, who spends 45 minutes taking the party's account after the night event.
Guards. Among them a burly enforcer who makes pancakes for everyone in the morning (Walkers 08).

History¶

Arrival and monitoring (Walkers 02 to 05)¶

The operation shared its data with the task force. After the rental car vanished and reappeared in Roosevelt, the big house cassette showed the car only as a slightly different patch of grey next to the guest house, and the electromagnetic meters went off; the data was blurry (Walkers 04). After the night event, Bigelow showed the party a sky-camera frame of a bright white ring, discussed the Black Sun and Revelation 6:12, and agreed to set up a big ring of cameras around the party's house (Walkers 05). See Bigelow's recordings and The white ring.

Theft and protocol blue (Walkers 07)¶

After a naked intruder broke into the guest house, Bigelow raged that "somebody broke in and stole all our hard drives, all our tapes, all of our recordings, and three of my fucking employees", and that the barn had been cleared out as well. He declared "protocol blue", unlocked the big cabinet, handed out SPAS-12s and M16s, set a ground-floor perimeter and asked the party to stay as backup. Two guards went to back up Coyote on the hospital run (Walkers 07).

The compound (Walkers 08 and 09)¶

The compound is the team's base in Walkers 08. The team considered going back for the rest of Bigelow's security force and asked whether Bigelow had ideas about the area. In Walkers 09 the ranch people rode horseback behind the National Guard convoy, and Coyote volunteered for the assault with an illegal rocket launcher. The ranch farmhouse floated into the sky and was launched toward Roosevelt, leaving only the barn (Walkers 09). See Sherman Ranch phenomenon.

Trivia¶

Andre accidentally had Bigelow call Alberta "Madeline" and corrected himself mid-line (Walkers 02).
In Walkers 02 the Salt Lake City agents describe a former Army Ranger on the ranch who said he shot a prowler by the barn, and Gardner says Bigelow's security man fired the shot. Later in the same episode Bigelow says he has "total faith in Walt's judgment" about "whatever the situation was the other month", and Walt himself tells the team at the gate that he gave the man a warning before firing. Walt was the shooter.