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The disappearance of a Yorkshire miner in 1980 left police baffled and prompted ‘alien abduction’ conspiracy theories.

Zigmund Adamski went missing in mysterious circumstances from his home in Thornfield Crescent at Tingley, near Wakefield, in June 1980.

The 56-year-old miner at Lofthouse Colliery – who was known to many as ‘Ziggy’ – had set off on June 6 on a walk to the local shops to buy groceries.

It was the last time that Polish-born Mr Adamski was seen alive. His wife Lottie’s initial suspicion was that he had been kidnapped.

Five days after he disappeared, coal yard worker Trevor Parker found his body on top of a 10ft high pile of coal at his father’s coal yard in Todmorden, around 20 miles from Tingley.

He was wearing a suit but his shirt was missing, as were his watch and wallet. His clothes were said to be ‘improperly’ fastened and he had only one day of beard growth.

Mr Adamski’s hair had also been cropped short in a ‘roughly cut’ manner.

His body was also covered in burn marks, on his head, neck and shoulders. His face, it was reported, showed ‘absolute terror’ but there were no injuries to explain the cause of death.

The burns were said to be covered in a strange ointment which could not be identified by scientists.

What had happened to him and how did he end up in Todmorden?

Those questions haven’t been answered but this hasn’t stopped speculation and the development of some quite outlandish theories.

One tabloid newspaper suggested that Zigmund had been abducted and killed by aliens and his body dumped on top of the coal pile.

Others put forward theories that he had been killed by KGB forces or had been left dazed and confused after being struck by ‘ball lightning’ or some other unidentified phenomenon.

The ‘alien abduction’ theories were given a further boost by Alan Godfrey, the policeman who had been called to the Todmorden coal yard when Mr Adamski’s body had been found.

In November 1980, five months after Mr Adamski’s body was found, Constable Godfrey had his own encounter with a UFO less than a mile away from the coal yard.

The respected policeman made a sketch of the UFO and later, under hypnosis, told a story about being taken aboard the UFO and given a physical examination by two non-human entities. The policeman’s UFO story made headlines around the world.

Mr Godfrey, now 70, told the Examiner that the story he told under hypnosis was probably merely a dream, adding: “I never said I was abducted by aliens.”

However, he believes it’s possible that Adamski WAS taken by aliens.

“I am open minded. I can’t rule it out.”

Mr Godfrey doesn’t believe Mr Adamski was murdered, although he said a more senior police colleague in 1980 believed he had been killed.

He thinks that Mr Adamski didn’t die where he was found but had been placed there “by someone or something.”

He added: “He was on top of the coal pile on his back with not a bit of coal on him. His eyes were wide open and he had burn marks. Why would he climb up a stack of coal?”

Although the coroner recorded an open verdict, ruling that Mr Adamski had died of a heart attack, Mr Godfrey says there are unanswered questions.

“There was some ointment on the back of his neck. Samples were sent to a Home Office laboratory which couldn’t identify it.”

Mr Godfrey said he would never forget the look on Mr Adamski’s face.

“Those eyes were staring up at me. I was looking down on him from a foot away. Those eyes sent a shudder down my spine. They were wide open. He had a look of someone who had seen something or someone that had scared him to death.”

He added: “Something or someone put him on top of that pile of coal. And something scared him to death.”

Later, Mr Godfrey spoke to the pathologist who carried out the post mortem on Mr Adamski’s body.

“He said it was a classic case of someone who had been scared to death.”

The former policeman has no idea how the body ended up on the coal pile.

“How he got there I don’t know. I think something put him there.”

Mr Godfrey, who recently self-published a book which includes details of the Adamski case, said it had similarities with the alleged alien abduction of American logger Travis Walton in Arizona in 1975.

“He (Travis Walton) went missing for five days and he turned up alive. There are similarities.”

Almost 40 years on the case continues to fascinate investigators and those interested in unexplained deaths.

In Tingley local people still talk about the case.

Neil Beecham, who in 1980 was a reporter on the Morley Observer, said: “Mr Adamski’s mysterious disappearance 37 years ago has always troubled me and is a topic of conversation for the tight-knit community of Tingley, even to this day.”

Some commentators have suggested that Mr Adamski may have been abducted – but not by extra-terrestrials.

Ten years ago, two British UFO investigators looked again at the case. According to reports, they discovered that at the time he disappeared Mr Adamski was in the midst of a feud with a family member who was having marital problems and had moved in with the Adamski couple.

The investigators believed that Mr Adamski’s disappearance may have been an abduction linked to the feud.

Mr Godfrey has no information on this angle but said: “We had no reason to suspect any members of the family.”

Les Hewitt, in an article for Historic Mysteries, says the family members believed Mr Adamski had been abducted and held in a barn before having a heart attack.

He concludes: “The bizarre facts of this case – clothes that were improperly fastened, the body dumped atop a coal heap without noticeable disturbance, burns that were reported to be only two days old with an unidentified gel substance, only one day of beard growth, and another strange encounter with a UFO by the police investigator – lead us to imagine all kinds of possible outcomes.”

A writer for website The Iron Skeptic concluded that aliens played no part in Mr Adamski’s death.

“This case is just another example of a story that sounds good at first, but that dissolves under direct scrutiny. As are so many stories of space alien abduction.”

James Turnbull, the coroner who dealt with Mr Adamski’s death, told the BBC in 2003 that it was the biggest mystery of his career - but he wasn’t convinced by any of the theories relating to paranormal activity.

He said: “The question of where he was before he died and what led to his death just could not be answered.”

The questions are unlikely to ever be answered.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said this week: “The Adamski case is not part of any current investigation by the Protective Services (Crime) department.”

* Alan Godfrey’s book, Who or What Were They? is available through eBay.