The Station That Light Wouldn't Let Go: Checkpoint Nine's Secret
Unable to add items
Sorry, we're unable to add the item because your cart is already full.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Failed to remove from Wish List.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Unable to follow podcast
Unable to unfollow podcast
The Station That Light Wouldn't Let Go: Checkpoint Nine's Secret
-
Narrated by:
-
By:
A steady fluorescent light appears in photos of an abandoned federal station that had been without grid power for eleven months - taken at 5:47 AM on June 4, 2019 - yet no generator, wiring, or battery array could be found. The north room where the light burned sits above a reused slab where a night watchman died in 1968; what connects that death, a string of unexplained logbook notations, and a sealed federal document? What is the light trying to tell us?
In this episode, we follow the thread that begins with a birder’s early-morning photographs and traces fourteen months of archival digging, interviews, and site visits. You’ll hear how the station’s construction history, employee logbooks, and physical inspection of the north room led to a concrete void beneath the floor and a sealed record no official source has answered.
Person: Clifford Padgett
Date: June 4, 2019 at 5:47 AM
Location: Checkpoint Nine, Altar Valley, Arizona
Person: Kimberly Morris
Event: Herbert Quine found dead in north room, March 1968
- The building had been without electricity for eleven months when the photographs were taken.
- Photographer Clifford Padgett was a 57-year-old amateur birder who photographed the light three times and noted the time in his field log.
- Checkpoint Nine closed in October 2017 and grid power was cut in July 2018.
- Fourteen logbook entries across 37 months by officer Kimberly Morris show a lighter pen pressure at approximately 6:00 AM, each marked with a dash and the number one.
- The original 1971 federal construction survey retained the slab of a 1953-1968 cooperative station where 49-year-old Herbert Quine died in March 1968.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet
