Travis Taylor, Brandon Fugal & Paranormal Investigation Team Reveals a Dark Secret.

Travis Taylor, astrophysicist, aerospace engineer.
Raised in Alabama with a NASA engineer father, Travis built telescopes as a teen, earned two doctorates and four master’s degrees, and led military UAP research for the Pentagon.
His reputation on the ranch stems from a fearless, hands-on attitude.
He risks exposure to strange phenomena and pursues truth by designing high-tech experiments and modeling unknown energies.
Taylor’s charismatic leadership style combines skeptical science with sci-fi passion and public advocacy for rational analysis of mysteries.

Eric Bard, principal investigator, physics engineering.
Born in 1973, Bard holds a master’s in plasma physics from Brigham Young University and an impressive record inventing archival optical technologies like MDICk.
Originally skeptical, he was drawn to the ranch by curiosity about the convergent paranormal themes and now leads investigative design, sensor deployment, and data analysis with strict scientific rigor.
Bard is a methodical problem solver dedicated to separating myth from measurable fact and continuously developing new tools to capture the ranch’s elusive anomalies.

Thomas Winterton, superintendent, ranch operations, with a background in construction management and a lifelong connection to the Utah Basin.
Thomas Winterton brings practical expertise and grounded leadership to one of the most enigmatic research sites in the world.
Before his involvement with Skinwalker Ranch, he built a successful construction and development company, managing complex infrastructure projects across the region.

His reputation for integrity, precision, and problem solving caught the attention of Brandon Fugal, who recruited him in 2016 to help restore the ranch’s deteriorating facilities and transform it into a functioning research base.
Winterton quickly became far more than a project manager.

His deep familiarity with the land, its unpredictable conditions, and its history made him indispensable to the investigative team.
He oversees all day-to-day operations, maintaining buildings, power systems, irrigation lines, cattle management, and heavy equipment, while also serving as the team’s logistical backbone during experiments.
When scientists need to dig, drill, or deploy sensors, it’s Thomas who ensures the work is done safely and effectively.

Yet Winterton’s role took a dramatic turn early in his tenure when he suffered a sudden mysterious scalp injury while supervising excavation work on the ranch.
The incident, which left him hospitalized with severe swelling and intense pain, became one of the most infamous moments in Skinwalker Ranch history.
Despite no clear medical or environmental explanation, the event coincided with anomalous readings in electromagnetic and radiation sensors, fueling the now iconic phrase,
“Don’t dig on Skinwalker Ranch.”

That experience profoundly changed his relationship with the property.
While Winterton remains deeply skeptical of paranormal claims, he is also pragmatic enough to acknowledge that something genuinely strange happens there,
something capable of affecting both machinery and human biology.

His cautious respect for unseen forces has made him a voice of balance between scientific inquiry and personal safety.
As superintendent, Thomas is often the emotional anchor of the team.
His calm demeanor, rural sensibility, and unwavering sense of duty ground the often chaotic, high-stress environment of the ranch.

In many ways, Thomas Winterton embodies the human side of Skinwalker Ranch,
a man rooted in reality, drawn into the extraordinary,
and determined to keep the investigation moving forward even when the ground beneath his feet seems anything but stable.

Caleb Bench, security, ranch operations.
A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and seasoned law enforcement officer, Caleb Bench brings a disciplined, tactical mindset to one of the most unpredictable environments on Earth.
Recruited to Skinwalker Ranch in late 2017 by his brother-in-law, Thomas Winterton, Caleb was initially brought on for his physical presence and expertise in security operations.

However, his role quickly evolved far beyond guarding gates and monitoring perimeters.
He became a critical part of the investigative team, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with scientists during some of the ranch’s most intense and unexplained events.

Caleb’s military background instilled in him a calm, mission-first mentality perfectly suited for high-stress conditions.
Whether facing radiation spikes, malfunctioning equipment, or aerial anomalies, he remains composed and focused, ensuring safety while gathering real-time observations.

Standing tall with an intimidating yet approachable presence, Caleb commands respect through quiet confidence.
Deeply loyal to his teammates and family, he often assumes a protective role when the atmosphere turns tense.

His firsthand encounters have made him more open-minded, yet firmly grounded in practicality and evidence.
To Caleb, every anomaly is a potential threat until proven otherwise,
a stance that keeps the team alert and grounded in their pursuit of truth.

Brandon Fugal, owner, financier.
Brandon Fugal is a visionary real estate magnate and technology entrepreneur whose fascination with the mysteries of existence led him to acquire Skinwalker Ranch.
As co-founder and chairman of Kier International, Fugal built a business empire spanning commercial real estate, technology startups, and aerospace ventures.

When he purchased Skinwalker Ranch in 2016 from Robert Bigelow, he did so under strict confidentiality, driven not by profit but by a personal quest for truth.
Once secrecy lifted in 2020, Fugal surprised skeptics and believers alike by opening the ranch to scientific scrutiny and public transparency.

Under his leadership, the ranch evolved into a modern research hub equipped with sensor arrays, radiation detectors, ground-penetrating radar, and aerial surveillance systems.
Fugal balances skepticism with openness, seeking truth wherever it leads.

Through his stewardship, Skinwalker Ranch has become not just a property,
but a living laboratory where science meets the supernatural.

Bryant “Dragon” Arnold, head of security.
Arnold is the steadfast guardian of Skinwalker Ranch, respected for his vigilance, intuition, and discipline.
From securing perimeters to responding to radiation bursts and power failures, Dragon is often the first to act.

Beyond tactics, his intuition has repeatedly sensed danger before instruments register anomalies.
Skeptical yet open-minded, fearless yet prudent,
Dragon remains the ranch’s first line of defense.

Jim Royston, CEO, Omnitude Technology Engineering.
Royston stands at the intersection of advanced data science and frontier research.
His systems integrate electromagnetic, seismic, radiation, and atmospheric data into a real-time analytical interface.

His goal is not belief, but clarity,
extracting repeatable patterns from chaos to reveal hidden physical mechanisms.

Sam Disso, chief engineer, Omnitech.
Disso is the engineering force behind the ranch’s sensor network, designing ruggedized systems capable of capturing millisecond-precision data.
Through his work, Skinwalker Ranch has become a fully instrumented, data-driven laboratory.

Cameron Fugal, CEO, aerospace specialist.
A seasoned helicopter pilot and aerospace innovator, Cameron provides high-resolution LiDAR surveys revealing anomalies invisible from the ground.
His aerial expertise offers the team a crucial eye in the sky.

Pete Kelsey, technologist, geospatial mapping expert.
A pioneer in 3D mapping, Kelsey visualizes the ranch’s hidden geometries and electromagnetic distortions.
His models reveal spatial relationships that traditional mapping cannot.

Together, these individuals form a multidisciplinary team unlike any other.
They transform Skinwalker Ranch from folklore into a living laboratory of American strangeness.
Using science as both shield and compass, they push the limits of what can be measured, modeled, and believed.

At Skinwalker Ranch, discovery itself takes on an otherworldly edge.