UPDATED: Vast “underground military complex and government testing facility” discovered under Hemet, officials confirm
HEMET – Less than one day after the discovery of what has been described as a “vast underground military complex and government testing facility,” officials from the City of Hemet, March Joint Powers Authority and Hemet Ryan Airport are scrambling to explain the presence of the “long abandoned” military complex, Hemet Police Chief David Brown and March’s JPA confirmed on April 2.
The shocking revelation came just hours after workers uncovered the forgotten facility that reportedly contains countless miles of tunnels and stretch from March Air Reserve Base all the way to Hemet Ryan Airport and an Army Air Corps facility once known as Alessandro Airfield.
The tunnel networks were discovered by employees and contractors preparing for this year’s biennial air show, AirFest 2016: Thunder Over the Empire, scheduled for April 16.
Few details have been released while speculation and rumors continue to grow, since video was leaked on the Internet that reportedly shows a small portion of the tunnel network and a WWII era, underground railway system.
“We believe that the tunnels were last used sometime after the conclusion of WWII and before the Cold War,” Brown explained after the discovery.
The video, which has since been removed from YouTube, (See attached screenshots,) showed a vast, crumbling network of underground tunnels, supply warehouses, WWII era planes and vehicles, and a munitions depot, as well as a “research center and testing facility.”
The nature of the research center and testing facility has not yet been determined, according to Brown.
The video and revelation have left many incredulous about the discovery and wondering how such a massive network of underground tunnels and facilities could have been forgotten and lost to time.
“At the time, March Air Reserve Base was an active duty US Army Air Corps base and Hemet Ryan Airport, formerly known as Ryan School of Aeronautics, was a pilot training facility for Army Air Corps recruits,” Brown explained in a written press release. “While it was and still is common for underground military complexes to be built without the knowledge of the general public, we were as surprised as others at the discovery.”
Many questions now remain, as military and law enforcement officials work with committee members from the March Joint Powers Authority to determine the next course of action and how best to re-use the established facilities.
The March JPA was formed in 1993 and is charged with the responsibility of base re-use and re-purpose of existing military facilities as well as planning and future development.
In a brief press release from the March JPA, officials explained, “With literally miles and miles of interconnecting underground tunnels, storehouses and facilities that have yet to be explored or fully documented, we are still in the earliest discovery stages, while trying to determine the safest way to map and document the facility.”
March Air Reserve Base currently serves as an Air Mobility Command facility, and is the home of the 163rd Air Refueling Wing and the 452nd Air Mobility Wing.
The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 operates from March, as well as the reserve-flown C-141 and the KC-135 flown by the Air National Guard. U.S. Customs maintains a fleet of smaller planes including two Blackhawk helicopters for use in their drug interdiction efforts.
For almost 50 years, March was a Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War.
Hemet Ryan airfield was first opened in September 1940 by the United States Army Air Corps. It was assigned to the West Coast Training Center and later to the Western Flying Training Command, as a primary (Level 1) pilot training airfield.
The airfield was later activated as an Air Corps Training Detachment with Ryan School of Aeronautics conducting primary flight training under control of 5th Flying Training Detachment. Flight training was performed with PT-17 Stearmans as the primary trainer, along with Ryan PT-21 recruits. Military records revealed over 14,000 army cadets were trained to fly at the facility.
With few other details and much speculation about the underground facilities, many citizens have already begun to voice concerns and fears about the true nature of the complex.
Despite the rumors and the inevitable emergence of conspiracy theorists claiming the facilities are still actively being used, Brown assured the citizens of Hemet the facility is no longer active and based on recommendations by the JPA, could eventually be re-purposed to better serve the community.
Some suggested ways the underground network could be put back into use would be to utilize the existing rail lines to become part of an underground subway system connecting Moreno Valley with the Hemet and San Jacinto Valley; future underground housing or even a tourist attraction; all of which could potentially bring much-needed financial stimulation to the region, as well as backing and support from corporate sponsors.
Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff has reportedly already expedited a request from the County of Riverside to use the underground facilities for future housing of inmates who would otherwise be eligible for early release under new AB109 and Prop 47 guidelines.
Calls to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department have yet to be answered, however a press release is soon to be released from the department.
Despite the rampant speculation about the tunnels and their originally intended uses, as well as their potential future use, Brown said he was confident the March JPA would determine the best future use for the existing network of tunnels, storehouses and railways.
“There is much we can learn from this underground facility, a virtual time-capsule and window into our area’s past, as it associates with WWII and the Cold War era. All or a portion of the facility is expected to be opened for public or government use as early as one year from the date of it’s discovery,” Brown said. “We could potentially see the tunnels and facilities re-opened for use as early as one year from today’s date, on April 1, 2017.”
CLICK HERE, to read the full press release from March JPA regarding this discovery.
WRITER’S NOTE: If you have made it this far in this article without clicking any of the 14 “Easter Egg” links hidden in plain-sight throughout this report, please make sure to click one and note the date the article was written. TM
Visit Hemet Police Department on Facebook for REAL incidents and press releases.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.
s a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.
Very very well written good details made it so believable. Thanks enjoyed being fooled one moer time (11:00pm) April 1 2016
I had fun writing this article and the comments on some of the social media pages are absolutely hilarious. Because I posted this article just before midnight, I caught most people off guard who forgot it was still April 1st. Some of the comments though!!!! OMG, pure comedy!
Very out of line and inappropriate and juvenile. Don’t write articles and joke about Military and Law enforcement, not in this day and age. Terrible.
lol, ridiculous comment. “Not in this day and age”, what day and age? The age of silencing? People can write about whatever they wish to write about; the choice is up to you whether to laugh, or move on. Being offended, whether for you or for someone else, is completely useless to anyone and everyone.
Chill out you square.
anonymous should not be able to post and reply !!!! This is my opinion
Let him post.
Adds to the humor.
Now now everyone anonymous is secretly working for the underground facility and its so top secret that he cant use his name, or it will blow his cover.
We had so much fun April 1 I even ran for city council for a day. So many good pranks put on alot of smiles out there and we had people rolling in the isles as we shared the many believable and unbelievable stories out there. Thanks to everyone out there with a sence of humor.
This wasted my time….I didn’t think it to be funny at all
April fools trick a year ago gees……
I Agree….
So they get to escape satire and criticism? Go fuck yourself
Well UR not to far off cuz here in banning south of Sunset there is an old idlywild. Road that could take you to hemet or even poppet flats and a side road leads to an aquaduct. That has old elevators down underground into tunnels much like UR story
can you send me coordinates of this elevator area if I give you an email?
I thought this was great writing, even more so now that I know it was entirely creative writing. Well done!
“were last used sometime >>>after the conclusion of WWII and the Cold War<<<,” according to Cheif Brown. — Hmmm. lets see… WW2 ended on 8 May 1945…. The cold war ended 1991. So which is it? lost after WW2 ended or the cold war ended. This is a 50 year span of time? — to add they are currently drafting plans to use them for inmates!!! This story SMELLS of corruption and conspiracy…
Ha. Nice April fools.
I STILL SAY IT’S A COVERUP. I’ve heard underground drilling, noise, for years. Something IS STILL SUSPICIOUS IN OUR VALLEY
Oddly enough, it’s not totally an April Fools’ Day joke. The only stretch in this story is the location.
This facility is not located underneath Hemet, it exists in its’ pure throbbing glory underneath March AFB lying deep within the vast labyrinthian caverns underneath the of City of Perris.
There have been numerous UFO sightings in the area as well, so it might not be a far stretch to infer that there could be a connection there.
Of course, authorities have been wanting to keep this top secret for years so the public would not panic. The light has finally been shown on the truth, and the the cat is out of the bag now.
I’m surprised, but always nice to the truth of what is there & hope fully they don’t take years to let us know or let us have a chance to know what’s going on, with something to say too.
April fools Gloria
I’m surprised, but always nice to the truth of what is there & hope fully they don’t take years to let us know or let us have a chance to know what’s going on, with something to say too. And NO this is my first time commenting on this where do you get off saying I’ve made this comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So what’s this mean you will not publish my comment?????????? Oh so government !!
I strongly believe in freedom of speech and I post all comments.
a good place for all the Obama and Hillary supporters….they can muddle around in the dark for years down there with no one get hurt except themselves
Hilary will be much easier to find in the Dark.
She’s been in the Dark a long time.
April fools Gloria
You hit the button twice
I did got a problem with it, say why???
I really think that any Journalist perpetrating this cruel holiday is grasping at talent straws and should probably not be considered a professional. April fools jokes are Cruel Trevor. Don’t tell me to lighten up. You have no idea what problems you caused in this house with a man with Dementia in it by your liars ravings for a cheap laugh.
It’s funny watching people get their panties in a bunch over a April fools joke. The sad fact that a person would blame something like a demential break down on a news article is not only a sad plea for recognition but a mean attack that was absolutely unnecessary. Your inappropriate attack on something that people have been taught for years is a holiday of jokes and happiness is a show of your poor character, lighten up and remember that in this day in age its better to smile at the jokes then it is to belittle the jokester. Have a great and blessed day.
K.M.
Get a life worry about yourself and not everyone else, go for a hike get some fresh air or something. Fukn world full of complainers, cry baby’s life’s shit full of liers thieves & murderers and corruption we should worry about that ladies!
Hi Craig. I never told you to lighten up. This is my first chance to respond to you. Perhaps you saw someone else’s comment?
I am sorry you feel the article was in poor taste. You were not the only person who complained, however most either got the joke right away or still thought it was funny. Especially once they realized the date the article was posted, and the fact that I left 14 “Easter Egg links hidden in plain site, throughout the article.
Also, Chief Brown was aware of the article before it was posted and he even played along the following day at the Measure E Kick Off Rally. It was all meant in harmless, good fun.
Thank you for your feedback.
TM
I still i’m getting a laugh about this article when I first heard about it at a CERT meeting I couldn’t wait to get home and read about it, looking forward to the next one.
Glad you enjoyed the article and saw the humor in it, David. Not everyone was as appreciative. HAHAHA
-TM
Wow what a wake up call..first read of the morning!
Thanks for the final Aoril Fools joke of the day.
All in Fun for sure…Great read Trevor ??susan lopez
DANG, to bad that story wasn”t real. I would of loved to have seen that, GOOD ONE Trevor.
Thank you Tom. 😀
Where can I access this tunnel? I wanna explore it with a couple girls.
Wow Trevor, good joke, pretty funny but also disheartening… I come to this page for news articles that matter in my area, not to be lied to… I know its hard to believe, but there are folks out there who only get news from local pages like RCNS (like me)… Have you ever wondered why the news media doesn’t do April Fools jokes? Or maybe you haven’t heard of the War of the Worlds radio broadcast? There is a reason that sites like “The Onion” exist…
Many news organizations and major corporations post April Fool’s day articles, ads and commercials.
I am sorry you felt lied to.
TM
My personal favorite line was
“..Sheriff Stan Sniff has reportedly already expedited a request from the County of Riverside to use the underground facilities for future housing of inmates who would otherwise be eligible for early release under new AB109 and Prop 47 guidelines…” As soon as I read that part I knew it was a joke, & I laughed so hard…. so funny, Thanks Trevor! You should write for The Onion 😉
Matthew, that was probably my favorite part of the entire article. I threw that paragraph in at the last moment and I am so glad I did. Pure comedy. LOL
TM
It was a little hard to believe that all the lights were working and the place looked so clean after being abandoned over 50 – 60 years ago. However, it was a great story!
*Aliens.
I have heard they tend to be very cleanly.
-TM
In the process of exploring this vast network,
several sealed chambers were discovered.
Among the objects & discoveries found:
* the mummified remains of Jimmy Hoffa,
* photos & actual debris from the UFO crash
in Roswell.
* Former FBI director Hoover’s red dress.
* a sealed wooden shipping crate with a mostly
burned label with a strong resemblance to
a WW2 era Nazi Eagle & Swastika.
* documents & accounts revealing where the
$2 Trillion went that Sec Rumsfeld reported
missing the day before 9/11. These very same
documents were thought to be totally lost
when the airplane (or whatever) hit the Pentagon
smack dab in the accounting office, also killing
several of the accounting staff with knowledge
of these missing funds. Before his death,
Osama Bin Laden referred to this incident
as “a very gratifying Lucky Hit.”
* a stuffed & mounted Yeti.
* the marriage license of Han Solo & Princess Leia.
* compromising pictures of Leia with Chewbacca.
* Solo vrs Leia divorce documents.
* very numerous receipts from a Hollywood Laser
hair removal clinic bearing the name “Kylo Ren.”
Epic.
Very nice!!!
Aww… Too bad. I wanted to tell everyone we had a sheriff named Sniff 🙁
We do. Stan Sniff is the Sheriff of Riverside County.
Fun story. As a junior high school student in Hemet (late 70’s) my buddies and I heard similar rumours and spent countless weekends hiking the hills looking for this and the “abandoned missile silos”. Though we found nothing, this spoof reminds me of the real treasure, the adventure. Thanks!
Your welcome Pete. I have had a blast following all the comment threads. Some of them are simply hilarious!
Actually, their is a still active base in those hills. La Quede. The tunnels have been rumored but never quite made public in discovery. A few locals, cabazon , whitewater , banning and Beaumont , from the other side of the mountains have actually been inside some of these secret tunnels. My husband and I have only seen the base from the top and side East fence. But others have been chased by military personnel and escorted away from the base. Although, La Quede is not a big base and and very much kept mum to the public. It does exist.
( after viewing the articles title I had very much been intrigued by what was found and why this base existed and why after so long had they finally announced to the public. I had forgotten the date and this article was a nice trick to continue my forgotten research! 🙂
??????
This was funny and I was skeptical but a little bit willing to believe it because I’ve always heard rumors about the ‘Hemet tunnels’ ahahaha. Just enough of a surviving urban legend to make something like this believable!
I am reading this article on April 2, not the 1st….TAKE IT DOWN. You just lost all credibility with me.
The article was posted on April 1st.
From Hemet Police Chief Brown regarding my article:
Trevor…awesome post on the tunnels! I love it. Got lots of “inquiries” and was able to enjoy the prank a little further.
Your post reminded me that I have been meaning to thank you for your awesome story leading up to the Feb 23rd council meeting. It was the most comprehensive, accurate account of how the Safety Measure became a reality. I credit the great attendance to your work!
Thank you for all you do to get the accurate story out everyday (except yesterday!)
Dave
David M. Brown
Chief of Police
City of Hemet, CA
Great job, and so funny. How ever there are tunnels in this area that made it realistic. Too the crybabies whose feelings where hurt or thought it was unprofessional and inappropriate, grow up. This pc state we live in is old. Don’t read it if it bothers you. In fact just Leave, Europe sounds like a good place for you.
Mr Montgomery, your article was very intriguing! And a good April fools ?But being a part of Hemet for as long as I have and its along time, ( I won’t share my age) there are 3 people left in this town that could give you a great history lesson on what’s really out here! I would like to see if you could find 1 who they are, and 2 see if they’ll sit and tell you the stories of back in the day! Your not as far from the truth as you wrote! It’s all geographic my friend!! Thanks again for the good read
You are very welcome Janet. 😀
This would have been totally believable…if you’d been writing about some complex in western Europe.
I’ve worked out of, or inspected units that were assigned to vast under-ground facilities (e.g. the Rittersdorf complex, just west of the former Bitburg AB, FRG. Programmed the flight computer/auto-pilot for GLCMs).
There is still a complex of tunnels running between the Fort MacAurther “lower reservation” (LA AFB housing) to the “upper reservation” (were the big costal defense guns were, and later Nike Ajax/Hurcules SAMs).
Good yarn! (But the KC-10s left with the active duty Air Force in the 90s, the C-141s were retired long ago, and replaced by the C-17s).
Riverside has very well known catacombs & tunnels built underneath it. Many lead from beneath the Mission Inn and stretched out into the Eastside, over to our old China Town “Wong Way” (around Community Hospital & Arlington Cemetary) and then even are supposed to extended openings to the Peace Tower on Mt. Rubidoux and the two original Mission Blvd bridge bell towers that remain next to the dog park at the edge of the Santa Ana River. In the past there had been some excavation done at another opening behind Pine Center Liquor. Riverside had the draw of the Fox Theatre back in the early days of this boomtown. Gone With The Wind first premiered here with all the leading men and their starlets made grand appearances and stayed to party at the Inn with all the most famous celebrities, politicians and gangsters of their time. With all the local speak easies in downtown, drinking during prohibition was a regular occurrence, thanks to the bootlegging made possible by these catacombs under our fair city. Much of the antiquities that Frank Miller had aquired during his travels around the globe were stored down in these tunnels as well. It is truly full of buried treasure that may some day be exhumed to tell stories from a distant age that few can still recall. Some tales would have been about a lavish life of wealth and luxury, others about our citrus industry and even the plot much less thought of regarding all the immigrants that helped make Riverside what it is today. All those that worked down below in the catacombs to provide for their families. Collapses were a regular happening that would often crush people to death or even bury them alive. After prohibition ended they finally didn’t have much further cause to use this extensive tunnels system any longer. The entances to this labyrinth were bricked up in the basement of the Inn, the Roach bldg, the Canti bldg and several other locations too numerous to name them all. The original tunnel from the Mission Inn Annex that lead to beneath the Inn remain accessible and are still often used to this day. We have a very rich history in this region. I would like to hear more about this. Whether about the struggle of immigrants & natives, the success of pioneers in industry, the lives of excess by celebrities or about the criminals and the great lengths they went to to avoid the law, this is great Riverside history. You don’t have to dig very far to find a story here.
You ass*****!! Just getting excited about this!! Darn it!!! You got me!!
LOLOLOL
Lol…..,I am always up for a great joke… Good one…
My Godfather was an Army Air Corp pilot in training at Ryan in the early 40’s during WW2 and about 25 years ago he mentioned to me at a luncheon that there was a tunnel or underground bunker system under Ryan…….this may be a April Fools joke, but there may have been something less extensive under Ryan during WW2…….
That’s where the idea came from. Notice most the commenters are lovin’ being hoaxed by media. State of mind= the life one gets. Author seems pervy.
“Pervy.” LOL
-TM
Present> https://twittercorruption.wordpress.com/2016/11/03/trevor-montgomery/
Interesting article about me. Not at all true, but interesting.
-TM
My Brother owns property directly adjacent to that airfield & thought it was a real story. Sadly I had to break the news to him this was an All Fools Day Prank……
I totally believed it.
Wow congratulations on a widely read “news” article about nothing. Not informative, not valuable info and certainly not funny. Got a lot of attention which must be important to you. Hmmm just lost a reader….
Sorry to hear that, B. You are always welcome back.
-TM
Let me ask…. Has the ground beneath your feet ever slowly vibrated? Has it continued through time? Ever so slowly to stop & Continue off and one for times?
Unexplainable things around you happing yet people say nothing. Your family thinks its a breakdown, others think you maybe using .
Stand around “Do you know what the date is hun?” “The year?” That right lock her up for an evaluations it is a slam dunk! Once she starts talking about what she has seen lable this one crazy through away the key!
I understand this was your April fools joke. Yet sir have you been trafficked? Can you tell me why the grounds moved? Why cities were dark? To some sir….April fools joke ? Or were you speaking a truth? Only you know! And I lived through! How many others remain?
Very few remain…
I’m so sorry. I hope you find peace. I will pray for you and unfortunately, for those that remain. I never assume anyone is crazy anymore. I know that bad things are happening.
What a brilliant economically cost effective idea: use the Alessandro Field underground decommissioned military complex as a detention facility to augment existing county lockups. Incarceration facilities probably already exist within the complex to house hundreds if not thousands of inmates. Do away with PRCS parolees terrorizing our communities. Take a problem and effectively put it out of sight and eliminate it.
Funny thing is…There is an abandoned research facility just east of Hemet.
That is actually one of the things that made this April Fool’s article so believable. That and the numerous current and past military bases that surround the area.
-TM
Pingback: Top 25 stories that helped propel RCNS beyond 6 million views in first 30 months – Riverside County News Source
Well, there’s tunnels under LA too. I think there’s a lot of tunnels.
So these are really in Perris? Perris to the air force base? We should use them during heavy traffic times!!!
Hey. I need to know about any accidents on and around nov 1-3 2017. In Menifee canyon lakes areas. I’m battling insurance company and I know there’s a mix up. But I’m sure all that gets reported here. Correct?
oh absolutely! records like that and much much more, Unfortunately they are currently unavailable due to classification issues and not released to the public. How ever you can petition the county clerk to release a copy for your own personal use, about $6 if I remember right.
Even though it was a joke, it’s still true. Someone had told me a couple of years ago that they found a bunker in the San Jacinto mountains while they were hiking and that this person and his friends saw someone dump a body in the bunker. Now I don’t know if that’s true or not but I know that there is a bunker and testing facility in those mountains.
Trevor Montgomery is a child molester, just kidding that was an April fools joke. He’s right, plausible stories are fun.
Pingback: Today’s Earthquakes ~ 4/3/2020 – LOVE IN ACTION NOW
funny, i’ve seen video of these tunnels all over the internet for years…..ya moron!
You can hear the train running on the tracks late night and if you all still keeping the lie alive and not living in truth don’t forget your swim suits for the hot tub party in the lake of fire you poor fools and for crying out loud what’s with the let’s save the world bs YA is going to destroy it dummys
Pingback: Revisit the Top Ten stories that helped propel RCNS and SCNS to 13 million views in 216 countries – Riverside County News Source