selected ufo cases
Cases by Decade: 1970s
Filiberto Cardenas Abduction and Contact Case
January, 3, 1979 - Hialeah, Florida, United States
In January 3, 1979 a Cuban exile Filiberto Cardenas was abducted in front of his family. Later, he had an encounter introducing his wife to the entities. This may be the first case on record where the original abductee was able to successfuly introduce another person into the contact events and to actually take them aboard a UFO with them. View full report
Source: Albert Rosales, Humanoid Catalog (1979 Reports) ID: 695
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Abduction, Contact, Water-Related, Communication, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
Large disc-shaped craft with dome flies low over couple's home
1979 - Santa Clarita Valley, California, United States
From the witness: "I saw a craft approaching the house... it was directly over our house and pool. It was approximately 75-100 feet above us... The craft was about 75-100 feet or less in diameter. It had small porthole and lights around it in the upper dome section, it was solid, metallic and shiny. There was a dome above it and attached to the body with no visible separation, as if it were molded as one solid craft." View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org / Brian Vike, HBCCUFO ID: 1035
Case Type: RawReport Features: Silent, Portholes/Windows, Body Lights
Two police officers in UK encounter UFO (researcher Tony Dodd's sighting)
December, 12, 1978 - Skipton, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
At 4:30 a.m., a lonely police patrol car was driving on a remote country road along the Cononley Moor. In the car were Sgt. Anthony Dodd and Constable Alan Dale. They saw a bright white light that seemed to be diving towards them in a glide. a big shining disc which flew over their heads at a speed of about 40 mph. At its closest, it was hardly 100 feet away from them, so that they could see a number of details. "It was a huge thing, about 100 feet in diameter, and it made no noise whatsoever." View full report
Source: Michael Hesemann ID: 662
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Police, Body Lights, Silent, Portholes/Windows, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
Cigar‑shaped object with curved tail seen by several, including police officer
November, 26, 1978 - Clarenville, Newfoundland, Canada
"Both Mr. Lethbridge and Constable Blackwood describe the same thing: A cigar‑shaped object with a curved tail, in the sky with blue, red and yellow flashing lights. It ranged from about thirty‑five to forty feet in diameter and hovered approximately five hundred feet above sea level with no movement. " View full report
Source: Lee Tizzard - Brian Vike, HBCCUFO.org ID: 583
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Police, Witness Sketch, Communication
Landed UFO and humanoid encountered by four hunters in Spain
November, 24, 1978 - Gerena, Seville, Spain
The four witnesses were hunting in the early morning hours near the Guadiamar River, when they encountered a landed object with a humanoid being standing next to it. The UFO looked like a large earthen jar, upside down, with a red light on top. The being seemed strong and tall (some 2 meters or taller), and had on a dark-colored helmet and silvery body suit. The witnesses become frightened when the humanoid approached them, and they left the area running. View full report
Source: Ignacio Darnaude, APRO, Sept. 1979 ID: 681
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, Physical Trace
The Valentich Mystery
October, 21, 1978 - Bass Strait , Australia
It was the extraordinary disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich (left) over Bass Strait on October 21st, 1978, that thrust the subject of UFOs into the news headlines around the world. The Valentich mystery has endured as an insoluble enigma. View full report
Source: Bill Chalker ID: 24
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Witness Photo
US Air Force personnel witness 3 large oval shaped craft in Mojave desert
August, 1978 - Phelan, California, United States
"Myself and other witnesses were F4-Phantom Weapons Control Technicians in the USAF. First large oval rises up from directly behind mountains due east from me. Motion is slow, floating like a blimp or balloon. Second identical object then began to rise just to the left of the first object. Third identical looking object then began to rise just to right of first object." View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org ID: 802
Case Type: RawReport Features: Military
Pilot sighting of glowing orange sphere in Tranquillity, California
July, 28, 1978 - Tranquillity, California, United States
From the witness: "That sighting of 28 July made a very deep and lasting impression. I can still see the glowing orange, flattened sphere as vividly in my mind as it appeared on that early morning many years ago. I have no doubt that the device (or whatever it was) was real - there is absolutely no way that it could have been a product of my imagination." View full report
Source: Brian Vike, HBCCUFO Research (hbccufo.org) ID: 1056
Case Type: RawReport Features: Pilot/Aircrew
Metallic, saucer-shaped object with loud 'humming' sound over Michigan farmland
June, 15, 1978 - Mancelona, Michigan, United States
From the witness: "I looked up and saw the object, hovering, over the field behind our house. I estimate it was no farther than 250 yards away from me, hovering about 200 to 300 feet in the air. It was metallic and disk-shaped...and all along the rim it exhibited colors changing from red-orange-white-blue... it was [making] a loud-vibrating-humming low pitched tone..." View full report
Source: NUFORC (National UFO Reportin Center), Peter Davenport, Director ID: 1067
Case Type: RawReport Features: Humming
UFO crash in Bolivia witnessed by thousands of people
May, 6, 1978 - El Taire Mountain, Bolivia
On May 6, 1978, at about 4:15 p.m., something crashed into a mountain near El Taire on the Bermejo River, the border between the Bolivian province of Tarija and Argentina. Thousands of people saw this happening and later described the object as being cylindrical in shape with a flaming tail. It had caused a supersonic bang that was heard up to 150 miles away. View full report
Source: Michael Hesemann, 1998 ID: 635
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Crash/Retrieval, Mass Sighting
Police officer observes and photographs disc in Colfax, Wisconsin
April, 19, 1978 - Colfax, Wisconsin, United States
On April 19, 1978, police officer Mark Coltrane was on patrol in the vicinity of Colfax. He then noticed a metalic looking disc raising towards the the sky at a short distance from the parking space. While the object seemed to move towards him, Coltrane picked up his Polaroid camera, came out of the car and snapped some photographs. The object was so close in one of the images that it is possible to notice some details of its lower surface. View full report
Source: Wendelle Stevens (credit: UFOs at Close Sight (Ufologie.net) ID: 877
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Photo, E-M Effects, Police
Large triangular object hovers near campers in Patapsco State Park
March, 22, 1978 - Patapsco State Park, Maryland, United States
Gary Oickle, 24, his brother David, 22, and two friends were camping in Patapsco State Park, when they encountered a huge triangular shaped object with large windows and three white lights at the corners. The object moved very slowly, hovering at times. When it appeared above them it was very low, approximately 200-250 feet, and made a sound like a "quiet wind" or "quietly rushing waterfall". View full report
Source: APRO, April 1978 ID: 828
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Group Sighting
Construction worker sees massive disc-shaped object
March, 1, 1978 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
A Pittsburgh construction worker and his girlfriend claimed they saw a massive disc-shaped object settle about 2,000 feet over Highland Reservoir. He estimated its size as larger than the reservoir itself. Paul Oles, program director for Buhl Planetarium, also saw a bright light which he "can't explain," about one hour earlier. View full report
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), March 4, 1978 ID: 438
Case Type: PressReport Features: Humming
Long cigar-shape object with portholes, colored lights flying above treetops
March, 1, 1978 - Middlebury , Connecticut, United States
"I saw this long cigar shaped object just above the treetops, not more than 150 feet away. Probably even closer than that. It was right beside me flying parallel to me, but slightly faster... It was about 100 feet long, and 15 feet high. It had rounded ends on the front and back. It looked just like a cigar or a hot dog." View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org ID: 474
Case Type: RawReport Features: Witness Sketch, Portholes/Windows
Fort Dix / McGuire AFB Case
January, 18, 1978 - Fort Dix/McGuire AFB, New Jersey, United States
The primary eyewitness in the case, Jeffrey Morse, alleged (i) that he had been working as a security policeman at McGuire AFB when he was notified about UFO activity over Fort Dix army base. (ii) Morse alleged that he heard that a non-human entity had been shot and he later saw the dead body of the entity lying on the ground on a disused runway at McGuire AFB. View full report
Source: NIDS, National Institute for Discovery Science ID: 317
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Military, Humanoid/Occupant, Witness Sketch
Veteran Pilot Encounters UFO With Portholes
January, 1, 1978 - Santa Monica, California, United States
A dome-shaped UFO with portholes was seen in broad daylight by veteran pilot Floyd P. Hallstrom of Oxnard, California. Hallstrom had been flying for 37 years, 17½ as a Navy combat air crewman and personal crew chief to admirals, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet. View full report
Source: FUFOR, MUFON UFO Journal, January 1978 ID: 37
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Portholes/Windows
