selected ufo cases
Witness Sketches
Danish police officer has two close encounters (the Maarup sightings)
August, 13, 1970 - Hadersley, Denmark
Danish police officer Evald Maarup was driving through the countryside near Hadersley, when he encountered a brilliantly lit UFO. Suddenly there was a fierce light beaming down on him, his car engine cut out, and the car lights and his radio stopped working. Above him, Maarup could make out a large circular object which he watched for about five minutes, before it moved away rapidly. Three years later, Maarup had another encounter with the same or a similar object at exactly the same place. View full report
Source: UFOs at Close Sight - Ufologie.net ID: 734
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Vehicle Encounter, Vehicle Interference, E-M Effects, Police, Light Beam, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
Large object hovers over TV station tower in Florence, SC, in 1970
March, 1970 - Florence, South Carolina, United States
The witness, who was an employee at a TV station, saw a "UFO in broad daylight hovering on top of the [TV] tower, [and then] ran back inside the station to get the news director, Mr. Bill Fields." The craft was metallic, round, with a round cupola on top of the craft. It was about 100 feet across and about 25 feet tall. The encounter lasted for more than four hours, during which the object moved and stopped a couple of times before shooting off at "blinding speed." View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org ID: 922
Case Type: RawReport Features: Witness Sketch, Body Lights
Two skiers encounter humanoid at Imjärvi, Finland
January, 7, 1970 - Imjärvi, Finland
Aarno Heinonen and Esko Viljo were out skiing, when they encountered a 10-foot wide UFO that approached and hovered near them. A bright light beam was the emitted, and a thin, 3-foot tall humanoid creature appeared, carrying a black box with a pulsating yellow light. Severe and extensive physiological effects were suffered by the witnesses after the encounter. Two years later, Heinonen had a series of contacts with a female extraterresrial being. View full report
Source: Kim Hansen, in Evans and Spencer (1987) ID: 741
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Physiological Effects, Light Beam, Contact, Witness Photo, Witness Sketch
Huge object passes within 150 feet of witnesses
1970 - Mildura, Australia
Two witnesses were frightened when a huge object rose up from behind nearby trees, then passed within 150 to 160 feet from them. The colour was grey with flashing lights, both orange and white. Witness LV. said that he could not see underneath the object, but could see through the grid shape round the bottom. View full report
Source: Victorian U.F.O. Research Society (VUFORS), Australia ID: 455
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Witness Sketch
The Buff Ledge Abduction (two teenagers abducted in Vermont)
August, 7, 1969 - Buff Ledge Camp, Vermont, United States
"Michael" and "Janet", two teenage employees at Buff Ledge summer camp were sitting on a boat dock, when a UFO approached them. Two occupants were visible inside the craft. When it was directly over them, a beam of light shone from the craft. The next thing they remembered was sitting on the dock watching the now distant light. Ten years later under hypnosis, Michael and Janet each recounted a similar detailed story of abduction, a medical examination, and being taken on board a "mother ship." View full report
Source: Loy Lawhon, About.com ID: 658
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Abduction, Witness Sketch, Water-Related, 'Dyad Scout Craft', Children
Terrified witnesses observe near-landing of UFO
July, 30, 1968 - Claremont, New Hampshire, United States
A manufacturing plant worker was carrying two buckets of water toward his garden when he saw "a bright round object float in a gentle arc low in the sky to the northeast." It looked like a full moon but was at an extremely low altitude. Shortly thereafter and just two miles away, a land surveyor and his wife witnessed a dome-shaped object. It was about 20 feet wide and hovered approximately 10 feet above the ground, and was 230 feet away. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), 'Strange Effects from UFOs', by Donald Keyhoe and Gordon Lore ID: 576
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Animal Reaction, Witness Sketch, Humming
Police Officer Herbert Schirmer Abduction
December, 3, 1967 - Ashland, Nebraska, United States
Sgt. Schirmer was on patrol when he encountered a UFO hovering above the road, which shot up when he flashed his high beams at the object. Soon, Schirmer realized he had experienced "missing time", and a red welt appeared on his neck. Hypnotic sessions revealed that the occupants of the landed craft came and took Schirmer aboard, and communicated with him through some form of mental telepathy. They told him that they would visit him twice more and that some day he would "see the universe". View full report
Source: Brent Raynes ID: 659
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Abduction, Police, Missing Time, Contact, Physiological Effects, Artifact, Polygraph Test, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
The Stephen Michalak Encounter at Falcon Lake
May, 20, 1967 - Falcon Lake, Manitoba, Canada
Stephen Michalak of Winnipeg, was prospecting near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, when he encountered two UFOs, one of which landed on a large, flat rock about 160 feet away from him. After having approached the object and looked inside, the object moved, and something like an exhaust vent was now in front of him. A blast of hot gas shot from these holes onto his chest, setting his shirt and undershirt on fire and causing him severe pain, and leaving burn marks in the shape of a grid. View full report
Source: Loy Lawhon, About.com ID: 376
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Physiological Effects, Landing, Injury, Witness Photo, Witness Sketch
City Youth Tells Of A Strange Ship
May, 1967 - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
"The bespectacled 14-year-old was just going to his home at 5311 106th St., when he said he noticed the “space ship” and began the vigil which has probably resulted in the most detailed report of any UFO in the Edmonton area." View full report
Source: The Edmonton Journal, May 8, 1967 (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) (Credit: UFO*BC) ID: 348
Case Type: PressReport Features: Physical Trace, Children, Witness Photo, Witness Sketch
Burn marks and holes found after UFO seen close to ground
September, 13, 1966 - Gwinner, North Dakota, United States
Young Randy E. Rotenberger was waiting for the school bus outside his home when he saw "some flashing lights," then an object. "It looked like two bowls put together," the witness told an AP reporter. He saw three "pegs" on the bottom and antennae projecting from the top. Later, "some burnt marks" and tapered holes were found at the scene, each about a foot in diameter and five inches deep. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), 'Strange Effects from UFOs', by Donald Keyhoe and Gordon Lore ID: 578
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Physical Trace, Witness Sketch, Landing, Children
Portage County, Ohio UFO Chase
April, 17, 1966 - Portage County, Ohio, United States
One of the most dramatic encounters by police officers with an apparently structured, low-level UFO. Officers chased the object for eighty-five miles, as it seemed to play a cat-and-mouse game with them. This case was the basis for the UFO "chase" in the film 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind.' View full report
Source: Richard Hall, NICAP website ID: 79
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Police, Witness Sketch, Humming
Over 200 students witness saucer-shape object, physical traces left behind (Westall Incident)
April, 6, 1966 - Westall, Australia
More than 200 students and staff from two schools watched as the object landed in a nearby paddock, lifted off and vanished. It was a low-flying, silver/grey shining object, either of classical flying saucer shape or close to it, "a cup turned upside down on a saucer". The UFO appears to have left a circle of scorched grass. View full report
Source: The Age (Australia), October 2, 2005 ID: 591
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Physical Trace, Group Sighting, Children, Witness Photo, Landing, Witness Sketch
Sheriffs Watch High-Performance Discs (The Michigan Sightings / 'Swamp Gas' Case)
March, 14, 1966 - Dexter-Hillsdale, Michigan, United States
Washtenaw County sheriffs and police in neighboring jurisdictions reported disc-shaped objects moving at fantastic speeds and making sharp turns, diving and climbing, and hovering. At one point, four UFOs in straight-line formation were observed. Selfridge AFB confirmed tracking UFOs over Lake Erie at 4:56 a.m. Their stories were backed up by more than 100 witnesses View full report
Source: FUFOR (Fund for UFO Research) ID: 778
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Police, Radar, Witness Sketch, Group Sighting, Mass Sighting
Huge disk like object with dome top, gray metallic, with rainbow lights
1966 - Lunenburg County, Virginia, United States
I observed a huge UFO in 1966. It was gray-silver metallic...disk shape with dome top. Had windows (portholes as I call them). I could see the turning of the bottom of it going in one direction as the top rotated the other direction. It had rainbow colored lights. View full report
Source: UFO Evidence ID: 69
Case Type: RawReport Features: Witness Sketch, Portholes/Windows
Landed saucer-shaped craft with ladder and 'turret' in Anchorage, 1966
1966 - Anchorage, Alaska, United States
"I was standing in the middle of our street and there was a craft on stilts or legs with a ladder down from the center. It had just snowed, and I remember windows on the upper round part... The main body was like an upside down saucer with a cylindrical 'turret' on the top. The 'turret' was approximately 3 feet across and 2 to 3 feet high and appeared to rotate." View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org ID: 892
Case Type: RawReport Features: Landing, Portholes/Windows, Children, Witness Sketch
UFO on Australian Beach (Vaucluse Beach)
July, 19, 1965 - Vaucluse Beach, Australia
Disc-shaped object glowed as it sat on a beach. As witness approached the object, the object lifted off from the ground, quickly climbed in the air, and disappeared. Investigation revealed landing traces and effects on the nearby plant life. View full report
Source: UFO Casebook ID: 27
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Physical Trace, Animal Reaction, Landing, Witness Sketch
Sid Padrick Contact Case
January, 30, 1965 - Watsonville, California, United States
Sid Padrick described seeing a disc-shaped craft, “like two real thick saucers inverted,” some 50 feet in diameter and 30 feet from the ground. Padrick claimed that he then began to cautiously walk toward the craft. A door appeared and Padrick walked inside, and soon was conversing with a very human appearing gentleman wearing some sort of flying suit. View full report
Source: Brent Raynes ID: 963
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Witness Sketch, Contact, Humanoid/Occupant
Huge disc shaped object with bright light around edge
January, 1965 - Dorrington, Brisbane, Australia
"The object had come below the cloud cover and we couldn't believe what we were looking at. This huge disc shaped object with very bright light around it's circumference. It was travelling very slow (about 20 miles an hour), then the noise started.It was a screaming high pitched sound which had my wife in agony, hands over her ears and crying with pain." View full report
Source: Brian Vike, HBCCUFO Research (www.hbccufo.org) ID: 449
Case Type: RawReport Features: Witness Sketch
County councillor reveals sighting of dome-shaped UFO in Cornwall, UK
1965 - Karslake, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Joan Vincent, County and Restormel Borough Councillor, revealed that she and her husband Roy had observed a mystery craft late at night during 1965 in a then rural area. The matter remained "virtually a family secret" over the years because the couple feared that they would be ridiculed if they told their story. The UFO was "a large, dome-shaped object that looked as if it were made of glass," estimated to be 50-70 feet across and 30-40 feet high. View full report
Source: Ian Shepherd, Cornish Guardian (Bodmin, England), Nov. 26, 1998 ID: 729
Case Type: PressReport Features: Portholes/Windows, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
Socorro / Zamora UFO Incident
April, 24, 1964 - Socorro, New Mexico, United States
The experience of Lonnie Zamora on April 24, 1964 stands as one of the most profound ufo events in the modern history of the phenomena. Lonnie Zamora saw a highly unusual device of unknown origin, what can only be described as a "craft" of some kind, and he reported seeing what he believes were occupants. View full report
Source: Chris Lambright ID: 90
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Physical Trace, Landing, Police, Witness Photo, Witness Sketch
Large, metallic saucer-shaped craft at Mattagami River, Ontario
November, 23, 1963 - Mattagami River, Ontario, Canada
From the witness: "We just sat there in silence watching it, as it was watching us... It was huge, with the diameter being... about 30 yards... It appeared to be constructed of dull aluminum and was shaped like a saucer with the exception that the top and bottom halves did not join in a sharp edge. All the way around the center it looked like dark windows, 6 feet tall. As Robert and I watched, the craft tilted with the closest side to us down and the rear of the saucer up. It appeared that whoever was inside was trying to get a better look at us. " View full report
Source: Brian Vike, HBCC UFO Research (hbccufo.org) ID: 1029
Case Type: RawReport Features: Witness Sketch, Portholes/Windows
Oval object rolling end over end
April, 1963 - Statesville, North Carolina, United States
"I recall looking up.. to see a strange oval shaped object rolling end over end passing directly overhead. I recall the object giving off different colors in a pulsing, vibratory sort of way... I would estimate it's altitude to be less than 300 feet off the ground... I do not recall hearing any sound whatever from the object but my brother and sister say it was somewhat like a humming sound." View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org ID: 473
Case Type: RawReport Features: Witness Sketch, Humming
The Willow Grove Close Encounter
February, 15, 1963 - Near Moe, Australia
Charles Brew, with his 20 year-old son Trevor, was at work in the milking shed on their farm, 'Willow Grove', when he saw a strange object appear and descend very slowly towards the milk shed, to a height of about 30 metres. The object was metallic grey, measured 8 meters in diameter, and had a transparent dome with a 2-meter mast or aerial. After hovering for a few seconds the object began climbed away into the clouds. View full report
Source: Bill Chalker (1996) ID: 623
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Animal Reaction, Witness Sketch, Physiological Effects
Disc-shaped UFO hovers, then evades pursuit by pilot
October, 2, 1961 - Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
A grayish disc-shaped object which hovered, wobbling on its axis, then evaded pursuit, was sighted October 2, 1961 at Salt Lake City, Utah airport. Private pilot Waldo J. Harris, a real estate broker, investigated the object in his light aircraft as 8-10 ground personnel at the airport watched. The object was disc shaped, 50 feet in diameter, and 8-10 feet thick. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall (1964) from NICAP case report ID: 638
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Witness Sketch, Pilot/Aircrew, Group Sighting
