selected ufo cases
North America (including Mexico)
Occupants seen next to UFO sitting on road
June, 1972 - Deming, New Mexico, United States
Mrs. Hilda McAfee (a lady in her late 50s) and her elderly mother were on their way home by car when they were disrupted by a blinding light shining from straight ahead. As they passed the object in the road, they saw two men who were clad in pale, blue, bulky quilted coveralls. In the aftermath of the event, both women suffered a burning, aching pain in their chests and arms after the encounter, and "even their bones" seemed to hurt. View full report
Source: Patti Morris, APRO Bulletin, Vol. 24 No. 6 (Dec 1975) ID: 312
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Physiological Effects, Landing
Silver, football-field sized boomerang-shaped UFO over Fort Stockton, Texas
1972 - Fort Stockton, Texas, United States
"There was an Elementary School just a few yards from the corner of Main and Colpits and right up above the school was a Silver object about the size of a Football Field. It hovered about 50 feet above the school and it was shaped like a boomerang. From my position I figured that it was about 10 to 15 feet thick. But the strangest thing about the incident was, how the people in Ft. Stockton reacted to it." View full report
Source: UFO Info (UFOInfo.com) / HBCCUFO.org, Brian Vike, Director ID: 1147
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Children, Witness Sketch
Man finds gold 'nugget' after seeing bright light
1972 - Sierra Mountains near Stanislaus River, California, United States
Tom McCully of Merced said he had gone camping alone and was up before dawn fishing when he first noticed a bright pulsating light reflecting off the water. Then he said there was a sudden brilliant flash and something like hailstones pelted the area around him. Frightened, he bent down, he said, to pick up his fishing pole, which had dropped, and noticed what appeared to be a gold nugget. View full report
Source: Modesto Bee (Modesto, CA), Sept. 13, 1976 ID: 374
Case Type: PressReport Features: Artifact, Witness Photo
Silver metallic orb, 20' in diameter, w/glowing band of symbols, noiseless and motionless in sky at treetop level
1972 - Springfield, Virginia, United States
My best guess is that I was about 7 years old when this happened, maybe younger. ...When we got to the middle of the wet street, I looked up and saw something very strange. Hanging there, just ahead and above me to my right, in the overcast sky, was a big, round, silver/metal orb. View full report
Source: UFO Evidence ID: 71
Case Type: RawReport
Delphos, Kansas Landing Ring
November, 2, 1971 - Delphos, Kansas, United States
16 year old Ronald Johnson was tending the sheep, accompanies by his dog, when the sighting happened. What he suddenly saw was a mushroom shaped object, illuminated by multicolored lights over its entire surface and hovering 25 yards away. Johnson and his family went around the house to the site of the near landing and were surprised... to observe a glowing ring in the ground. This is considered as one of the very best physical trace cases involving a UFO landing. View full report
Source: Loy Lawhon, About.com ID: 192
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Physical Trace, Landing, Animal Reaction, Children
Large black triangle flies low over witness in 1971 in South Carolina
October, 1971 - Florence, South Carolina, United States
The sighting occurred in the fall of 1971 in Florence, SC. Around dusk one evening the witness went out to the backyard and watched as a large, black triangular craft was passing directly overhead. It was about 300 ft across from tip to tip and about half that distance from front tip to the rear. It was perfectly silent. After the object traveled out of sight, four fighter jets came screaming over, going in the same path. View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org ID: 933
Case Type: RawReport Features: Silent
Large glowing orange craft over park, possible 'missing time' in Portland, Oregon
June, 1971 - Portland, Oregon, United States
I saw a large glowing orange craft over a park near a house we rented in Portland, OR. It was huge and had the appearance of a molten metal disk. It appeared hot (like molten metal would be) but didn't radiate any heat that I could tell. The craft sat in the air unmoving for some time but left very abrubtly moving quickly almost straight up. View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org ID: 840
Case Type: RawReport Features: Children, Missing Time
Landing and 'giant' occupant encountered by youth in Virginia
May, 1971 - Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States
Walking through a large, open field, a boy with his dog observed a glowing "thing" over a pond located in the open field. The object moved towards the youth, finally stopping near the youth, and slowly settled to the ground. After the craft landed, a door opened straight down toward him and a "man" walked out. According to the witness's description, the creature was "powerfully huge." The being returned to the object, and about ten minutes later the craft "just lifted off." View full report
Source: NICAP (1971) ID: 806
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Landing, Humanoid/Occupant, Animal Reaction, Children
US aircraft carrier 'stopped' by large, glowing UFO; electromagnetic effects
1971 - Caribbean / Bermuda Triangle,
From the witness: "We heard someone yelling 'There is something hovering over the ship!'... As we looked up, we saw a large, glowing sphere.... It made no sound that I could hear. The light coming from it wasn't too bright, about half of what the sun would be. It sort of pulsated a little and was yellow to orange... Virtually all electronic components stopped functioning during the 20 minutes or so that [the UFO] hovered over the ship. " View full report
Source: Jim Kopf (credit: Rense.com) ID: 1075
Case Type: RawReport Features: E-M Effects, Silent, Military, Group Sighting, Water-Related
1971 UFO oncounter over Texas uranium mine; physical trace effects found
1971 - Karnes City , Texas, United States
From the witness: "The object was round and the bright light was coming from the center of the bottom of the UFO. Around the perimeter of the craft was hundreds of penlight size light beams that alternated in all colors of the spectrum. Now I know they were laser beams. The UFO was rising up slowly at first and then went straight up out of sight in about 10 seconds." View full report
Source: Michael Harvey (Credit: Rense.com) ID: 1070
Case Type: RawReport Features: Physical Trace, Body Lights, Sound
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
UFO and occupants seen near Cowichan Hospital in BC, Canada
January, 1, 1970 - Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
Miss Doreen Kendall, a practical nurse at the Cowichan District Hospital on Vancouver Island, was looking out the window of the ward, when she saw 60 feet away an "object so big and bright I could see everything clearly." There were two male-like figures in the craft, one behind the other. One of the "men" eventually looked right at Doreen, and the craft started to move away, but not before Freida Wilson, a registered nurse, also saw the object. View full report
Source: John Magor, ID: 633
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, 'Dyad Scout Craft', Interaction/Reaction, Witness Photo
Military sighting of ball of opaque light started out small, grew to 5 times moon size
1970 - Ft. Gordon, Georgia, United States
Our company had fallen out for morning formation. we were waiting for the 1st seargent to join us when someone in our ranks started saying "what is that?" What I saw was an object that first appeared to be a full moon only larger by half than I had ever seen it. As I continued watching it, it steadily grew in size untill it was at least 5 times larger than I have ever seen the moon be. View full report
Source: UFO Evidence ID: 74
Case Type: RawReport Features: Military
Flying saucer hovering above home with blue beam shining down
1970 - Venice, Florida, United States
In the late 60's early 70's, my two friends were driving down Haror Dr. It was after 11P, the boys looked to their left (east) to see a flying saucer (metallic appearing craft approx. 30 ft in diameter) hovering over a house. The boys stopped and watched as a bright blue beam shone down into the house. View full report
Source: UFO Evidence ID: 76
Case Type: RawReport
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
President Jimmy Carter's UFO Sighting
January, 6, 1969 - Leary, Georgia, United States
Jimmy Carter is one of two U.S. Presidents who have reported seeing a UFO before becoming the President. He later said, "It was the darndest thing I've ever seen. It was big, it was very bright, it changed colors and it was about the size of the moon.. We watched it for ten minutes, but none of us could figure out what it was. One thing's for sure, I'll never make fun of people who say they've seen unidentified objects in the sky." View full report
Source: Grant Cameron, Presidential UFO ID: 294
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Famous Person, Witness Photo
Disc with dome hovers over car along rural highway in Tennessee
1969 - Paris, Tennessee, United States
The witness was driving back to college with his roommate. Theirs was the only car on a long stretch of rural highway between Paris and McKenzie, Tennessee. Suddenly, they saw streaks of light coming from the top of their windshield; they stopped the car on the road and got out. Directly above their car was a round disc-like object with windows. It had a raised dome "cockpit" in the center of the top half. It was hovering and spinning effortlessly about 200 feet directly above them. View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org ID: 953
Case Type: RawReport Features: Body Lights, Sound, Vehicle Encounter
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
Disc-shaped object with dome in Omaha, Nebraska
May, 12, 1968 - Omaha, Nebraska, United States
"Directly over the restaurant's parking lot, at an altitude I estimate at no more than one hundred feet, was a UFO. The object was circular, with a flat bottom and an opaque dome on the top. I estimate the diameter of the object at 35 to 50 feet. It held absolutely still and made absolutely no noise. On top of the dome was a single, steady white light. Around the rim were solid white lights in the shape of rectangles with rounded corners, separated from each other by unlit space. The lights flashed around the rim in a counter-clockwise direction like lights on a theater marquee." View full report
Source: NUFORC (National UFO Reporting Center), Peter Davenport, Director ID: 1133
Case Type: RawReport Features: Body Lights, Silent, Group Sighting
Two-hundred people observe and hear disk-shaped object overhead (Redlands Sighting)
February, 4, 1968 - Redlands, California, United States
On February 4, 1968, about two hundred residents of Redlands, California, either saw or heard what was apparently the same huge, low-flying, disk-shaped object as it passed overhead. A minister conducting services in a church in Redlands was recording his sermon at the time and obtained a recording of the sound, which many people present described as a high-pitched, modulated whining sound. View full report
Source: APRO / Ronald Story, 1980 / NICAP website (nicap.org) ID: 777
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Mass Sighting, Group Sighting, Clergy, Body Lights, Rotary/Spin Motion, Sound
Two craft flew over mobile home and landed in remote area near home
December, 31, 1967 - Bithlo, Florida, United States
Watched UFO glide over mobile home without sound. UFO was joined by another craft that came from another angle. Both crafts landed in a remote area less than a quarter-mile from mobile home. Moments later, a formation of helicoptors and two jets began flying over the general area of where the two crafts had landed. View full report
Source: UFO Evidence ID: 72
Case Type: RawReport
Circular object with dome and two 'figures' inside
December, 8, 1967 - Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
The object was circular in shape, "about as big as a car." She was able to see that it had a domed top. In the dome, which was transparent, she could make out the indistinct outlines of two figures. At its closest, the object was no more than 100 yards away, and from 50 to 100 feet above the ground. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), ID: 560
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, 'Dyad Scout Craft'
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
Small, domed UFO with two occupants seen inside
November, 2, 1967 - Ririe, Idaho, United States
Guy Tossie and Will Begay, two Indian youths, were driving south on Highway 26 just outside Ririe on November 2, 1967, when, about 9:30 p.m., there was a sudden blinding flash of light in front of their car, followed by the abrupt appearance of a small, domed UFO. The dome was transparent and in it were seen two small, strange-looking occupants. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), ID: 561
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, 'Dyad Scout Craft'
