One of the very first sightings of what could be a UFO occurred as early as 1865, over 35 years before the first known flight at Kitty Hawk. Fortunately, there are still newspaper accounts of this and other early sightings of days long since passed. The Missouri Democrat dated October 19, 1865 gives an account of the sighting of an unknown flying object under the headline of
“A STRANGE STORY-REMARKABLE DISCOVERY.”
The story was reported by one James Lumley, who was a trapper. The report stated that “if” what Lumley reported was true, it would shake the foundations of the scientific world. Lumley claims that in the middle of September, he was trapping in the mountains at a location about 75-100 miles above the Great Falls of the Upper Missouri River.
Just after sunset, Lumley saw a “bright, luminous, body” in the skies. This body moved very quickly to the East. After five seconds, the unknown object burst into pieces. He soon heard a thunderous explosion followed by a “rushing sound.” This explosion shook the ground. He could smell sculpture in the air.
About two miles from his campsite, he could see a path cut through the forest. Whatever had come through the area had leveled everything in its path. He soon discovered the cause of the great destruction, a giant object which was made of a rock-like material.
This object had been driven into the side of a mountain after ripping through the forest. This was much more than an asteroid or comet: the object was divided into compartments.
Also, hieroglyphic-like symbols could be seen carved into the object’s surface.
He also discovered fragments of glass, and strange liquid-like stains located in several places on the object.
Almost humorously, the newspaper account ascertains that the object “had” to be a meteor which was used by extraterrestrials. Their theory was that these other-worldly beings traveled on meteors, and would eventually land on Earth, and put mankind into wholesale servitude. NOTE: The above image is CGI.
The Falcon family were traveling to Florida from their (then) home of Tennessee – a long journey in a cooped-up car, especially for the main witness of the report, 4-year-old Celestian Falcon. His father had been transferred again by the military, hence the sudden move in order to find housing for the Falcons.
It was during this journey that a “strange lighted craft” appeared, seemingly out of nowhere behind their moving vehicle. It was at a distance of approximately 200 yards, maintaining its distance and moving slightly to the left of their position.
When his mother saw the object, she let out a scream. Even more so when it appeared to close in on their car.
Celestian would recall how the underside of the craft had “large red lights” shining downward. From the top came another glowing light, this time from “windows”. All the while, with the craft getting closer and closer to them, his mother screamed.
Around them, other cars, as if sensing the Falcon vehicle was the intended target of this bizarre and otherworldly craft, steered around them and sped off into the distance. One such road user almost pushed their car off the road such was their eagerness to get past. Even more bizarre was the odd car that was traveling the other way would all do “immediate U-turns” as soon as they caught sight of the aerial monstrosity.
One car behind them, however, would pull over on the road, and settling to their right-hand side. Then, the Falcons’ car engine spluttered and died. Celestian noticed his father looking in the rearview mirror, clearly observing the vehicle behind them as well as the bizarre craft hovering in the air. He also witnessed his father reach for his gun before he exited the car.
Witness To Alien Abduction!
Almost as soon as his father stepped from the vehicle the strange object turned and moved straight towards him. This caused his father to rush back inside the car and attempt the engine repeatedly, attempting to force it turn over and start.
As he did so, Celestian’s mother pushed him deep into the back seat, shielding him and telling him “not to make a sound”. He could, though, see out of the back window and to the other car just short of 50 feet away.
The driver had also exited the vehicle and appeared to be trying to hide his (presumably) girlfriend in the trunk. As he was doing so, however, “several five-foot-tall aliens” suddenly appeared and surrounded them.
Celestian continued to watch as the young man went to strike one of the creatures with the tire iron he carried. Before he could, though, the creature nearest to him reached out and touched him with a strange “silver prod” which appeared to immediately paralyze the young man. This is an interesting detail that comes up a lot in other UFO reports. Both the metallic rod device, and the causing of paralysis.
As the young boy continued to watch, the creatures wrapped the couple in “silver blankets” before they began to rise into the hovering craft above.
Then, a “pinkish light” burst into the Falcons’ car. Everything went quiet and Celestian remained as still as he possibly could. The next thing he knew the car door was opening and a strange hand reached in and grabbed him, pulling him out of the vehicle.
A Silver Room With Human-Looking Fetuses!
He must have blacked out or blocked the following moments from his memory as the next thing he realized he was waking up inside the spacecraft. Celestian quickly scanned his eyes around the strange room. He realized he had been separated from his family, who were also in the room, but grouped together. His mother was seemingly in hysterics and trying to move towards him while several of the alien creatures forced them back.
A “reptilian-like alien” had him in its grip and proceeded to take him out of the room and down a set of stairs. He was taken into a large room with windows on one side and a large table in the middle. Out of the windows, he could see the road outside and so knew he was still on Earth and not anywhere in deep space.
Of more concern to the young boy, however, were the “jars of human looking fetuses rowed beneath the windows”. There were more jars around the walls of the room. As he scanned his environment, he noticed several of the alien creatures coming in and out of the room through two doorways opposite the window. Although he wasn’t sure how he knew, he seemed to think that these doorways led to some kind of cold storage like a walk-in refrigerator.
His family was brought into the room also. His mother was placed on the large table where a large silver needle pierced her skin and sedated her instantly. Before he witnessed anything more, however, he was moved out of the room and into another compartment.
Reptilians, Grays, And Humans?
When he entered the room, he noticed how the white light seemingly reflected off the silver that made up the entire interior. He also saw “two green-skinned reptilian aliens” who appeared to be engaged at the main control panel.
Then, he heard the sound of a woman screaming, seemingly coming from a room to his left. Even more unsettling was the sound of a male voice, in as much distress. It called out:
Help us we are being attacked by monsters!
Some kind of fight seemed to break out in the room. Celestian could hear several bangs and rapid movement of feet. Then, two of the aliens ran from the room and appeared to set off some kind of emergency signal. Several of the alien creatures responded and ran into the off-set room. In a moment, everything went quiet and still.
While all of this was happening, an elevator opened behind Celestian and two alien creatures wearing NASA-type spacesuits complete with bubble helmets walked out. Each was just under five feet tall, with “large gray heads” and “large round human-like eyes”. In their hand, one of these creatures held a silver box.
The young witness’s mind already on the verge of collapse was stretched even further when a “strange human” appeared on a balcony in the room and made his way towards the scene below on some kind of perpetually extending escalator. He was dressed in a tight-fitting black suit and had a hat in the shape of a V in his head. There was also a soft patch in the suit with strange symbols on it.
For some reason, Celestian remembered the man as Spanish, with a “short-cut beard” and standing at around six feet tall.
An Immediate Understanding Of Telepathic Communication!
When he spoke to the other aliens in the room, he did so telepathically. However, the young boy could still very much “hear” what was being said. And what’s more, he could understand it.
According to his memory, the aliens were “diving for a device” that was lost in a “deep mud swamp”. Although they had found and recovered a part of it, the other section remained lost, presumed at the bottom of a muddy Georgia swamp. The “human” ordered another search of the area.
The next thing he knew, Celestian was led to another room by two small gray aliens before being taken to another “human-alien”. Again, picking up on their telepathic talk, he “heard” that they should be careful as some of the humans were fighting back.
The guard was actually a mechanic on the ship. Celestian could see he was in the main engine room. What is interesting here is the description of “three cylinders” at the top of the room and “two long shafts” that ran seemingly to and likely through the floors. This description, once again, surfaces in several other close encounter accounts.
The mechanic, dressed in an all-in-one orange overall-type suit, turned his attention back to the device he was working on. It appeared there was a problem with the engine which he was attempting to solve.
When Celestian walked closer to see what the “man” was working on, he could see a “blue-silver atom core” casting its glow into the room. Before he could take in any more detail, the mechanic, with a little bit of impatience in his voice, ordered him into one of the side rooms while he carried out his duties. He did as he was told, waiting there patiently.
An Apparent Imminent Attack!
The small child was eventually led out of the engine room and back to one of the rooms he was in previously. Once more, two gray aliens escorted him. There appeared to be some significant commotion taking place all around him.
As he walked along the corridors, he tried to peek into the various rooms that led off from them. In one particular room, he witnessed what appeared to be the man from the car behind them. He was seemingly hooked up to various devices and the silver blanket lay at his feet.
By the time he was back in the main room near the elevator, a telepathic conversation ensued once more. According to what Celestian could understand, their craft “had been found” and “they were coming to destroy” them.
Celestian wasn’t sure who “they” were, but he felt a sense of panic run through the occupants of the craft. He heard another voice claim that “they were getting close” and there were approximately 12 minutes before they would be visible to their targets. Then, one some kind of screen, two US Air Force fighter jets appeared.
Several of the aliens were watching the screen also. In fact, so detailed and close-up was it that Celestian could see the pilot’s face through the glass of the cockpit. He could also see, or perhaps sense, as could the alien occupants, that the jet was armed and moving in for attack.
An Emergency Journey 40 Minutes Back In Time
Activity inside the craft exploded as the occupants seemingly took to their positions. During this, the young boy managed to see inside another of the rooms off to the side. In it, wearing ominous black, hooded robes, were several “gray alien humanoids” seemingly older than time itself. When they noticed him watching them, Celestian got a feeling of absolute arrogant indignancy from them.
While this sounds like a detail that belongs in a medieval castle, it is perhaps surprising at how many close contact encounters and alien abduction accounts mention these strange hooded figures.
Things became extremely confused in a hurry as something akin to controlled chaos reigned inside the ship. The witness could remember “hearing” bits of the panicked conversations. The aliens were, it would appear, going to travel back in time, only 40 minutes to “before they were picked up on radar”.
As this was happening, Celestian was placed on one of the silver tables and strapped down. Then, he blacked out, seemingly from some kind of medication as he could still “feel” things happening around him. For example, he distinctly remembers someone moving the table, of it “moving uphill” and then rolling backward into place.
Blurred Memories – In And Out Of Consciousness
Then, when he awoke, all was calm, and he was in the first part of the ship at the start of his bizarre and unnerving journey.
What followed was several episodes in and out of consciousness. While he was awake, although far from alert, he could see a plethora of operations and procedures taking place around, and to him. At one stage he appeared to be hooked up to a monitor that resembles a VCR player. During another waking episode, he could see “rings of oracular light” swarming around his body.
It appeared the taller, reptilian-looking alien was in charge. He recalled at one stage a disagreement between the smaller “gray aliens” and this reptilian overseer. Although Celestian couldn’t fully understand, the taller reptilian would order the procedures to continue.
He would black out once more, only this time he could feel a pulling on his stomach and then a sensation as if something was reaching inside him with strange fingers. A “dull pain” immediately spread from this area.
Then, another entity appeared beside him. Now not sure if he was awake or not, the situation turned even stranger.
The “Angel” And The “Child Of God” – A Truly Bizarre Situation!
This new entity appeared very “angelic” to the young boy. Indeed, it even claimed to have been “sent from God”. Not understanding what this “angel” meant, Celestial could clearly hear him order the reptilian to “put him back”. Even stranger, this boy was a “child of God”.
Still in a bizarre realm of consciousness and dreaming, the young boy heard the reptilian claiming that no harm would come to him and they would indeed return him and his family. To this, the “angel” warned them once more to:
…put the child back now and let them go or you will be destroyed!
With that, the angelic person vanished. Celestian might have been able to easily dismiss this chain of events as a hallucination of his own mind. That was until he heard the reptilian creature, with ample concern in his voice asking “did you see that? What was it?” It then turned its attention back to the witness, asking him directly and accusingly, “What are you?”
Then, answering its own question, the reptilian said:
I don’t know what you are, or what that thing was, but we are not going to find out!
Before he blacked out once more, he heard the creature ordering the gray aliens to find the angelic being and bring it back to him.
More Visitations At The Family Home
The next time he awoke the Spanish-looking human was standing over him. He felt tired, exhausted and extremely wobbly. However, even at such a young age, his body surged with a sense of relief and that he was “still alive”.
He and his family were taken from the ship and led back to their car. Celestian noticed how his mother and father both appeared to be in a “trance-like” state. He also noticed several burn marks on the left-hand side of his father’s face.
Things remained calm for several more minutes before each of his parents seemingly came out of their trance together. His mother immediately began screaming telling her husband to “Step on it! Step on it!”
He did so and the car sped away into the distance with a screech. Celestian would look out of the back window just in time to see one of the aliens board the craft, which then shot up into the night sky and vanished in a second.
Although, at least to his knowledge, his parents wouldn’t acknowledge the incident, strange encounters would continue into the future. For example, strange humanoid “aliens” would appear in the family home. Sometimes even “walking through walls” from one room to the next. They always wore silver belts with various silver, futuristic gadgets on them.
Most often, his parents would awaken from a trance-like state following these visitations. On at least one occasion, the family’s neighbors would make a report of “strange UFO activity” at the same time as one of the visits to the Falcon family home. They would report that a metallic, silver disc hovered over the area for some time before vanishing.
Whether these visitations continue, with Celestian Falcon or other people around the world is unknown. NOTE: The above images are CGI.
Although the exact date is not clear, one summer’s evening in late-June or early-July 1972, Hilda McAfee – herself in her late-50s at the time of the incident – was driving her elderly mother home to Deming, New Mexico from nearby Las Cruces. The night air was still warm and the skies overhead remained clear but dark.
She was making her way down a virtually deserted Interstate 10 at a little over 60 miles per hour. Certainly not speeding along but not drifting either. It was as she watched the road in front of the car rush to meet the glow from her headlights when a sudden “beam of blue light” washed over them from above and slightly ahead of them.
An incident in the summer of 1972 near the town of Deming, New Mexico is perhaps another one of those “one-off, random” incidents that in reality was a precursory build-up to the UFO wave that would sweep across the United States the following year, with a number of such encounters featuring “humanoid occupants”.
The more we examine such incidents, the more, in some cases at least, they begin to form a loose picture and pattern. An almost subtle hint at an overriding big picture. One that is perhaps so outlandish and even preposterous to many, that it is simply dismissed as outright nonsense. This, despite the seemingly growing number of intelligent, high-ranking, and “academic” people issuing such similar hints.
Whether the New Mexico Occupant Incident falls into that category or not perhaps remains open to debate. It certainly contains several elements that would show up in multiple reports throughout 1973. As well as those that would follow, albeit more discreetly, in the years following.
It is perhaps down to us as researchers and enthusiasts to keep such cases on the backburners of the UFO community’s collective memory so we might reexamine them lest something new suddenly leaps out at us allowing us to contribute to that still murky but persistently clearing big picture.
The encounter was initially investigated by UFO investigator, Patti Morris, whose report would enter the public domain courtesy of the December 1975 edition of the APRO (Aerial Phenomena Research Organization) Bulletin. In fact, it was while investigating the (then) recent Travis Walton abduction in (relatively) close by Arizona that investigators first got wind of Hilda McAfee’s fascinating encounter.
A “Beam Of Blue Light” Out Of Nowhere On Interstate 10
The brightness was so intense that she could no longer see the road clearly in front of her. At one stage it appeared there was something in the way which McAfee had to “swerve around” in order to avoid. As she did, both women peered out of the windows to the chaotic blinding blue light.
It was then they could make out the “two men” stood within the brilliant blue glow. Each was “stocky” and wore “pale, blue, bulky quilted overalls” with black boots. Each also had a “wide belt” around their seemingly padded waists and thick gloves on each hand.
On their heads, each man had a helmet similar to a motorcycle helmet, with a dark visor covering all of the face. Although neither woman could see any symbols, insignias, or other markings at all, the suits were identical making them believe the strange attire was a uniform of some kind.
A Most Bizarre And Surreal Scene
The two women remained enthralled with the strange situation they suddenly found themselves in. Were these “men” working for the government on secret business? Might they be Soviet spies gathering secrets from American soil? Or might they really be, as bizarre as it might sound to them, visitors on a reconnaissance mission from elsewhere in the Universe? The bizarre object hovering above the pair would certainly suggest so.
As far as they could tell, the two men appeared unaware of their presence or their gaze as they continued to go about their business. One of them appeared to be working or repairing something out of sight of the pair, while the other stood facing him, seemingly talking to him. Next to them were several “black rods” although the pair could make out no further details regarding them.
Although the pair could clearly make out a “truck-sized” object above the scene, the brightness of the lights prevented them from noting any intricate details. They would both note, however, that despite the obvious size of the craft, there was no sound whatsoever.
Then, the car came to a screeching halt. The two women looked back. To their absolute amazement, the craft, the two men, and the glowing beam of blue light was gone. They looked around and then upwards for several moments, but it was as though whatever the object was and whoever the two men were, they had simply vanished into thin air.
If McAfee was alone, she might have considered the whole thing to be some kind of hallucination. However, the fact her mother very obviously saw the scene every bit as detailed and clearly as she meant she would dismiss such a notion almost immediately.
Whatever the explanation for the bizarre event, it was very real.
After effects And Further Tentative Connections To The Walton Incident
They sat there for several moments contemplating what they had witnessed and what might have happened.
Might, for example, the sudden beam of blue light have appeared in order to prevent their vehicle running straight into the two men. What might have happened if she hadn’t swerved to avoid it? Might it have somehow “repelled” their vehicle anyway? Perhaps that is why the light vanished as soon as the vehicle passed?
After taking a moment to gather themselves McAfee would restart the car and continue with their journey. However, the incident was far from over. At least for the two witnesses.
In the days that followed both women would begin to experience severe “burning and aching pains” in their upper torso. In particular, their chests and arms. One of them would go as far as to state that “even their bones” hurt since the encounter.
Both women believed these persistent pains had some kind of connection to the bizarre blue light, although they couldn’t offer any reasons why this might be other than it was their upper body that was exposed to the light through the windows of the car.
In another intriguing connection to the (at the time), on-going Travis Walton abduction and McAfee is the fact that she served as the landlady to the brother of Mike Rogers, one of the six witnesses to the actual abduction incident. McAfee herself would state that if it hadn’t have been for the media attention on the Walton case, with Walton having passed several lie detector tests at the time, she and her mother would most likely have not told of the incident. NOTE: The above image is CGI.
On the evening of 29th January 1976, 30-year-old Johnny Sands, a transplant to Las Vegas in order to promote his first country-western album, was returning home after visiting several radio stations in the towns surrounding the city. It was a little after 10 pm and the night sky had now taken charge overhead.
As he made his way down Blue Diamond Road, about 20 miles from the city center, he suddenly noticed what he first thought was a brightly lit blimp-shaped object overhead. For Las Vegas, this wasn’t particularly spectacular, so he continued to speed down the road unphased. However, several moments later, and after noticing the strange object appearing to follow him, his car engine began to cut out. He eventually pulled the car to the side of the road and exited the vehicle.
He went to the gas tank and physically shook the car a little. Satisfied he could hear the swoosh of petrol inside, he ventured instead to the hood of the vehicle. As he lifted it, though, his focus drifted upwards. The “blimp-like” object was directly above him.
He would later estimate it was around 60 feet long and approximately at an altitude of 1,000 feet. A “large, round ring” encompassed the middle section, and along its side, in the middle and evenly spaced out, were “windows or portholes”. On each end of the object, red and white lights flashed. He also recalled the color of the craft’s exterior was a “rusty-orange” shade.
The object continued to move, heading south of his direction. As it did so, it lit up the ground and mountains below. Then, it seemed to land on the nearby desert terrain.
Humanoids But Not Human!
Sands began to work on the car engine once more. As he did so, he noticed the low beam of his car headlights was on. He looked into the distance where his headlights faced. To his astonishment, two “figures” were heading in his direction.
Thinking they could be muggers, or worse, but not yet making a connection between the strange object and the two approaching figures, he began to move back to his car. However, try as he might, he was unable to move. He would later describe this as a strange feeling of not quite paralyzed and of wanting to move, but simply not being able to. As if there was a disconnect between the instructions of his brain and his legs.
Then, the two figures were almost upon him. One stopped around eight feet from him. The other, however, came much closer, no more than three feet away. He could now clearly see that although they were humanoid, they were clearly not human.
He would describe them as having the body of a young man at peak physical condition. Their faces, however, were almost ancient-looking, almost as if they were hundreds of years old. He would recall:
…bodywise, he looked as fit as a 21-year-old. But in his face, (and his) facial structure – I don’t know, something gave me the idea that this guy was 300 or 400 years old! It was a very powerful face…not ugly, (just) powerful looking!
Their heads were bald, and they also had neither eyebrows nor eyelashes or no other facial hair of any kind. They had jet black eyes, small with white pupils, a small “flattened” nose, and small mouths that neither opened nor moved, even when they spoke.
Appearance Of Floating Instead Of Walking!
Even stranger was the “gill-like protrusions” on each side of the faces which appeared to be constantly in motion. He would further describe these strange figures as being several inches short of six feet and barely 150 pounds in weight.
On their bodies were “black, silverfish all-encompassing overalls with no visible seams”. Later in their encounter, one of these humanoids would brush against his arm allowing Sands to feel the “rough, heavy duty sandpaper” texture of the strange fabric.
Around their waists was a white belt – the same color and design as a white strap which went from right shoulder to left waist. On the belt, several silver objects hung down about an inch in length.
Perhaps strangest of all, however, was the appearance that they were floating over the ground instead of walking. This could have been due to what appeared to be thick padding over the top and back of their feet. However, the lack of sound would also suggest to Sands that this was the case.
He would estimate a 10-minute conversation then began, much of which, as we mentioned at the beginning, he would not relay the details of the encounter at the request of these strange entities.
“We Know Where You Are And We Will See You Again!”
He was, though, happy to speak of several questions the strange humanoids asked him. According to Sands’ claims, they would first ask him why was there in the first place to which he replied he was “an entertainer” and “in Las Vegas to do a show”.
With the glittering lights of the casinos, light shows, and all manner of hedonistic entertainment taking place in the distance, the humanoid enquired why so many people came to the city. To this, Sands tried to explain that many tourists visited the city for many different reasons.
Then, the humanoid asked:
What is your means of communication?
Sands explained that he was confused by this and didn’t fully understand the question. He began to explain there were “several types of communication” available to them. Then, the humanoid interrupted him with an impatient tone telling him to “answer the question”.
Becoming a little unnerved he tried to explain again that he didn’t understand what was meant by the question. After a moment or two, the humanoid turned to face the other. They would simply stare at each other for around two minutes.
This last detail is an interesting point. Although Sands doesn’t state so, it is possible that the two humanoids were communicating telepathically. Especially given their last question. As well as the many cases of similar close contact that state as much.
Then, the humanoid turned back to face Sands, stating in a deep voice with “noticeable spacing” between each word:
Don’t say anything about this meeting. We know where you are and will see you again!
And with that, each figure turned and walked back into the night, towards their waiting craft. Then, a “flash of light came up” and they and the craft vanished.
Lie Detector Answers That Were “Not Consistent With Deception Criteria!”
Sands would estimate the entire scenario took no more than 10 minutes from his car stalling to the flash of light which saw the figures and the craft vanished. As soon as they had left, though, his car started immediately. He started out immediately, making his way back to Las Vegas.
Upon arriving he would make a report of the encounter to Las Vegas Police Department. However, they would send him to nearby Nellis Air Force Base, and specifically, the Office of Special Investigations.
Once there, it became clear, whether intentionally or not, that no one was able, or wished to assist him. The person he spoke with at the Nellis base would claim that they no longer actively investigated UFO reports. And furthermore, their radar didn’t pick up anything out of the ordinary on the night in question.
Incidentally, it would later come to light following APRO investigators efforts with the case that police in the Las Vegas area did receive several reports of an unusual object on the night in question. It not only matched the one described by Sands, but the timeframe of the sightings was also the same as Sands’ encounter. NOTE: The above images are CGI.
