Thursday, October 12, 2023

The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Pascagoula Abduction

Anyone who has read much of my writing about UFOs knows that I’m not a big fan of alien abduction reports. I mention this because yesterday was the fiftieth anniversary of what is probably the best documented case of abduction. That is the case of Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker in Pascagoula, Mississippi on October 11, 1973. They were taken on board a glowing craft, examined, and then released. They went to the sheriff, were later interviewed by James Harder and Allen Hynek, and subjected to a polygraph examination. I have interviewed both Hickson and, much more recently, Parker.

Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker in 1973


Here's what is important. Fifty years ago today, they were taken to Keesler Air Force Base to be tested for radioactive contamination. None was found, but some of the top officers on the base subjected them to an interrogation. This was four years after the Air Force said that they were no longer investigating UFO sightings.

During that interrogation, it came out that there were other witnesses to the abduction. A document created by the Air Force, fifty years ago today, listed the names of the officers involved, also provide the names of two civilian witnesses who had seen something strange in the location and at the time of the abduction. In one of those cases, the witness was driving over a bridge near the site and in the car were two additional witnesses. In other words, within hours of the abduction, the four additional witnesses had been found and that information was recorded in an official Air Force document.

Through the work of Philip Mantle and Dr. Irene Scott, more witnesses have been located in the last six or seven years. Unfortunately, it can be said they were inspired by some of the recent publicity about case and that was why we are just learning about them. You can find their book here:

https://www.amazon.com/BEYOND-REASONABLE-DOUBT-Pascagoula-Abduction-ebook/dp/B0BPYXM6CW/ref=sr_1_6?crid=199SB0MYKOHDG&keywords=Calvin+Parker&qid=1697143203&sprefix=calvin+parker%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-6

As I say, this is the best case for alien abduction. There are multiple independent witnesses, there was a military investigation, scientific research, and no good terrestrial explanation for what happened. If not for those other, earlier witnesses, this case would be easy to write off. You can find Calvin Parker’s book about his experiences on Amazon, along with additional books by Mantle and Scott, and my own book, 1973, that covers this abduction, other abductions in the same year, and a look at the wave of sightings that took place in the fall of 1973.

Of course, there are some interesting sightings that are not a half century old. Stan Gordon reported on his UFO Anomalies Zone website that on September 3 of this year a witness in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, said that her dog, which is deaf, was looking up into the sky. There was light shining down and hovering and about three hundred feet over the building was a large, triangular-shaped object with rounded corners. She said that the surface of the UFO had a flat black matte color. She had a clear view of the underside and said there were no individual lights on the UFO.

As the craft hovered, she could hear a deep but barely audible humming and then a single click as the craft began to move. It suddenly accelerated until it looked like a smudge. She said that it just vanished.

I’ll note here that the dog did react to the craft, and it could have been that low humming vibration that attracted its attention.  There were other sightings in the area and one in which the witness mentioned the dog’s reaction which was similar to that in the first report.

You can learn more about this case, and the others from around Pennsylvania here:

Solid Black Triangular UFO/UAP Hovers Low Over Pennsylvania Building – Stan Gordon's UFO Anomalies Zoneular

And Stan Gordon has also provided a link to an article that he had written about other low level UFO sightings, which you can read here:

The Government Needs To Be More Forthcoming About The Ongoing UFO Mystery: UFO Sightings Reported Yearly in Pennsylvania – Stan Gordon's UFO Anomalies Zone

And for those of you interested in a discussion of what was happening in 1973, which includes information on many important cases, you can find in on Amazon. The link is here:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=kevin+randle&crid=A4KWNLIXGRPM&sprefix=kevin+randle%2Caps%2C120&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

As I say, 1973 was an interesting year for UFO sightings. Many reports of the craft on the ground, many reports of the creatures from inside, outside, and several abductions (though most were terrestrial based experiences with no real alien component). Had the research been conducted in a scientific fashion without the curtain of ridicule coming down so rapidly, we might be having a different discussion. 

10 comments:

Sky70 said...

This so-called UFO event is just about as believable as the Trinity UFO crash! I see absolutely no creditability in this event, nor in the players. The UFO/UAP field needs more creditability than these two so-called events. I've been saying that we need NEW UFO/UAP events so as to analyze NEW evidence not UAP stuff that happened 40-50 years ago. And if there are real UFOs, then we should be getting some hard-core evidence, not wagging tongues speaking hearsay.

Sky70 said...

This is one of the silliest UFO sightings ever recorded! Why Kenvin would even entertain such a fake sighting is beyond US.

KRandle said...

Sky70 -

You understand that this is multiple witness... That four people were identified the next day as having independently witnessed the event? The Air Force created a document attesting to this, and that there were dozens of UFO sightings around that area and the United States at the time. Although it is somewhat self=promotion, might I suggest that you look at the book, 1973, which is an examination of what was happening in, well, 1973.

As for the Hickson/Parker abduction, there are some interesting aspects to it that you don't find in other abduction cases, including what went on with the police. I am not a fan of abduction tales, but this one has elements that are not found in other cases.

And, unlike Trinity, there are more witnesses that just two men who claimed to have seen something as youngsters but have absolutely nothing in the way of corroboration.

Philip Mantle said...

Sky70 -

May I ask why you want to dismiss the Pascagoula case ? We have found a lot of new evidence and witnesses to a vintage case. It happened in 1973 and era in which I grew up in. Some of the new witnesses have come forward others we have found by other means. The two main witnesses, Parker & Hickson were at the Sheriff's office within no time of the encounter taking place. The next day they were at the Singing River Hospital and then Keesler AFB. We have a full copy of the document that Kevin refers to. WE even interviewed (twice) Dr Julius Bosco was was the doctor that examined Parker & Hickson. The police dispatcher who took the call from Charles Hickson that night of Oct 11 1973 told us that he took over 50 calls of UFO sightings that night and at the end of his shift there were members of the public in the station reporting UFO sightings. I could go on but I think I've made my point. You should of course read our book and Kevin's.

Nitram said...

Hi Kevin

Barney & Betty Hill doesn't count as a "documented" abduction case I guess?

Regards
Nitram

KRandle said...

Nitram -

Not in the same sense as that of Hickson and Parker. For the Hills, there were no other witnesses. There are some real troubles with the Hill abduction that do not exist with that of Hickson/Parter.

Sky70 said...

Kevin & Phillip: The key word here is vintage. This so-called UFO/UAP event occurred 50 years ago, and if the evidence(s) were valid, what use would it be for us today? Come, let's reason together, what the UAP field needs today are recent sightings where the evidence is not old and tainted by time.

Philip Mantle said...

You mean a case that still offers more new evidence. Yes, we have interviewed more witnesses since the book came out. As for new UAP cases, well show me one that has all the elements of the Pascagoula case. Just one. The new cases of course are the 3 fuzzy blob photos taken by the US Navy. How old is a case that you would class as being 'tainted by time'. Please enlighten us. Perhaps we should give up on criminal cases of a historic nature because the are 'tainted by time'. How long after an incident would be have to rule out evidence. Just so you are aware a very popular entertained in the UK called Rolf Harris was sent to prison for historic sexual crimes. Some of the witnesses evidence was from the 60's and 70's but according to you this would have been 'tainted by time' and as a result this man would not have ended up in prison.

Sky70 said...

Philip: Truly you are mixing apples and oranges here. One cannot compare UAP sightings with past murders. By the time 15-20 years have passed of a UAP incident, IF there is any evidence to see, touch and feel, it might be worthy to investigate, but if there is no evidence - forget it. However, there is no worry at all retrieving new evidence if the UAPs/UFOs are flying all around us as the Ufologists seem to think.

Philip Mantle said...

Really ? Tell me of one contemporary close encounter that has all of the evidence that we uncovered for the 1973 Pascagoula alien abduction. Show me a so-called whistle-blower that has any evidence to support their claims.