This is the UPI newswire that caught national attention in the USA for the Pascagoula case, 1973.
Visit the page about the Pascagoula encounter for contextual information.
Pascagoula, Miss. (UPI) - Two shipyard workers who claimed they were hauled aboard a UFO and examined by silvery-skinned creatures with big eyes and pointed ears were taken to a military hospital Friday to be checked for radiation. Officials said Charles Hickson, 42, and Calvin Parker, 19, would make no further public statements concerning their weird tale until they had talked further with federal authorities. Both work at Walker Shipyards, where Hickson is a foreman. Neither man suffered any apparent injuries but as a precautionary measure where taken to nearby Keesler Air Force Base Hospital to checked for radiation exposure, officers said.
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Jackson County Chief Deputy Barney Mathis said the men told him they were fishing from an old pier on the west bank of Pascagoula River about 7 p.m. Thursday when they noticed a strange craft about two miles away emitting a bluish haze. They said it moved closer and then appeared to hover about three or four feet above the water then: |
 Calvin Parker, UPI picture.
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"Three whatever-they-were came out, either floating or walking, and carried us into the ship," officers quoted Hickson as saying. "The things had big eyes. They kept us about 20 minutes, and then took us back to the pier. "The only sound they made was a buzzing-humming sound. They left in a flash."
The sheriff's office received several other calls during the night from residents of the area about sighting a strange "blue light" in the sky. Numerous UFO sightings also have been reported in many parts of the state during the past couple of weeks.
Captain Glen Ryder of the sheriff's department, who questioned both men Thursday night, said he thought at first "They were pulling my leg." "We did everything we knew to break their stories," Ryder said, "but both stories fit. If they were lying to me, they should be in Hollywood." Mathis said Hickson appeared to be a "reasonable man" and was not a heavy drinker, according to his wife and employers. Authorities said both men said they were not drinking when the incident occurred but admitted "they went to a have a drink or two after it was over."
"They had to have something to settle their nerves," said Mathis. He quoted Hickson as saying: "I was so damn scared I didn't know what it was." Officers said Parker reported he passed out when the three creatures- purportedly with pointed ears and noses and pale skin-type covering-emerged from the craft. He said he didn't regain consciousness until he'd been released back on the pier. Deputies took statements from both men and then left them together in a room with a hidden tape recorder in an effort to check out the story. Mathis said there was nothing on the tape to indicate a hoax. Hickson estimated he and Parker were inside the unidentified craft for 15 for 20 minutes. He told officers he was placed on same kind of table and examined from head to foot by what described as something like an electronic eye.
