The article below was published in the daily newspaper France Soir, Paris, France, pages 1 and 6, on September 15, 1954.
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VALENCIENNES, September 14 (dispatch "France-Soir").
THREE inspectors from the air police returned yesterday to Quarouble (Nord) to interview Mr. Marius Dewilde, the man who "saw" two Martians at the gate of his garden.
They left the village convinced that during the night from Friday to Saturday, a mysterious flying object did indeed land - just as Mr. Dewilde claims - on the Saint-Amand – Blanc-Misseron railway line, near crossing gate 79.
The findings they made appear to support the testimony of the metalworker. He stated that on Friday around 10:30 p.m., he saw an oblong-shaped craft, 3 meters tall and 6 meters long, resting on the railway tracks a few meters from his house. Two human-like beings, very small in stature and apparently wearing spacesuits, stood nearby. Mr. Dewilde walked toward them, but at that moment, the craft shone a green-tinted beam of light on him, which paralyzed him. When he regained control of his limbs, the craft was already lifting into the sky and the two beings had vanished.
The investigators found no trace of the two beings. The surrounding ground, examined meter by meter, yielded no footprints.
However, one of the railway ties showed marks that could have been made by the craft during landing. In five places, the wood was indented over a surface of about four square centimeters. These marks all looked the same and were symmetrically aligned in a single line. The three in the middle were spaced 43 centimeters apart. The two outer marks were 67 centimeters away from the central ones.
"A craft landing on crutches rather than wheels, like our aircraft, would not leave any other traces," said one of the air police inspectors.
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The account given by Mr. Dewilde is also supported by the testimonies of several residents of the area. In Onnaing, a young man, Mr. Edmond Auverlot, and a retiree, Mr. Hublart, saw around 10:30 p.m. - the time indicated by Mr. Dewilde - a red glow moving through the sky. The same glow was seen from Vicq by three young men who were leaving a dance.
All these testimonies and facts lend a tone of authenticity to Mr. Dewilde's story. However, many people remain skeptical. Mr. Dewilde is likely sincere; but a year ago he was the victim of a serious work accident (head trauma), after which he exhibited some nervous disorders. For this reason, it is thought he may have been the victim of a "waking hallucination" - a phenomenon well known in medicine.
[Caption] In this sketch, Mr. Marius Dewilde recounts his encounter with the "Martians."
