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URECAT - UFO Related Entities Catalog

URECAT is a formal catalog of UFO related entities sightings reports with the goal of providing quality information for accurate studies of the topic. Additional information, corrections and reviews are welcome at patrick.gross@inbox.com, please state if you wish to be credited for your contribution or not. The main page of the URECAT catalog is here.

AUGUST 6, 1977, PELHAM, GEORGIA, USA, TOM DAWSON:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

In 1977, Tom Dawson was a used cars salesman, aged 63, retired according to some sources, who lived in a trailer near Pelham, in Mitchell County, Georgia, USA. He told the following alleged experience to the press.

On August 6, 1977, at 10:30 a.m., he went outside with his two dogs as he used to do on days off. He stopped at the home of Jimmy and of Linda Kolbie, played some time with their baby, then proceeded towards a fishing pond located behind some pines. To get there, he had to cross a pasture where approximately 20 or 30 or 40 cows, depending on the sources, grazed quietly. He wanted to see whether it would have been pleasant to fish later in the course of the day.

He had just crossed the gate of the pasture when he saw a spacecraft in the shape of a flying saucer coming suddenly like a flash between the trees to hover one meter above the ground right in front of him.

He told that the craft had 40 to 50 feet in diameter and 12 to 14 feet top, or approximately 30 feet diameter in other versions. It had a dome at the top and a row of portholes around. It did not make any noise and changed colors quickly.

As soon as the craft was there, Dawson was paralyzed, and noticed that his dogs and the cows of the pasture were also "frozen."

A door or a trap door opened on the saucer, a ramp emerged, and five or seven beings, according to versions, appeared.

There were three males and two females. They had pale skin, or white like snow, or white "like sacks of flour", pointed ears, pointed noses turned upwards, and no neck. One of the men and one of the women were completely naked, having completely hairless bodies. The three other beings had "beautiful" two-pieces tight-fitted suits made of a gleaming material with changing bluish-green hue, the two sexes being dressed the same, and they had "silky" shoes with toes directed upwards.

The first to come out, whom Dawson supposed was the chief, took a step downwards with precaution, as if checking the firmness of the ground; he then beckoned with the others to follow him. They followed, two of the men taking sentinels positions at the entry of the spaceship. The others then went outside and approached Dawson cautiously.

Without saying a word, the chief of the strange men placed a sort of skullcap-like device on Dawson's head. This device had several circular dials and lights, and wires connected to a device similar to a hula hoop with a dial. They made his trousers fall and lifted his shirt for the examination, passing the hoop above his body and around his waist, attaching small devices like suction cups, of a luminous orange color, on various parts of his body, touching and poking him, and reading the dials.

Towards the end of this examination, a loud human voice came from the inside of the saucer, shouting three or four times "I am Jimmy Hoffa!", a fourth repetition was interrupted as if somebody had muted the shouting with a hand, and the voice was not heard any more.

Jimmy Hoffa was the famous and controversial trade unionist leader who had disappeared in unresolved and possibly criminal circumstances two years before.

The examination finished, the ufonautes moved approximately 10 feet away of him, close together like conferring secretly. They spoke with high-pitched and shrieking voices, Dawson did not understand their unintelligible language but thinks that he recognized that one them said the word "Jupiter." He noticed that two of the men watched him occasionally and suspected that they talked about him, that they were perhaps discussing whether they should take him, but they did not and Dawson speculated that if he had been a younger man, they would have perhaps have abducted him.

The chief then passed his palm through his chest as if to make a goodbye sign, they gathered "leaves and stuff," and half-jumped half-floated into the trapdoor of the saucer, closed it and took off. Dawson saw the saucer going up slowly to 25 meters of altitude, and fly away in the blink of an eye, and then realized that he was not paralyzed any more, like the dogs and the cattle too.

Once free, pulling his trouser up, Dawson ran some 300 yards to his trailer according to one version, or to the house of his friend Jolie - or Linda - Kolbie who was working on her lawn, and who thought that Dawson had been confronted with a toxic snake in the field. Breathless, waving the arms, with insane eyes, Dawson could barely speak and could only say "spaceship." Mrs. Kolbie made him sit down and wiped his face with a wet rag, then he was brought to the Mitchell County hospital, where the doctor said that it had been shaken mentally and physically by his UFO and occupants encounter. He was given a pill to calm him down and later released.

Kolbie told the press that Dawson was respected in the community, hard working, nice, a gentle man who adored his daughter and wasn't known as a prankster in spite of the bad reputation which characterized his profession.

Tom Dawson and Linda Kolbie reported that a small group of ufologists visited and examined the place, saying they were MUFOC members. One of them said that he was from Mason County, in Georgia. They took ground samples and made radiation measurements. To Kolbie, they weren't looking like natives of Georgia and as she stated that they had the olive colored skin and a foreign glance, it was even speculated that they must have been "Men in Black."

Having been in the news then, Dawson's story of Dawson sunk in oblivion, no investigation report surfaced, the "Jimmy Hoffa" shouting prompted ufologists speculation and skeptics' laughter. It seems that Dawson confirms his story 30 years later, and the chief of the police force of Pelham Nealie McCormick still remembers it, although Dawson did not make a statement with the police.

Dawson admitted that he did not expect people to believe his story, saying that he would not believe it if it did not happen to him, but that he didn't care not to be believed. He insisted that he was not crazy, had not been drinking and had not such experience previously.

Basic information table:

Case number: URECAT-000404
Date of event: August 6, 1977
Earliest report of event: 1977?
Delay of report: Days?
Witness reported via: Told the Press?
First alleged record by: Newspapers.
First certain record by: Ufology book.
First alleged record type: Newspapers.
First certain record type: Ufology book.
This file created on: December 21, 2007
This file last updated on: December 21, 2007
Country of event: USA
State/Department: Georgia
Type of location: Pasture.
Lighting conditions: Day
UFO observed: Yes
UFO arrival observed: Yes
UFO departure observed: Yes
UFO/Entity Relation: Certain
Witnesses numbers: 1
Witnesses ages: 63
Witnesses types: Used cars saleman.
Photograph(s): No.
Witnesses drawing: No.
Witnesses-approved drawing: Maybe.
Number of entities: 5 or 7
Type of entities: Humanoid
Entities height: Small
Entities outfit type: Two pieces tight fitting, silky shoes, and naked.
Entities outfit color: Gleaming, changing, bluish-green.
Entities skin color: White or very pale.
Entities body: Not reported.
Entities head: Pointed ears.
Entities eyes: Not reported.
Entities mouth: Not reported.
Entities nose: Pointed upwards.
Entities feet: Shoes with toes pointing up.
Entities arms: Not reported.
Entities fingers: Not reported.
Entities fingers number: Not reported.
Entities hair: Totally hairless.
Entities voice: High pitched, unintelligible.
Entities actions: Came out of UFO, paralyzed and examined witness, went back in, departure.
Entities/witness interactions: Paralyzed and examined witness.
Witness(es) reactions: Observed, was paralyzed, fled to neighbors.
Witness(es) feelings: Frightened.
Witness(es) interpretation: Not reported.
Explanation category: Extraterrestrial beings or hoax.
Explanation certainty: None.

Narratives:

[Ref. bh1:] ROBERT E. BARTHOLOMEW AND GEORGE S. HOWARD:

The authors report that on August 6, 1977, near Pelham, Georgia, between 6 a.m. and noon, Mr. Dawson was walking his two dogs near a cow pasture, when a circular object suddenly appeared in the sky and hovered above the ground.

He was paralyzed and noticed that his dogs and some 40 nearby cows were also "frozen."

The craft landed, a door opened, three men and two women emerged. They had pale white skin, pointed ears, sharp turned-up noses, and no necks. Two were nude, having hairless bodies. The three other beings had "beautiful" clothes and both sexes were dressed alike in "silky" shoes with toes pointing upward.

Dawson was given what he believes was a medical examination, he was fitted with a "skullcap" with cords extending into a ring like device containing dials. Near the end of the exam, Dawson says a voice from inside the craft shouted, "I am Jimmy Hoffa! I am Jimmy Hoffa! I am - ". The cry abruptly stopped in mid-sentence.

After the examination, the beings got together and talked in unintelligible, shrill voices, then they reentered the craft and flew off.

The authors indicate that the source is Milt Machlin with Timothy Green Beckley, in "UFO", New York, Quick Fox, 1981, page 48.

[Ref. br1:] BILLY J. RACHELS:

The author indicates that on August 6, 1977, near Pelham, Georgia, 20 miles north of Thomasville, in Mitchell County, at 10:30 a.m., retired automobile salesman Tom Dawson, 63 at the time, took a walk down to his favorite pond to see how it looked for fishing later that day.

Just as he got inside the fence surrounding the pond, a circular spaceship zipped right in between the trees and hovered a few feet above the ground, while at the same time he found himself, his two dogs and twenty head of cattle, frozen in place by an unseen force.

Dawson said the craft was about 15 feet high, 50 feet in diameter, with portholes all around and a dome on top. It made no sound and changed colors rapidly from one to another.

Suddenly, a ramp came down and seven hairless snow-white beings about 5 feet tall, with pointed ears and noses, came out.

Some had on tight-fitting one-piece suits while others were naked. They talked in a high-pitched gibberish he could not understand.

They conducted what he thought to be a medical exam of some kind, placing a skullcap-like device on his head and a large hula hoop-shaped thing connected to a box around his midsection. After they had collected "some leaves and stuff," they got back on the ship and were gone in the blink of an eye.

Once free, Mr. Dawson ran uphill about 300 yards to his trailer. He was having trouble breathing and talking, so he was taken to the Mitchell County Hospital, where the doctor said he had been shaken both mentally and physically from his encounter with the UFO and its occupants. He was treated for hysteria, given something to calm him down, and later released. Dawson said he believed that if he had been a younger man the extraterrestrials would have taken him away.

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Pelham, Mitchell, Georgia, on August 6, 1977, at 10:30 a.m., Tom Dawson, 63 and retired, was walking with his two dogs from his trailer home to a nearby farm when a "circular shaped space ship" with a dome and portholes, 40-50 ft in diameter and 12-14 ft high, set down in a field in front of him, hovering several feet off the ground. He found he was unable to move a muscle, and his dogs, as well as the cattle in the field, seemed likewise to be immobilized. A hatch in the object opened, a ramp was extended, and 7 strange looking humans 5 ft tall emerged, five men and two women. The first to leave stepped down cautiously, as if to test the solidity of the ground; then the rest followed, with two taking up sentry positions at the hatch. They were all hairless, with skin "as white as a flour sack," their noses were sharp and turned up, their ears were pointed, and they had no necks. One of the men and one of the women were completely nude. The clothing of the rest-males and females alike-was very beautiful with silk like shoes with pointed, turned up toes. The humanoids cautiously approached Dawson, and gave him a kind of physical examination, placing on his head a skullcap with cords connecting it to a hoop bearing dials. They dropped his trousers and lifted his shirt for the examination, passing the hoop over his body. While the examination was in progress, a loud voice came from the object, shouting three times " I am Jimmy Hoffa" (!) a fourth repetition was cut off, and the voice was not heard again. After completing the examination, all returned to the craft except two men, who walked about 10 feet away and "went into a conference." They had very shrill voices, and although Dawson was unable to comprehend what it was they said, he thought he heard the word "Jupiter." He had the impression they were debating whether or not to take him onboard; at any rate, they did not, and the leader passed his palm across his chest as though to signal good-bye. They reentered the ship, closed the hatch, and took off. He saw the object rise to 75 feet, and then in a wink it was out of sight. Dawson was then freed of his paralysis; he ran directly to his next-door neighbor, but was so excited he could say nothing more than "space ship!" He was taken to a hospital and treated for hysteria.

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is Billy Rachels, UFO Bureau of Georgia.

[Ref. ci1:] CARLOS ALBERTO IURCHUK:

One of the strangest cases of this time, during the golden years of the UFO phenomenon in the Seventies, occurred on August 6, 1977 in the village of Pelham, Georgia (the USA). Tom Dawson, a salesman of second hand cars, aged 63, who lived in a trailer park, had left to walk his two dogs and visit neighbors as he generally did in his holidays. Dawson then crossed a meadow full of cows to arrive at a small lake where he was accustomed to practicing fishing.

Having just entered the meadow, the witness told that a "brilliant and circular" object came out of the sky to come to hover almost directly in front of him, one meter above the ground. Dawson said he was paralysed - a phenomenon which affected not only his two dogs, but thirty or more cows which occupied the meadow.

Five humanoid beings - three men and two women - came out of the object through a hatchway. These beings had a pale complexion, pointed noses and pointed ears. Two of them were completely naked and their bodies were totally hairless.

Without saying a word, the chief of the strange men placed a sort of helmet on Dawson's head to perform what appeared to be a physical examination. The "helmet" had several circular dials and lights, and wires connected to a device similar to a ring.

The experience described by Dawson appears to be a rather typical experience of contact, for that time, if it were not for the following incredible detail: the used cars salesman claimed to have heard a human voice shouting from the interior of the flying saucer: I am Jimmy Hoffa! I am Jimmy Hoffa! until the cry was suddenly stopped, "as if somebody had covered the mouth of the shouter with the hand."

At this point, it is necessary to make a parenthesis to explain to whom the name which was shouted corresponded. One year before, Jimmy Hoffa, powerful American trade unionist chief, had mysteriously disappeared little before entering a fast-food. His disappearance had affected all the country, and it also prompted all sorts of conspiracy theories. Had Tom Dawson discovered where the trade unionist was?

He never got to know. The physical examination that the extraterrestrials practised to him suddenly ended. Immediately afterwards, these humanoids reinstated their flying machine and the object went up to a height of 75 feet before disappearing completely. The strange paralysis that afflicted the man, the dogs and the cattle ceased its effect and Dawson ran away from the meadow to the house of his friend Jolie Kolbie, who thought that Dawson had encountered a toxic snake in the field. Breathless, with crazy eyes, Dawson managed to say "spaceship" before being taken to the urgencies.

The doctors gave his a treatment for hysteria and confirmed that Dawson had suffered from an enormous shock and that he had not consumed alcohol nor drugs. All the neighbors agreed that Dawson was a hard-working and respected man in his community, and that he was not known to be a prankster in spite of the bad reputation which characterized his profession.

Researcher Jerome Clark, who analyzed the case at the time, said that while it was absurd to think that Jimmy Hoffa was imprisoned on board a flying saucer, the statements of Dawson was worthy of faith. "If somebody asked me sometime", Clark wrote, "what UFOs really are, I would answer that I think somebody misleads us in a certain way."

But then, who shouted from the inside of the saucer seen by Dawson?

[Ref. ab1:] "ATHENS BANNER-HERALD" NEWSPAPER:

Man pens second novel on Georgia's oddities

By Wayne Ford
May 14, 2006

Jim Miles has a normal occupation. He's a history teacher, retiring this year after 31 years. But he has written a book about all the weird and strange things he has read about and seen in Georgia.

Did he find the motherlode of weirdness in Athens?

There are eight different tales in the book from the immediate Athens area, including the story of a man who encountered aliens on a highway and the portrait of a former school principal that some students have claimed will move its eyes.

"It's the most that any community in Georgia has," Miles said about this compilation of tales.

So is Athens that strange? Hardly.

According to Miles, who teaches U.S. history at Peach County High School in Fort Valley, there are lots of weird and just unusual people and places throughout the state. In fact, he thinks it's not unusual for people to experience the unusual.

"Everybody has either experienced something strange themselves or someone they trust has - it's that widespread," he said.

Miles' book "Weird Georgia" is part of a series of "weird books" that two New Jersey men, Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran, who wrote "Weird U.S." are either writing themselves or having done. They chose Miles to write the book on Georgia, because a few years ago Miles had written a book called "Weird Georgia." Strangely, they didn't change the name on this second book, which is heavier on photographs and graphics than Miles' first venture into the unknown.

Miles said the heavy emphasis placed on some stories were made by "Mark and Mark." For instance, a lot of text is spent on the Georgia Guidestones in Elbert County.

"I think they've actually been to the Guidestones," Miles said about the pair in a recent telephone interview. A native of Mobile, Ala., Miles' parents moved to Warner Robins when he was 12 after the U.S. government closed an Air Force base in Mobile where his father had worked. Miles never left Georgia.

While the book includes some strange happenings like paranormal and ghostly happenings, it also looks at unusual places to visit, along with tales of strange creatures and UFO incidents. For instance, there is an unusual rock in front of Baldwin Hall on the University of Georgia campus. The rock originally was from Forsyth County and was donated to UGA in 1963. Mark Williams, an anthropology professor at UGA, said it is believed Indians carved the designs on the rock, but no one knows when or by whom they were carved.

Miles said his favorite UFO story is one that stems from the small South Georgia town of Pelham. A man named Tom Dawson, 63, was walking his two dogs on Aug. 6, 1977, when a spacecraft landed. Somehow, he was paralyzed. Five aliens walked out of the craft.

"They started doing a medical exam, taking his clothes off and prodding and touching him," Miles said, adding the really strange part is that from inside the UFO, Dawson heard a human voice saying, "My name is Jimmy Hoffa. My name is Jimmy Hoffa."

Miles actually visited Dawson to discuss the encounter.

"I believe he experienced something that he truly believes was real," he said.

But today, nearly 30 years later, Dawson's story is rarely talked about. Contacted about the case, Pelham Police Chief Nealie McCormick remembered the UFO incident and said it made national news at the time.

"It's sort of all died off and nobody talks about it anymore now," he said.

Another story [...]

[Ref. in1:] A WEB FORUM:

James Hoffa was born in Brazil, Indiana on Friday February 14, 1913. He was president of the Teamsters Union from 1958-1971. It was Allen Dorfman who had ties to Sam Giancana that linked Hoffa to the Mafia. Kennedy had threatened to break Hoffa, to which Hoffa responded, "He should live so long." Hoffa disappeared on Wednesday July 30, 1975. A Hoffa aide reportedly received a phone call, supposedly from Hoffa, saying that his companions never showed up. An anonymous phone caller told police where they could find Hoffa's abandoned limousine. There was no sign of struggle and no body, just a pair of gloves folded neatly on the back seat. Just two days before Hoffa vanished, he withdrew over a million dollars from union funds.

On Saturday August 6, 1977 Tom Dawson, 63, reported an alien encounter to the newspaper but did not make a formal report to the police. A strange circular shaped machine descended on his farm and hovered two feet off the ground. Tom, his dog, and his cattle were paralyzed. The disc was about 30 feet in diameter with a bulge in the center, like two saucers stuck together. A hatch opened and five beings emerged from the craft. Their two piece outfits were made of shimmering material that changed in blueish-green hues. Their skin was white as flour sacks, their noses were sharp, their ears were pointed, and they had no necks. They carried a contraption that was connected to a skull cap by a series of cords. It contained dials from which they took readings after placing the cap on his head. They attached small suction cup devices, of a bright orange color, to various parts of his body. The occupants jerked the skull cap from his head as a loud voice suddenly emanated from the craft: "I am Jimmy Hoffa! I am Jimmy Hoffa!..." A fourth try at shouting his name was cut off and the voice was silenced. The five beings hastily withdrew and hurried toward the craft carrying the strange device with them. Then they huddled in a tight group, now and then turning their heads and looking in his direction. He heard their high shrill voices and although they spoke in some unrecognizable language, he believed at one point he heard the word, "Jupiter". The huddle broke up and they half leaped half floated into the hatch of the machine. The craft slowly moved upward at an angle until it was about 75 feet in altitude when it vanished. Soon after, Tom realized he could move again and so did his dog and cattle.

Both Tom Dawson and his nearest neighbor, Linda Kolbie, related that a small group of UFO investigators visited and examined the location. They identified themselves as MUFOC. One of them told her he was from Macon County, GA. They took samples of the soil and made radiation readings. They did not appear to her to be natives of Georgia as she stated, "They had olive-colored skin and a foreign look" (Men in Black?).

The Controllers, pages 34-36
Great Unexplained Mysteries, pages 68-70
High Treason, page 295
World Book, page 251

[Ref. in2:] FOUND ON THE INTERNET:

THE MOST BIZARRE UFO ENCOUNTER

By Jerome Clark
(Annotated)

Pelham, Georgia
August 6.1977

The alleged witness is one Tom Dawson, a 63-year-old retired automobile dealer who lives in a trailer park outside that southwestern Georgia town, population 4,500. Even he admits that he doesn't expect anyone to believe his story, he says he wouldn't believe it either if it hadn't happened to him. That's a remark all too many UFO witnesses have made.

But Dawson says, "I don't care what they say. This is the honest truth. I'm not crazy, I wasn't drinking, and I've never had a mental condition. This is the very first time I have ever experienced anything like this."

That morning Dawson went for a stroll with his two dogs. He stopped over at a neighbor's house and played for a time with Jimmy and Linda Kolbie's baby, then set off for a fish pond located behind some pine trees. To get there, he had to cross over a pasture where about 40 cows quietly grazed.

He had just stepped inside the gate when a strange circular object suddenly flashed out of the sky and came down in front of him, hovering two feet off the ground. Dawson found himself paralyzed, unable to move a muscle, and noticed that his dogs and the cattle were similarly "frozen."

As soon as the UFO stopped, a hatch opened and five humanoid beings, three men and two women, stepped out. Their skin was pale white, their noses sharp and turned up, their ears pointed. They had no necks. Two, a male and a female were completely nude. There was no hair on any of their bodies.

The first to emerge from the UFO, whom Dawson took to be the leader stepped gingerly to the ground and then motioned for the others to follow. Two men came out and stood at the entrance to the ship, acting apparently as guards. The others then walked out and cautiously approached Dawson.

Their clothing was "beautiful" and the men and women dressed alike (except presumably, for the two in the buff). They wore shoes made of a silky substance and the toes were pointed upwards.

Dawson was given what he took to be a medical examination in the pasture. The beings placed a "skullcap" over his head; the "cap" had several cords attached to a ring-like device, on which there was a set of dials. The ufonauts lifted Dawson's shirt and removed his trousers.

So far this story is more or less typical of a certain kind of close encounter. However...

At this point Dawson heard a voice screaming from inside the UFO. It was a human voice. It said -- and I caution you to hold on to your hat -- "I am Jimmy Hoffa! I am Jimmy Hoffa! I am Jimmy Hoffa! I am..." The cry was suddenly stifled as if someone had put his hand over the speaker's mouth.

The examination finished, the ufonauts moved about 10 feet away and huddled for a conference speaking in high, shrill voices. Dawson thought he heard one of them say the word "Jupiter." He noticed two of the males eyeing him and suspected they were talking about taking him with them.

Apparently, they decided against it. Instead, they trooped back into the UFO, closed the hatch behind them, and ascended to about 75 feet in the air. Then, in a flash, the object vanished.

When that happened, Dawson was free to move again. So were the animals. Pulling up his pants, he ran as quickly as his legs could carry him to the Kolbie residence, where Linda Kolbie was working in the lawn.

"He was in bad shape," the woman told a reporter for the Pelham Journal. "I saw him coming. He was running at top speed and waving his arms, trying to get his breath."

He couldn't even speak. Mrs. Kolbie had him sit down and wipe his face with a wet rag. He was, she said, "wild eyed" and extremely frightened. She asked him if he'd seen a big snake. He shook his head and managed to get out the word "spaceship."

Mrs. Kolbie rushed him to the hospital, where a doctor treated him for hysteria. Attendants checked to see if he was on drugs, medication, or alcohol, but he wasn't. However, they could see that something had really shaken him up. Later when a reporter interviewed him, he still had not completely recovered. He continued to insist. "I know what happened and there is no doubt in my mind that it happened just as I told you."

The Kolbies said they knew Dawson quite well and described him as "hard working, nice, and a gentle man who adores his daughter." He is not an alcoholic, a storyteller, or an individual with a particularly vivid imagination.

Without committing myself to either belief or disbelief in Dawson's claim. I'd like to note some interesting details which we have met in earlier close encounter reports.

For one thing, the reported paralysis which affected both human and animal bystanders is hardly unprecedented; it figures, for example, in the famous Delphos, Kansas landing. Nude ufonauts have appeared in at least two very obscure cases, namely the Springfield, Missouri contact of April 16, 1897, and the even less well known Centralia, Washington encounter of March 28, 1950, which Kenneth Arnold investigated but, except for a very brief item in the local paper a few days later, has never been published.

[Ref. ni1:] NICAP WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on August 6, 1977, in Pelham, Georgia, at 10:30 a.m., Tom Dawson, 63, a retired car salesman, was taking a walk down to his favorite fishing pond, when suddenly a disc-shaped craft silently came into view, hovering just a few feet off the ground between nearby trees. Simultaneously, Dawson found himself unable to move, and noted that his two dogs and some twenty head of cattle seemed to suffer from the same affliction. Dawson described the object as being about 50 feet in diameter and 15 feet high, encircled by what appeared to be portholes, with a dome on top. As he watched helpless, a ramp was extended down to the ground and seven hairless, snow-white entities appeared. The beings each stood about 5 feet tall, had pointed ears and noses, and while some wore a tight-fitting one-piece suit, others wore no clothing at all. They produced a high-pitched gibberish that he was unable to understand. Meanwhile, the beings placed a skullcap looking device on his head and a hula hoop-shaped thing, that was connected to a box, around his midsection. Dawson felt that the entities were performing some sort of medical examination upon him. Then the beings gathered some leaves and stuff, and then they returned inside the craft and were gone in the blink of an eye. At some point afterwards, Dawson regained his mobility and ran uphill, estimated at 300 yards, to his trailer. He was taken to the Mitchell County Hospital as he was having difficulty breathing and talking. A physician felt he had been very shaken by some event. In fact, he was treated for hysteria and given medicine to calm him down. Then soon afterwards he was released. Dawson stated that he believed that if he had been a younger man then the ufonauts probably would have abducted him.

The website indicates that the source is The Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters, edited by Ronald D. Story. New American Library, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y. 10014, 2001, as a feature submitted by researcher Billy J. Rachels, from mysterious-america.net.

Points to consider:

This drawing was made by one Billy Norris and purported to show the spaceship described
by Tom Dawson.

With such a strange story, it would have obviously been necessary to carry out a counter-investigation for checking by a fill-fledged interrogation of the alleged, if possible on location, to try to either eliminate or check the possibility of an invention, through possible contradictions in the testimony for example.

But obviously, all we have is what the witness told a certain unidentified and unavailable local newspaper, and various presentation of the affair that result from it, and there is not the least sign than an investigation would have been carried out and published.

Of course, anyone can endlessly meditate about the probability or the quasi-comic absurdity of a story of aliens whose saucer would retain captive a controversial trade unionist two years after his more or less mysterious disappearance, but wouldn't it have been more judicious not to put the cart before the horse and to carry out a serious investigations of the claims, and to publish the result? Wouldn't it have been for example of first importance to go to visit the medical personnel which allegedly looked after the alleged witness in order to hear their version directly?

Now, all this sums up to a story by a single witness, with no evidence, without corroboration, without investigation.

List of issues:

Id: Topic: Severity: Date noted: Raised by: Noted by: Description: Proposal: Status:
1 Data Severe December 21, 2007 Patrick Gross Patrick Gross Possible primary source, local newspaper, not referenced and not available. Help needed. Opened.
2 Ufology Severe December 21, 2007 Patrick Gross Patrick Gross No sign that ufologists published an investigation report. Help needed. Opened.
3 Ufology Severe December 21, 2007 Patrick Gross Patrick Gross Single witness case. - -
4 Ufology Severe December 21, 2007 Patrick Gross Patrick Gross Somehow fragmentary ufological versions, several mild discrepancies, for example: 20 cows, 30 cows, 40 cows. Help needed. Opened.

Evaluation:

Extraterrestrial beings or hoax.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

Document history:

Authoring

Main Author: Patrick Gross
Contributors: None
Reviewers: None
Editor: Patrick Gross

Changes history

Version: Created/Changed By: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross December 21, 2007 Creation, [bh1], [br1], [ar1], [ci1], [ab1], [in1], [ni1], [in2].
1.0 Patrick Gross December 21, 2007 First published.

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