October 22 `1973. 2130hrs.
HARTFORD CITY (INDIANA : USA)
At a point 14.5km east of Hartford City, Mrs Debbie Carne saw a group of creatures cross the road in front of her, then raise their arms, making a loud noise. She thought that they were children playing pranks until she heard of the following, later incidents. About 15 minutes later, Debbie Donathan was driving her husband, DeWane, and baby home, when at the same spot, just one block before their home, they saw what looked like two children dancing in the road. She stopped the car about 10m from them, and saw that they were two creatures, about 1.2m tall, dressed silvery, tight fitting suits. They were slight in build, with very straight bodies and what looked like boxes on their feet. They moved in a strange, slow motion fashion, apparently bouncing off the road with their arms flapping strangely. Debbie panicked and accelerated past them; as she did so the creatures got out of the way in a strange, slow, skipping manner, with their arms moving slowly and flopping. Debbie drove on to an old church a few blocks away. Here DeWane took over the wheel and, arguing that it was children, drove back towards their house. They could see nothing on the road, but could see a row of red lights over a cornfield. Debbie was too frightened to go home, so they returned to her mother’s house in Hartford City, where Debbie was so shaken her family thought they may have to call the doctor. They didn’t do this, but did call the local sheriff. The call was answered by Deputy Edd Townsend, a state policeman who did not wish to be identified, and Garry Flatter-a local gas station owner, and wrecker driver. These three went to the scene, where they could see nothing but heard an unnerving high pitched sound. At about 2355hrs. Flatter and the policeman returned to the area, the officer going east, and Flatter taking a road 1.5km south of the original sighting. While travelling east on this road, Flatter noted the animals were making a mass exodus from the area, and he had to slow down for several rabbits, cats, a possum and a racoon. He then heard the high frequency sound again and, looking round, saw, standing in a field 6m back off from the road and about 23m from his location, two small creatures about 1.2m tall. They wore metallic suits that were so shiny that the reflection almost blinded him when he put his spotlight on them. He was able to see that they had either egg shaped heads or helmets, from which tapered a sort of “garden hose” which went into their lower chest. He could not detect any facial features and their arms seemed to lack hands. He also noted their strange thick boots (7.5 x 5.5cm). They seemed to jump up a metre without any effort, going up and down in slow motion, hardly ever moving their arms. They did this three times then took off in feet down position, flying off into the night. He tried to trace them with his spotlight, but could only see red tracer streaks coming down. Before the creatures took off, Flatter had become very uneasy. They next day Flatter, DeWane Donathan, Townsend and the state policeman returned to the scene where the Donathans had seen the creatures. As they had driven away that night, DeWane had thought he had seen the creatures go into a cornfield, and at a spot 15m back from that place, they found seven imprints, each about 2cm deep at the deepest point, which looked like rather squarish hoofprints. They measured 7.5cm across and were in alternate rows as if something had walked in the area. The field was dry and the men, who weighed an average of 200 pounds, made no imprint themselves.
- Donald Worley in Official UFO 1,5 p45 and APRO Bulletin 22, 2 p1 citing his own investigation
- Webb 1976 pp 16, 29 citing Worley and Hartford City News Times 23 October 1973
- Blum 1974b citing Hartford News Times op cit
- Fowler 1975 p325
- Lorenzen 1975 p 221)
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