Travis Walton Abduction
November 5th 1975. Snowflake, Arizona USA
22 year old Travis Walton in 1975
Whilst driving home in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, six forestry workers noticed a yellowish glow coming through the trees. The crew initially believed it was a campfire or headlights from a broken-down truck, but as they broke through into a clearing they were confronted by a shimmering saucer shaped object hovering 10-15 ft over the ground. The object emitted a high frequency buzzing sound underlaid with a deep base that the men could feel vibrating through their bodies. Twenty-two-year-old Travis Walton left the truck to investigate but was suddenly hit by a beam of blueish green light that lifted him into the air, arms and legs spread taut, before throwing him back to the ground. His friends, believing Travis was dead, fled in the truck. They later returned to the abduction site to search for Travis but found no sign of him.
Responding to their emergency call, Deputy Sheriff Chuck Ellison recalled that the men appeared very distressed but showed no signs of intoxication. Upon recounting their incredible story, they were initially suspected of murdering Walton, hiding his body and colluding in a fake alien abduction story - despite passing multiple polygraph tests. After days of searching the area with dogs and helicopters, investigations still yielded no evidence as to Travis’s whereabouts. On the fifth day, Travis’s brother-in-law Granten Nash received a phone call from Travis from a payphone.
He had woken up on the side of the road near Herber, Arizona, as the strange object flew off over his head. He had five days of beard growth and had lost twelve pounds. Travis had virtually no memory of the days previous and believed that it was still the same evening as the abduction. After some time he was interviewed by hypnosis specialist Dr James Harder, who used regression therapy to allow Travis to recount his memories.
Artistic interpretation of Travis Walton’s abduction on the 5th November 1975, and front cover of the book “Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience” written by Travis Walton himself
Article in the National Enquirer detailing the events of the abduction
“It was a clearly defined metallic disc outlined against the sky and fantastic in the grandeur of it. All the guys in the crew – as frightening as it was – also describe it as being beautiful, it was so perfect.”
According to Walton, he regained consciousness in what he initially believed to be a hospital room. He was in a great deal of pain and found it difficult to move or focus his mind. There were two short figures leaning over him with underdeveloped features and no hair. He claims that he lashed out in fear, attempting to grab a glasslike instrument at his bedside to defend himself. The beings quickly left the room, allowing Travis to flee down a very narrow, dimly lit corridor and into a room with a chair and what appeared to be a control panel. The walls of the room were clear and he was able to see the night sky. At this point, a human looking man wearing a red helmet entered and silently led Travis back to the room he had woken up in. There were more humanlike figures in this room, all of which remained silent. They lay him back onto the bed and put a clear plastic mask over his head, at which point he lost consciousness again.
Cross-section of one the trees in the area of the alleged abduction site, showing a visible difference in growth rate
To this day, all men maintain their stories of the encounter, and all have passed multiple polygraph tests. Edward Gelb (President of the American Polygraph Association) determined that the probability of six people telling the same story, passing the polygraph test, and not telling the truth was a million to 1.
In December 2014 investigators returned to the alleged abduction site. They found that the trees surrounding the site were growing at a much higher rate that usual. The average yearly growth rate in the years after 1975 was 36 times that of the previous years. Additionally, this increased growth rate appeared directional, in that the greatest growth could be seen on the sides of the trees facing the site. Similar effects of increased growth have been seen in Chernobyl as a result of exposure to radiation.