Travis Walton Abduction
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Logger Travis Walton, 20, approached a glowing disc hovering above the forest floor while riding in a work truck with six crew members. He was struck by a beam of light and rendered unconscious. His six colleagues fled in panic; Walton was not recovered at the scene and was reported missing to local law enforcement. He reappeared five days later at a gas station near Heber, Arizona, physically exhausted and with a beard consistent with five days of growth. All six crew members took and passed polygraph examinations regarding their observation of the beam event and the craft. The case is notable for having the largest number of independent witnesses to the initial beam-strike event of any documented CE4 case.
Key Facts
- ›Date: November 5, 1975, approximately 6:10 PM MST
- ›Location: Turkey Springs area, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, near Heber, Arizona
- ›Logging crew: Travis Walton (20), Mike Rogers (crew foreman, 28), and five other crew members - seven total
- ›The crew was driving home after a USFS timber-thinning contract workday
- ›Walton exited the truck and approached a disc-shaped craft hovering approximately 15 feet above the ground
- ›Walton was struck by a beam of bluish-green light and thrown approximately 10 feet backward
- ›Crew fled in the truck; returned minutes later but found no trace of Walton
- ›Walton reported missing to Navajo County Sheriff's deputies that evening
- ›Sheriff Marlin Gillespie launched a search operation; no trace found in five days of searching
- ›November 10, 1975: Walton's brother-in-law received a phone call from Walton at a gas station in Heber, AZ
- ›Walton was found disoriented, dehydrated, and with a beard consistent with five days of growth
- ›All six crew members took polygraph examinations administered by Cy Gilson (Arizona DPS polygraph specialist) on November 10, 1975; five passed, one requested a reschedule
- ›Walton took and passed a polygraph administered by Dr. Jack McCarthy in 1993
- ›The case was adapted into the 1993 film Fire in the Sky (Paramount Pictures); Walton has noted the film altered many details