The Bebedouro Case
A young soldier went fishing at a lagoon in Minas Gerais, and turned up four days later, hundreds of kilometres away.
What was reported
On the afternoon of 4 May 1969, José Antônio da Silva, a 24-year-old soldier, was fishing at a lagoon near Bebedouro when, he said, small figures in metallic suits and helmets took him to a tall, cylindrical craft.
He described a journey and a meeting with beings with long reddish hair. More than four days later, he found himself near Vitória, in Espírito Santo, hundreds of kilometres away, with no memory of how he got there. Researchers interviewed him at length.
Explanations offered
Sceptics suggest that da Silva experienced a period of memory loss or a dissociative episode, and that the story took shape afterwards. Investigators who met him found him sincere. How he travelled so far remains unexplained.
- When
- 4–9 May 1969
- Where
- Bebedouro, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Witnesses
- Soldier José Antônio da Silva
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.