Case description
André Narcy, a 48-year-old roadmender from Mertrud, claimed an encounter near Laneuville-à-Rémy while riding his motorcycle to work around 7:15 a.m. in early October 1954. He said an orange shape in a pasture first resembled canvas or a tent. Approaching within about 100 metres, he described a roughly ten-metre sphere with a spindle-like section underneath and a round entrance between them.
A short figure appeared covered in hair or a fur coat, with an orange waistband and fur-like cap; Narcy could not distinguish its face. When he called, it allegedly entered the object, which rose amid smoke or vapour. Narcy later returned with colleagues Louis Riel and Henri and claimed flattened, discoloured grass, missing dew and rounded marks. Later catalogues substantially compress or alter the sphere, spindle and clothing descriptions.
Contemporary October 18 follow-ups reported that Narcy admitted inventing the story. Le Haut-Marnais Républicain said investigators established he was elsewhere at the stated time and attributed the marks to plough cuts and livestock. Accounts differ on whether he wanted an excuse for lateness or simply a joke. These documented retractions outweigh presenting the story as an unresolved landing, and the plate labels its reconstructed scene accordingly.
