Arc-Sous-Cicon, FR being encounter — July 17, 1967

Children near Arc-sous-Cicon in the Doubs region reported small figures among bushes on July 17, 1967. Accounts place the initial episode around 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. Five-year-old Patricia Bepoix returned frightened from the field; older children subsequently went back to investigate. The Atlas lists three figures, while some later retellings give four, so the count is not uniform across sources. Joëlle Ravier and another girl reportedly saw a short black-clad figure running with remarkable speed over rough ground. Descriptions include a protruding abdomen, very short legs and a short jacket or flap moving behind it. One investigation describes a normal-sized head covered by a dark, slightly reflective helmet, mask or hood. Unfamiliar singsong sounds were heard beyond the bushes, but no words or exchange with the children were established. Yellowed or scorched-looking areas of grass, an odor and small impressions were later reported. A HUMCAT correction also mentions an agricultural worker claiming earlier observations on July 14–15. Those additions should not be merged into a single continuous encounter. No craft was seen during the children’s principal episode; a later light or fireball context does not establish a vehicle connection. Joël Mesnard’s GEPA investigation and later summaries disagree on details. The plate follows the dark clothing and rapid movement without inventing visible alien anatomy or a spacecraft. The witnesses’ ages, fear and reported observations are preserved without repeating the ethnic comparison used in some historical descriptions.