Bebedouro, Brz abduction report — May 4, 1969

José Antônio da Silva left Belo Horizonte for a fishing trip on May 3, 1969. He travelled towards Pedro Leopoldo by bus, continued on foot to Bebedouro in the municipality of Matozinhos, and camped beside a lagoon around midnight. On May 4, after fishing through the morning and eating lunch, he noticed movement and heard a deep cry at about 3 p.m. A green-centred, red-edged beam struck his legs. They cramped and went numb, dropping him to his knees without a visible burn. Two small masked figures dragged him through the marshy vegetation, past a third armed figure, towards a waiting craft. He described occupants about 1.2 metres tall in light-coloured articulated suits, with rigid masks connected by tubes to containers on their backs. The craft consisted of a grey upright cylinder between wider black disc-like platforms. Inside a small square compartment, he was placed between two occupants on a hard bench, fitted with a heavy helmet, and bound around his feet and waist. A third occupant operated levers. Humming, acceleration, breathing difficulty and painfully bright pulsating light accompanied a prolonged journey; at one stage the craft seemed to turn sideways while the seats adjusted. After a landing, the helmet’s eyeholes were covered and he was carried into a much larger room. When his view was restored, he saw a slightly taller apparent leader and eventually ten or twelve similar figures. Their uncovered faces had pale skin, large greenish eyes, prominent noses, long reddish hair and heavy beards. Four naked, motionless human men lay on a low platform, their eyes closed and bodies apparently rigid. He saw no wounds and did not know what had happened to them. Pictures of animals, vegetation, buildings and vehicles covered one wall; an unfamiliar machine reminded him of a racing car. The occupants unpacked his fishing bundle, kept samples of duplicated items and retained his identity card. One demonstrated a beam weapon against a wall. Through drawings, gestures and unfamiliar speech, the leader appeared to ask him to obtain military weapons. Da Silva refused. After drinking a bitter green liquid from a hollowed stone-like cube, he felt stronger. Further drawings suggested three years gathering information on Earth followed by seven years studying with them, eventually serving as their guide. He refused again and prayed with his rosary; the leader seized its crucifix. During the ensuing discussion, da Silva reported seeing a separate human figure whom the others apparently did not notice: a fair-haired, bearded man in a long dark robe with a white cord belt. The man spoke Portuguese, reassured him and gave a message he said he must withhold until instructed otherwise. When investigators asked whether this was Jesus, da Silva said it was not. A return journey followed. After the helmet was removed, he became only partly conscious and sensed himself being dragged outside. At dawn he found his bundle beside a stream, drank repeatedly and caught fish. A passer-by told him he was about 32 kilometres from Vitória and that it was Friday, May 9: roughly four and a half days had passed. Exhausted and limping, he initially feared returning without identification or an acceptable explanation. He eventually accepted a lift towards Colatina and reached a railway station, where an employee fed him and helped him board a train. On May 10, railway security agent Geraldo Lopes da Silva questioned him on arrival in Belo Horizonte, initially suspecting his bundle contained stolen copper. After hearing his account, the agent contacted Rádio Guarani and his military unit. Major Célio Ferreira arranged rest and care before he rejoined his worried family. CICOANI investigators first interviewed him on May 11, conducted further interviews and reconstructed the scene at Bebedouro a week after his return.