Salisbury, MD being encounter — May 2, 1972

William G. Lestin and his wife reported a landing near Salisbury, Maryland, at about 11 p.m. on 2 May 1972 while driving toward a motel. They saw a luminous disc settle approximately one hundred yards away. Lestin left the car and approached to within roughly fifty feet. He described a round object supported on tripod landing gear, with two short figures moving beneath it. The figures were estimated at four feet tall and broadly humanlike, but their arms reportedly hung unusually low, nearly reaching the ground. They wore helmets and appeared covered in a glazed grey material. The available account does not resolve their faces or establish whether the covering was clothing, protective equipment or something else. While Lestin watched, a door opened and a ramp lowered. The two figures returned inside, after which the object rose with a brilliant red light. The observation reportedly lasted more than five minutes and left Lestin severely frightened. The account entered HUMCAT through Richard LaPorte’s report in the 1975 Argosy UFO Annual. His wife’s presence at the initial observation does not necessarily mean she saw every detail he reported after approaching. The plate shows their different positions, the two helmeted figures, tripod-supported object and ramp without adding unreported alien facial features.