Frodsham, Engl abduction report — January 27, 1978

Four young men, reportedly aged 17 to 19, said they encountered an unusual object near the River Weaver at Frodsham, Cheshire, in January 1978. They had been poaching in the meadowland called the Devil’s Garden. January 27 is commonly given, but January 24 and an unspecified January date also circulate; the stated time varies between accounts. The later published narrative describes a silver globe about fifteen feet across approaching along the river and settling in undergrowth with a rushing sound and blue or purplish glow. Two human-sized figures in silvery one-piece outfits, with lamp-like equipment on their heads, reportedly brought a metal framework around a motionless cow and moved its struts as if measuring it. The youths fled, one later reporting a pulling sensation and soreness. No independent medical finding is established here. An early Northern UFO News preview mentions three suited figures, while the fuller later FSR-derived account describes two. That discrepancy matters more than adding precise alien faces which the narrative does not securely describe. Later investigators expressed doubts without a retrieved, demonstrated confession. The illustration follows the two-figure version, includes all four witnesses and the globe, and treats the cow examination as an unverified claim.