Patapsco St. Park, MD being encounter — March 22, 1978

Gary Oickle, 24, his brother David, 22, Barry Smith, 22, and Ken Cabot, 25, were camping near the Baltimore and Ohio railroad tunnel in Patapsco State Park on 22 March 1978. At about 11 p.m., Barry and David, standing away from the campfire, noticed a flat-looking object which disappeared over a ridge. They returned to tell their companions when another similar object appeared from the north. The second object moved slowly southeast above the trees and passed over the four men at an estimated 200–250 feet. They described a large triangle with three white corner lights, a blinking red light on top and large windows. Two thought its surface looked metallic or bluish-grey. Three believed they could distinguish a shadow or silhouette at the windows. They heard a soft sound compared with quiet wind or a distant waterfall and watched for approximately 15–20 seconds before trees obscured it. Joe and Doris Graziano's APRO Bulletin account records differing size estimates and disagreement over a later star-like light, which some thought could be a helicopter. The men reportedly felt curious rather than frightened and called toward the object. No detailed occupant anatomy was resolved. The plate combines the first distant passage and the closer triangle as a labelled sequence composite; its window figure remains an uncertain reported shadow.