Hialeah, FL abduction report — January 3, 1979

On January 3, 1979, Filiberto Cárdenas was traveling near Hialeah, Florida, with his wife and another couple when the car stopped. He and his friend got out to examine the engine. A loud buzzing sound came from above, and the women described a large, dark object over the vehicle. According to the group, Cárdenas rose from the ground toward the object while the others were unable to prevent it. The object then departed. His companions reported the disappearance to police, and a search followed. Cárdenas was found some hours later, roughly ten miles from the original location, disoriented but able to be reunited with his family. The case attracted investigators, including J. Allen Hynek, and was later described in UFO Contact from Undersea by Virgilio Sánchez-Ocejo and Wendelle Stevens. Cárdenas subsequently reported additional contact experiences and an underwater setting. Those accounts concern later experiences, following the January 3 stopped-car episode witnessed by his companions.