Passapatanzy unidentified light report — May 15, 1971

Fifteen-year-old Michael D. reported a landing near Passapatanzy in May 1971. The catalogue assigns May 15 at about 10 p.m.; some reproductions use the less precise late-May description. Passapatanzy is in Virginia, east of Fredericksburg, despite the West Virginia label repeated in the imported record. John Carlson and Bruce Maccabee investigated the case for NICAP. Michael was crossing a wet grassy field alone after his camping companions had left. He said a bright circular object passed over high-tension wires and landed about one hundred feet away. It appeared silver, taller than wide, with a circumferential walkway and red and white lights. A lowered doorway revealed a huge, hunched figure with long arms and reflective clothing. It carried a glowing object, described as a box in catalogue versions and a sphere in Maccabee's recollection. Accounts differ over the ending. HUMCAT describes the boy sending his dog toward the figure, which retreated before departure. Maccabee emphasizes Michael blacking out and his friends finding him confused in the grass; the dog returned later. Seven ground holes were reportedly found the next day. A separate family sighting followed a day or two later and should not make its witnesses observers of the original occupant. The plate keeps Michael as the sole witness to that phase.