Hartford City unidentified-object report — October 22, 1973

At about 21:45 on 22 October 1973, a couple travelling with a baby reported two small, brightly reflective figures on a highway roughly nine miles east of Hartford City, Indiana. NICAP’s fuller chronology describes them as silver-suited, with square footwear projecting behind the heels. The figures appeared to bounce or move in a clumsy, slow-motion fashion as the car approached. The woman driving reportedly swerved around them rather than stopping. Farther along, the man took over and returned to the area near their home, but the figures had gone. A snake-like arrangement of lights was then seen over a neighbouring cornfield. Small impressions were reportedly found there the next day during a visit involving a witness and law officers. The lights were a later observation, not a clearly described landed craft beside the figures. Compiled descriptions also mention face-to-chest tubing, but precise facial features remain unclear. Don Worley’s investigations and David Webb’s catalogue group this episode with separate reports by Debbie Carney and, after midnight, wrecker operator Gary Flatter. Details from Flatter’s account, including animals crossing the road and figures rising into the air, should not be attributed to the couple. Skeptical catalogues have suggested costumed pranksters; the published summaries do not settle that question. The plate depicts the couple’s road encounter, with their baby safely inside the car, and does not add an unreported spacecraft.