Rhayader, Wales abduction report — December 24, 1909

According to a later account set near Rhayader, Wales, on Christmas Eve 1909, eleven-year-old Oliver Thomas left a farmhouse gathering shortly before 11 p.m. to collect water. Family and visitors remained inside while he went toward the well across snow-covered ground. Moments later, they reportedly heard him cry out. People took a lantern outside and called for him, but could not find him. The story describes his voice seeming to come from above them, while a trail of footprints led toward the well and stopped abruptly. A bucket was said to be found farther on. The account ends with the boy’s disappearance and the unsuccessful search. It does not describe anyone seeing a craft, an occupant or the physical act of his being carried away. The detailed farmhouse narrative belongs to the later circulated Rhayader story, rather than a statement from the missing child.