Near Evansville, IN being encounter — June 1923

Norman Massie's account concerns a farm near Mount Erie in Wayne County, Illinois, although the imported record places it near Evansville, Indiana. In a 1998 Evansville Courier article by Len Wells, the retired teacher, then 85, recalled letting the family's horses into a pasture in June 1923 when he was ten. Looking back, he said he saw a metallic object with lights around it and approached to within about 50 feet. The object reportedly stood on three legs and had a dome which he compared with melted glass. Inside were five blond, humanlike men about four feet tall. One sat in a chair and was addressed as the commander; the others moved back and forth. Massie said he understood their speech and heard that repairs were complete. After roughly five minutes, the craft hovered, retracted its legs, rose about 200 feet and sped west. Massie said he told his parents immediately but was discouraged from discussing it, and did not tell his Air Force officer son until 1990. That later family response is not Air Force confirmation of the event. The published recollection came about 75 years afterward. The newspaper mentions evening, while catalogue retellings give morning; the precise day and time remain uncertain. The plate uses the corrected Illinois locality.