Brush Creek, CA being encounter — June 20, 1953

On June 20, 1953, prospector John Black reported another appearance of a small saucer near the junction of local creeks outside Brush Creek, California. He and partner John Van Allen had already described earlier sightings. The June incident was placed around 6:30 p.m., while Black was in the woods above the water. Black said he initially mistook a small person beside the creek for a boy fishing. Approaching, he saw the figure collecting water in a shiny metal bucket near a metallic disc. In the fuller account obtained by Paul Spade, the visitor looked like a short, broad-shouldered man with brown hair, green trousers, jacket, tie and cap. After a noise alerted him, the figure returned to the craft, which rose and departed. Later summaries changed that ordinary clothing into a spacesuit and made both prospectors simultaneous close witnesses. The story attracted a crowd expecting another visit on July 20, but none occurred. An Air Force inquiry found no corroboration and closed the case as a hoax. The Atlas retains the June account while distinguishing Black’s claimed observation from the later publicity and rewritten details.