Reims, FR being encounter — October 17, 1954

An anonymous man reportedly described an encounter beside the canal near the Saint-Charles grounds at Reims on the evening of October 17,1954. Later researchers traced the story to an alleged reader’s letter in L’Union of October 23–24. Sider noted that he could not find it in the archived edition he examined, leaving the original letter’s publication unresolved. Returning from fishing, the man said he approached a bright light and saw an elongated metallic object approximately eight metres long and two metres high resting on grass. Three small, reportedly hairy figures emerged and moved sideways. A fourth, shorter figure followed, with lower legs that appeared transparent. When he moved closer, they rushed back inside while he felt unable to move under a red light which turned yellow. The object then departed toward Tinqueux. The fuller HUMCAT-derived account therefore has four figures, despite the imported three-figure shorthand. No independently retrieved physical evidence, identified witness interview or verified image establishes the episode. The plate brings the representative fisherman, elongated craft and four small forms together as a sequence composite. Their faces remain unresolved, and the fourth figure’s unusual lower legs are treated as a reported visual impression.