The so-called Pascagoula Abduction is, after the Hill Abduction, perhaps the best-known reported Abduction Phenomena, where the victims report being kidnapped by aliens.
On the evening of October 11, 1973, 42-year-old Charles Hickson and 19-year-old Calvin Parker–coworkers at a shipyard–were fishing in the Pascagoula River. They heard a whirring or whizzing sound, saw flashing blue lights, and reported a that domed, football-shaped aircraft some 100 feet across landed near them.
A door opened on the ship, they said, and three five-foot-tall creatures emerged and seized the men, and floated or levitated them into the craft. Both men reported being paralyzed and numb. Parker fainted due to fright.
On the ship, the men claimed they were examined by a mechanical eye that seemed to scan their bodies. The men were released after about 20 minutes.
Both men were shaken and terrified by what had happened. They claimed to have sat in a car for about 45 minutes, trying to calm themselves. Hickson drank some whiskey. After some discussion, they tried to report their story to officials at Kessler Air Force Base, but personnel told them the United States Air Force had nothing to do with UFO reports, and suggested the men notify police.
At about 10:30pm, Hickson and Parker arrived at the Jackson County, Mississippi Sheriff’s office. Sheriff Fred Diamond thought the men seemed sincere, and genuinely frightened and thought Parker was especially shaken, but harbored some doubt, due to Hickson’s admitted whiskey consumption.
Diamond interviewed the men, who related their story. Some reports state that Diamond left the two men alone in a room that was, unknown to Hickson or Parker, rigged with a hidden microphone. Diamond expected that if the pair had invented a story, they would change their attitude and conversation when alone. Hickson and Parker, however continued discussing the abduction and its effects upon them.
The next day, Parker and Hickson returned to their normal lives. Rumors of the abduction had spread. A company lawyer suspected the story might be worth a small fortune, and discussed the story widely. By October 13, reporters from a number of news agencies arrived to write accounts of the event, which received international attention. Dr J. Allen Hynek was among those who arrived to investigate.
Excitement and controversy continued for several weeks. Parker reported a nervous collapse or breakdown, and recovered at a Jones County, Mississippi community hospital.
Parker has avoided most public attention since the event. Hickson appeared on Dick Cavett’s talk show in January, 1974, and speaks at occasional UFO conferences.