Editing Ellsworth AFB hoax

At 10:59 on the evening of November 16 an alarm sounded from the Lima Nine missile site. Jenkins and Raeke, at tHe Lima Launch Control Facility 35 miles away, were dispatched to the scene. On their arrival Raeke set out to check the rear fence line. There he spotted a helmeted figure in a glowing green metallic suit. The figure pointed a weapon at Raeke's rifle and caused it to disintegrate, burning Raeke's hands and arms in the process. Raeke summoned Jenkins, who carried his companion back to their Security Alert Team vehicle. When Jenkins went to the rear fence line, he saw two similarly-garbed figures. He ordered them to halt, but when they ignored his command, he opened fire. His bullets struck one in the shoulder and the other in the helmet. The figures ran over a hill and were briefly lost to view. Jenkins pursued them and when he next saw them, they were entering a 20-foot-in-diameter saucer-shaped object, which shot away over the Horizon.

As Raeke was air-evacuated from the scene, investigators discovered that the missile's nuclear components had been stolen.

Enquirer reporters suspected a hoax but when they called Rapid City and Ellsworth to check on the names, they were surprised to learn that such persons did exist. Moreover, all were on active duty. The Enquirer launched an investigation, sending several reporters to Rapid City. Over the course of the next few days they found that although the individuals were real, the document inaccurately listed their job titles, the geography of the alleged incident was wrong (there was no nearby hill over which intruders could have run), Raeke had suffered no injuries, he and Jenkins did not even know each other, and no one (including Rapid City civilian residents and area ranchers) had heard anything about such an encounter. As one of the reporters, Bob Pratt, wrote in a subsequent account, "We found more than 20 discrepancies or errors in the report -wrong names, numbers, occupations, physical layouts and so on. Had the Security Option alert mentioned in the report taken place, it would have involved all security personnel at the base and everyone at the base and in Rapid City (Population 45,000 plus) would have known about it."