Betty and Barney Hill — Reporting to Authorities
| Incident Name: | Betty and Barney Hill Abduction Case |
|---|---|
| Incident Date: | September 19, 1961 |
| Location: | White Mountains section of U.S. Route 3 |
| State/Provence: | New Hampshire |
| City/Town : | south of Lancaster and Colebrook |
| Country : | USA |
| Shape : | Disc Shape |
| Alien Race : | Greys |
| Longitude : | September 19, 1961 |
| Case Files : | Betty and Barney Hill Case File |
Betty and Barney Hill — Reporting to Authorities
[edit | edit source]Betty's NICAP Report
[edit | edit source]Two days after the incident, on September 21, 1961, Betty Hill wrote a letter to the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) — a civilian UFO research organization based in Washington, D.C., that had a reputation for rigorous investigation. Betty had read about NICAP at her local library in the days following the incident and considered them a credible organization to approach.
Betty's letter described the sighting in detail but did not mention the missing time or any abduction-related content — those elements were either not recalled at this stage or were not consciously available to her. NICAP referred the Hills to investigator Walter Webb.
Barney's Pease AFB Report
[edit | edit source]On the same day, September 21, Barney called Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth to report the sighting. His call was received and treated seriously. Major Paul Henderson of the 100th Bomb Wing was assigned to investigate and conducted a telephone interview with Barney that day.
Major Henderson's Air Intelligence Report
[edit | edit source]Major Henderson subsequently filed an Air Intelligence Report documenting the Hills' sighting. Key elements of the report:
- Date and location of the sighting
- Description of the aerial object as a large, structured craft with rows of lights
- Duration of the observation
- The Hills' credentials as reliable, rational observers
- Classification: Unidentified
This report entered the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book records. The Pease AFB Air Intelligence Report is one of the few contemporaneous government documents that corroborate the Hills' experience and confirms that the Air Force took their account seriously enough to file a formal intelligence report.
Walter Webb's NICAP Investigation
[edit | edit source]On September 29, 1961 — ten days after the incident — NICAP investigator Walter Webb drove to Portsmouth and conducted a six-hour interview session with the Hills. Webb was a professional astronomer at the Hayden Planetarium in Boston, which gave his assessment particular scientific credibility.
Webb's investigation included:
- Extended interviews with both Hills separately and together
- Examination of the physical anomalies on the car (the magnetic patches were still present and demonstrable)
- Analysis of the timeline and route
- Comparison of the object description to known aerial phenomena
Webb's assessment, filed with NICAP, concluded that the Hills were credible witnesses who had experienced a genuine anomalous encounter. He specifically noted that:
- The timeline discrepancy could not be explained by normal driving time
- The magnetic effect on the car was real and demonstrable
- Both Hills were psychologically stable and showed no indication of fabrication
Webb later described the case as one of the most compelling he had investigated in his career.
Radar Correlation
[edit | edit source]Subsequent research by NICAP investigators found a reference in official records to a radar contact at Pease AFB on the night of September 19, 1961, consistent in timing with the Hills' sighting location. The correlation between the Hills' reported sighting and this radar return has been discussed in the UFO research literature, though the evidence is described by researchers as inconclusive — the radar contact exists in the record but cannot be definitively linked to the Hills' object.
