ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS CLAIMS OF ALIEN ABDUCTION...
TWO MEN FISHING BY THE PASCAGOULA RIVER.
BOTH OF THEM WAS VERY SHOOK UP.
GOT PICKED UP BY THE UFO
SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED TO THEM.
POLICE INTERROGATION RECORDINGS, LONG KEPT SECRET,
CAPTURE THE FIRST MOMENTS OF THEIR ORDEAL.
A YOUNG MAN IN THE WOODS
CAR-JACKED BY A GIANT, REPTILIAN BEAST.
YOU COULD SEE IT WELL ENOUGH IN THE MOONLIGHT
TO SEE THAT IT WAS A HUMANOID-TYPE FIGURE.
FLORIDA'S FOUL-SMELLING SWAMP CREATURE.
ALL OF A SUDDEN, I SEE THESE EYES LOOKING AT ME...
THESE GLOWING EYES...
AND I JUST KIND OF WENT, "AM I REALLY SEEING THIS?"
AND A NEW VIDEO OF THE SKUNK APE,
BROADCAST ON TV FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.
IT'S HUGE, ISN'T IT?
THEN IT STOOD UP AND I COULD SEE IT AGAIN.
YOU FEEL IT IN YOUR STOMACH,
'CAUSE YOU KNEW YOU WERE LOOKING AT SOMETHING.
THE GREEN SWAMP IN CENTRAL FLORIDA...
MILES OF MARSHLAND,
DOZENS OF DANGEROUS PREDATORS,
AND, AMONG THE GATORS, SNAKES, AND WILD HOGS,
A MYSTERIOUS MONSTER IS RUMORED TO LURK.
THE SWAMPS OF FLORIDA COULD PRESERVE A POPULATION
THAT COULD EASILY BE UNKNOWN TO US.
THE INDIANS HAVE SAID SO...
THERE'S TRADITIONS THAT GO BACK 1,000 YEARS.
THIS SWAMP PROVIDES THE EXACT KIND OF TERRITORY
THAT A SKUNK APE WOULD LIKE TO LIVE WITHIN.
IT'S IN A RURAL AREA, THERE ARE NO SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS
LIKE DISNEY WORLD OR OTHER THINGS,
AND IT IS DENSE, AS FAR AS THE FOREST GOES.
NOT A PLACE, NORMALLY, THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD GO.
YOU KNOW, THE TERM THAT YOU HEAR, "SKUNK APE"...
I'VE MADE FUN OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN IT.
I SAW IT, SO...
I DON'T DOUBT IT ANYMORE.
RUMORS OF THE APE-LIKE CREATURE CAME ALIVE IN THE 1960s
AFTER A RASH OF SIGHTINGS ALONG THE EDGE OF THE EVERGLADES.
WHAT IS THAT SMELL?
IS THAT THE BABY?
NOPE. ALL CLEAN, HERE.
THE MONSTER'S MOST NOTORIOUS FEATURE?
ITS AWFUL SMELL.
A VERY FOUL STENCH IS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CREATURE.
SO FOUL, FEW THINGS COMPARE.
ROADKILL,
A WET DEER THAT ROLLED IN DUNG.
THE SMELL'S PRETTY NAUSEATING.
A HORRIBLE STENCH.
IN THE PAST TWO DECADES ALONE,
OVER 100 SIGHTINGS,
MAKING FLORIDA THE SECOND HOTTEST SPOT
FOR HAIRY HOMINIDS IN AMERICA,
AFTER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
THIS CREATURE IS ALMOST HALF APE, HALF HUMAN.
IT WALKS LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN UP ON ITS TWO LEGS,
BUT IT'S COVERED IN HAIR LIKE AN APE.
SOME BIG FOOT ARE PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE,
OTHERS ARE VERY AGGRESSIVE,
AND THIS FITS THE SOUTHEASTERN MODEL OF THE SKUNK APE.
COMPARED TO BIG FOOT, IT'S A LITTLE BIT SMALLER,
AND IT'S SAID THAT BECAUSE OF THE SWAMP AREA HERE,
THE ANIMAL IS A LITTLE BIT MORE AQUATIC,
IT HAS BEEN SEEN GOING THROUGH THE WATER.
THE LEGEND DATES BACK HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
IN THE EARLY 1900s, DISCOVERIES OF GIANT BONES AND SKULLS,
SOME UNEARTHED IN FLORIDA,
FUELED SPECULATION THAT A RACE OF HAIRY, BIPEDAL APES
MIGHT STILL EXIST SOMEWHERE IN THE SWAMPS.
IF THE SKUNK APE WAS OUT THERE, NO ONE REALLY KNEW.
ONE MAN WAS DETERMINED TO FIND OUT.
RETIRED ARMY M.P. ROBERT ROBINSON
IS A TEACHER AND FATHER OF FOUR.
BEING IN THE MILITARY
HAS HELPED ME WITH ATTENTION TO DETAIL...
I WAS IN MILITARY POLICE,
SO I QUESTIONED EVERYTHING THAT I SAW.
ROBINSON'S INVESTIGATIVE EYE WOULD BE PUT TO THE TEST.
AND HE ENLISTED HIS OWN FAMILY
TO HELP HIM SEARCH FOR THE BEAST.
MY WHOLE NIGHT'S ADVENTURE ACTUALLY STARTED
WHEN I GOT WIND OF A SIGHTING THAT HAD TAKEN PLACE
BY A HUNTER OUT THERE.
HE HAD SEEN THE SKUNK APE.
WHAT DO YOU THINK'S OUT THERE, DAD?
I DON'T KNOW, BUT WE'LL FIND OUT.
SO, GRABBED UP THE FAMILY AND WE CAME OUT THERE
WHERE THIS CREATURE WAS SIGHTED.
THIS IS KIND OF CRAZY, DAD.
IN THE WINTER, THE SWAMP GOES DARK EARLY.
LET'S MEET UP IN ABOUT 20 MINUTES, OKAY?
WE'LL GO THIS WAY. GIVE ME A CALL ON THE RADIO.
I BROKE THE FAMILY UP INTO TWO GROUPS.
I HAD MY WIFE AND MY STEPDAUGHTER...
THEY WERE GONNA GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE MAIN ROAD.
ROBINSON AND HIS SON WENT DOWN A DIFFERENT TRAIL.
IT WAS PITCH-DARK.
I DON'T LIKE TO USE FLASHLIGHTS.
I LIKE TO KEEP IT AS DARK AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
I HAD A NIGHT-VISION CAMERA THAT I JUST GOT AHOLD OF,
AND I WANTED TO SEE HOW IT WORKED.
SMELL THAT?
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, WE GET A WHIFF OF SOMETHING
THAT SMELLS LIKE A DEAD ANIMAL.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, I NOTICED EVERYTHING JUST WENT QUIET.
USUALLY, YOU CAN HEAR CRICKETS,
YOU CAN HEAR SOME KIND OF MOVEMENT GOING ON.
IT JUST GOT DEAD QUIET.
SO QUIET ROBINSON WASN'T AWARE
WHEN HIS SON DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW.
SON?
SON!
SO, I'M SITTING THERE, DEBATING WHAT TO DO,
'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHERE MY SON IS.
SON?!
THEN I HEARD SOMETHING MOVING OFF INTO THE WOODS,
AND IT SOUNDED REALLY LARGE.
SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING ON TWO LEGS MOVING,
AND IT SOUNDED VERY HEAVY COMPARED TO ME.
WHATEVER IT WAS, IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS GETTING CLOSER.
I PULLED UP MY NIGHT-VISION GOGGLES
AND I POINTED IN THE DIRECTION OF IT
AND I SEE THESE EYES LOOKING AT ME,
AND I JUST KIND OF WENT, "AM I REALLY SEEING THIS?"
I'M LOOKING AT IT, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN
I SEE IT BLINK AND A CHILL WENT DOWN MY SPINE.
CUT OFF FROM HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER,
HIS SON MISSING,
ROBINSON WAS NOW CLOSE TO PANIC.
THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT NOW...
I'M SEEING SOMETHING REAL.
I'M HEARING THIS CREATURE COMING CLOSER
AND TRYING TO LOOK AROUND FOR MY SON.
ALL OF HIS SENSES WERE ALERT TO THE HORRIBLE PROSPECT...
THE MONSTER WAS RIGHT THERE.
I COULD HEAR IT BREATHING.
INSTINCT WAS SAYING, "THERE'S SOMETHING BIG OUT THERE."
ONLY, ROBINSON CAN'T LEAVE,
NOT WITHOUT KNOWING HIS SON IS SAFE.
AND THEN I HEAR A NOISE BEHIND ME,
AND I'M THINKING, "GREAT, THERE'S ANOTHER ONE."
IT'S MY SON.
AND I COULD SEE THE LOOK ON HIS FACE.
DAD, WHAT IS THAT?
I DON'T KNOW.
IT STARTS MOVING AGAIN, TOWARD US.
I DIDN'T HAVE A GUN OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
MY SON KIND OF LEANS OVER, HE GOES,
"MAYBE WE OUGHT TO LEAVE NOW."
WE START BACKING UP A LITTLE BIT.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF THIS ANIMAL WAS GONNA COME OUT AT US.
AND THEN I HEAR A SCREAM.
I'VE NEVER HEARD A SCREAM LIKE THAT BEFORE.
I'VE HEARD THE PANTHERS, I KNOW WHAT A BEAR SOUNDS LIKE,
BUT THAT WAS SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.
RUNNING TOWARDS HIS CAR, ROBINSON PRAYED
HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER WERE ALREADY THERE.
I WAS WORRIED ABOUT EVERYBODY OUT THERE.
I LOOKED OVER AND I COULD SEE
MY WIFE AND MY DAUGHTER STANDING OUTSIDE OF THE CAR.
WE WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!
AND THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN,
WE HEARD THE SCREAM AGAIN, AND IT WAS LOUD.
IT ECHOED ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE SWAMP.
THAT WAS THE SKUNK APE.
IT LEFT A LASTING IMPRESSION ON ME.
IT'S SOMETHING I'LL NEVER FORGET.
SKUNK APE HAS A HABIT OF SURPRISING THE UNWARY.
A JUNIOR SCOUT LEADER DECIDED TO TRY A SHORTCUT
ON THE WAY BACK TO CAMP.
THAT TRAIL LED DIRECTLY TO THE BULKY BEAST OF THE SWAMP GRASS.
IT STOOD UP TO BE AT LEAST MY HEIGHT, PERHAPS MORE.
I FOUND THE CREATURE STARING ME STRAIGHT IN THE EYE.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
50 MILES NORTH OF THE GREEN SWAMP,
GILCHRIST ISLAND,
ANOTHER FLORIDA WILDERNESS.
BLACKWATER CANALS CARPETED WITH LILY PADS,
SHROUDED BY CYPRESS AND PALMETTO TREES...
PERFECT COVER FOR A CUNNING CRYPTID.
THAT TERRAIN IS VERY THICK, DENSE, HARD TO NAVIGATE...
NOT A PLACE, NORMALLY, THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD GO.
IN MARCH, 1961,
CHARLES VOLZ WAS ON GILCHRIST ISLAND.
STAY IN YOUR TENT!
HE WAS A JUNIOR SCOUT LEADER...
HEY, LIGHTS OUT, GUYS.
...WITH ADVANCED WILDERNESS SKILLS...
STAY IN YOUR TENT. ...AND BADGES TO PROVE IT.
NOTHING COULD HAVE PREPARED HIM
FOR WHAT HE WAS ABOUT TO ENCOUNTER.
WHILE EVERYBODY ELSE HAD BEDDED DOWN FOR THE NIGHT, ABOUT 11:30,
I DECIDE TO TAKE MY EVENING WALK,
AS I ALWAYS DID, DOWN THE CENTER TRACK OF THE ISLAND.
IT WAS A WONDERFULLY COOL EVENING,
NO RAIN AND A LOT OF MOONLIGHT.
ABOUT HALFWAY BACK, I DECIDED TO TAKE A SHORTCUT
AND CAME UP ON A CLEARING,
AND IN THE CLEARING I APPROACHED A STUMP.
I HAD PLANNED TO EITHER WALK AROUND IT OR STEP OVER IT.
IT STOOD UP TO BE AT LEAST MY HEIGHT, PERHAPS MORE.
I HAD NO IDEA, REALLY, WHERE I WAS.
IT STOOD UP, LOOKING DIRECTLY AT ME,
AND IT WAS COVERED WITH HAIR,
SMELLING LIKE A FOUL ODOR OF ROADKILL.
I DO NOT DO ANYTHING.
I STAND PERFECTLY STILL,
MOSTLY BECAUSE I COULDN'T MOVE ANYWAY.
I WAS PRETTY FRIGHTENED AT THE TIME.
IN 1961, FEW HAD EVER STOOD
A HAIR'S BREADTH AWAY FROM SKUNK APE.
AND WHILE I LOOKED AT THIS CREATURE,
IT VERY SLOWLY MOVED ITS BODY...
THE WHOLE TIME KEPT ITS EYES STRAIGHT ON ME...
AND WHEN ITS BODY GOT AROUND TO A POSITION WHERE IT COULD RUN,
IT DID SO.
ABOUT TWO OR THREE BOUNDS, IT HAD CLEARED THAT 30-FOOT AREA...
AND I COULD HEAR IT FOR QUITE SOME TIME
IN THE PALMETTOS BEFORE THAT SOUND STOPPED.
VOLZ REPORTED THE ENCOUNTER TO THE SCOUT MASTER.
HIS STORY WAS DISMISSED.
I STAYED AWAKE MOST OF THE NIGHT.
I HAD CONCERNS ABOUT THE FACT THAT
THERE WERE UP TO 20 OTHER BOYS,
MUCH YOUNGER THAN MYSELF, ON THE PROPERTY.
SOME 50 YEARS LATER,
VOLZ STILL PONDERS THE DETAILS OF HIS MYSTERIOUS ENCOUNTER.
HE ALWAYS ARRIVES AT THE SAME CONCLUSION.
LOOKING BACK NOW, I'D HAVE TO RULE OUT
BEAR, HUNTER, AND THE OTHER ITEMS,
AND I ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT
I WAS LOOKING RIGHT DEAD AT A SKUNK APE.
OVER MANY DECADES,
FLORIDA RESIDENTS HAVE CLAIMED TO SEE THE ELUSIVE SKUNK APE.
FINALLY, ONE MAN MAY HAVE CAPTURED THE CREATURE ON VIDEO.
60 MILES SOUTH OF TAMPA,
MYAKKA CITY SITS ALONGSIDE
ONE OF FLORIDA'S LARGEST WILDERNESS PRESERVES.
OCCASIONALLY, SOMETHING MONSTROUS
EMERGES FROM THE MARSH GRASS.
I LIVE ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE MYAKKA STATE PARK,
AND I TRAVEL THROUGH THERE SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK.
ON ONE OF THOSE TRIPS, MIKE FALCONER AND HIS SON
SAW THE CREATURE BELIEVED TO BE SKUNK APE
AND CAUGHT IT ON VIDEO.
MARCH 2, 2013.
THIS WAS A SATURDAY NIGHT, WE WERE HEADING TO DINNER.
THERE WAS A TRUCK PULLED OVER LOOKING AT SOMETHING.
I WAS JUST GONNA GO AROUND THEM.
THERE'S SOMETHING OUT THERE!
AND I JUST HAPPENED TO GLANCE OVER WHERE THEY WERE LOOKING.
THAT'S WHEN I SAW IT AND PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY.
MY SON AND I BOTH SAW SOMETHING
WALKING THROUGH THIS TAN, DEAD GRASS.
WE HAD OUR CELLPHONES IN OUR POCKETS,
SO I STARTED VIDEOTAPING IT,
BECAUSE I KNEW I WAS LOOKING AT SOMETHING.
IT WAS A GOOD DISTANCE.
YOU COULD SEE SOMETHING WALKING,
YOU COULD MAKE IT OUT WITH THE NAKED EYE.
IT'S HUGE, THOUGH. IT'S HUGE, ISN'T IT?
YEAH. YEAH, THERE. WOW.
YEAH, YOU SEE IT? HUGE.
IT LOOKS ALMOST LIKE A PERSON.
WE WANTED TO GET CLOSER,
SO WE STARTED TO RUN TOWARDS IT.
HEY, WAIT!
I GOT A GOOD LITTLE WAYS OUT THERE.
THAT'S WHEN IT STOPPED, TURNED, SQUATTED BEHIND THE GRASS...
THERE HE IS.
...THEN IT STOOD UP AND I COULD SEE IT AGAIN.
YOU FEEL IT IN YOUR STOMACH,
'CAUSE YOU KNEW YOU WERE LOOKING AT SOMETHING.
I'M GONNA GO GET MY CAMERA.
YOU COULD SEE IT WALKING, AND IT LOOKED LIKE
A LARGE, LARGE, VERY THICK,
HAIRY CREATURE WALKING.
WE KNEW WE WERE LOOKING AT SOMETHING
THAT'S DESCRIBED AS A SASQUATCH, BIG FOOT, MYAKKA SKUNK APE...
THAT'S WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT.
IT HAD MOVED ON FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM US,
IT WAS HEADING TOWARDS THE TREES,
AND WE DIDN'T SEE IT ANYMORE AFTER THAT.
THIS IS THE AREA WHERE WE PULLED OVER.
THIS IS WHERE WE FIRST SAW IT WALKING.
WE PULLED OVER RIGHT HERE.
THIS WAS ALL BROWN, DEAD GRASS.
RIGHT NOW IT HAS WATER IN IT,
BUT WE WERE LOOKING HALFWAY ACROSS THIS FIELD
AND YOU COULD SEE HIM WALKING.
YOU KNEW IMMEDIATELY...
THAT'S WHY I PULLED THE TRUCK OVER SO QUICK.
I DIDN'T HAVE TO SAY, "WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS?"
I DEFINITELY BELIEVE THERE'S SOMETHING OUT THERE.
AFTER YOU SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT,
YOU JUST THINK DIFFERENTLY.
400 MILES WEST, ACROSS THE GULF,
IS THE PORT TOWN OF PASCAGOULA,
MISSISSIPPI'S FLAGSHIP CITY ON THE GULF COAST.
WHILE ALL KINDS OF BOATS COME AND GO IN THESE WATERS,
NOTHING COMPARES TO THE VESSEL THAT LANDED HERE
SOME 40 YEARS AGO.
IN 1973, TWO SHIPYARD WORKERS CLAIMED THAT
A SPACESHIP SUDDENLY APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE.
THEIR STORY WOULD MAKE ALIEN ABDUCTION
AN AMERICAN PHENOMENON.
NOW, POLICE INTERROGATION RECORDINGS,
LONG KEPT SECRET,
BRINGS THIS CASE ALIVE AS NEVER BEFORE.
PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI.
ON AN AUTUMN NIGHT IN 1973,
TWO MEN WERE SPENDING A RELAXING EVENING
TRYING THEIR LUCK WITH ROD AND REEL.
UNIDENTIFIED CREATURES SUDDENLY TOOK THEM BY SURPRISE.
THEY CLAIMED THEIR CAPTORS WERE FROM SPACE.
THE STORY IS COMPLETELY FASCINATING.
THEY BELIEVE SOMETHING ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO THEM,
AND IT'S NEVER BEEN DISPROVEN... EVER.
GLENN RYDER HAS WORKED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
FOR OVER 50 YEARS,
A FIRST-HAND WITNESS TO THE GRUESOME AND THE TRAGIC.
YET, ONE EVENT STILL HAUNTS HIM...
SOMETHING HE CAN'T EXPLAIN OR FORGET.
IT WAS AN UNUSUAL STORY,
BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THEM.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS... I WASN'T THERE WITH THEM...
BUT THEY HAD AN EXPERIENCE.
IN 1973, 42-YEAR-OLD CHARLES HICKSON
AND 19-YEAR-OLD CALVIN PARKER JR.
WERE CO-WORKERS AT A PASCAGOULA SHIP YARD.
MR. HICKSON WAS A FAMILY MAN.
HE WAS MARRIED AND HE HAD THREE CHILDREN.
MR. PARKER WAS 19 YEARS OLD, AND THEY WERE AVID FISHERMEN.
THEY PUT IN A HARD DAY'S WORK
AND THEY WENT FISHING AFTER WORK.
FISHING ON THE EVENING OF OCTOBER 11, 1973
WOULD TURN THEIR LIVES UPSIDE DOWN.
LATER THAT NIGHT,
JACKSON COUNTY SHERIFF DISPATCHER MICHAEL ROBICHAUX
PICKED UP AN EMERGENCY CALL.
HE WAS THE FIRST TO HEAR CHARLES HICKSON'S DISTRESSED VOICE.
I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING.
HE WAS UPSET... YOU COULD TELL IN HIS VOICE.
DISPATCHING, YOU CAN PICK UP A PERSON'S...
CERTAIN THINGS IN THEIR VOICE AND WHATNOT.
AND HIS VOICE WAS QUIVERING AND RAISING UP AND DOWN.
RYDER WAS THE CAPTAIN IN CHARGE
ON THE NIGHT IT ALL WENT DOWN. CAPTAIN.
THIS DISPATCHER TOLD ME THERE WAS SOMEBODY ON THE PHONE.
THIS IS CAPTAIN RYDER, HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
MY NAME'S CHARLES HICKSON...
Shh! Shh!
JUST TELL THEM... JUST TELL THEM WHAT HAPPENED!
CHARLES HICKSON, YES, SIR.
I-I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING.
I SAID, "WELL, IF YOU WANT TO TELL ME SOMETHING, MR. HICKSON,
GO AHEAD AND TELL ME, NOW."
HE SAID, "NO, YOU'LL LAUGH."
AND I SAID, "NO, I WON'T LAUGH. GO AHEAD AND TELL ME."
I GOT PICKED UP BY A UFO.
I LAUGHED.
HE SAID, "I TOLD YOU YOU'D LAUGH."
YEAH. LOOK, JUST TELL THEM...
AND I KEPT HEARING THIS BOY IN THE BACKGROUND,
I SAID, "WHO IS THAT TALKING IN THE BACKGROUND?"
HE WAS HYSTERICAL.
PICKED UP BY... TH-THAT'S CALVIN PARKER.
HE SAID, "THAT'S CALVIN PARKER.
HE WAS WITH ME WHEN WE GOT PICKED UP BY THE UFO."
I SAID, "WAIT RIGHT THERE, I'M COMING OVER.
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU." YEAH.
ARE THEY COMING? THEY'RE COMING.
UFO SIGHTING.
I THOUGHT HE WAS CRAZY.
YOU DON'T GET THAT MANY CALLS LIKE THAT.
WHEN THE OFFICERS PULLED UP,
HICKSON AND PARKER WERE STILL TALKING ABOUT UFOs.
OFFICER, LISTEN.
PARKER COULD BARELY CONTAIN HIMSELF.
A SHIP CAME OUT OF THE... LITERALLY CAME OUT OF THE SKY...
I COULD SEE FEAR IN THE BOY.
THE BOY WAS REALLY UPSET.
BOTH OF THEM WAS VERY SHOOK UP.
VERY VISIBLY SHOOK UP.
VOICE AND DEMEANOR... THEY WERE SCARED.
SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED TO THEM. A-AND ALIENS CAME OUT!
Y-YES! TH-TH-THERE WERE THREE OR FOUR...
SMALL CREATURES, LITTLE CREATURES,
AND THEY TOOK US UP THERE!
I KNOW THIS SOUNDS CRAZY, BUT WHY WOULD WE CALL YOU?
WE WOULDN'T CALL YOU FOR THE HELL OF IT!
THESE LITTLE CREATURES CAME OUT...
WHY DON'T WE COME BACK TO THE STATION
AND WE'LL TALK THIS THING THROUGH?
THE TWO MEN WERE BROUGHT TO THE STATION
AND SEPARATELY QUESTIONED.
WE TOOK THEM BACK INTO A ROOM THAT WE INTERROGATED PEOPLE IN.
GIVEN THE FANTASTIC CLAIMS HICKSON AND PARKER WERE MAKING,
CAPTAIN GLENN RYDER SECRETLY TAPED THEIR INTERROGATION...
A SET OF RECORDINGS THAT GIVES US
AN UNPRECEDENTED WINDOW INTO THE EVENT.
IT WAS A WARM, OCTOBER NIGHT ON THE PASCAGOULA RIVER.
SEE? TOLD YOU. YEAH, YEAH.
WHAT'S THAT NOISE?
AS HICKSON AND PARKER WERE FISHING,
THEY BOTH HEARD A NOISE.
THE NOISE WAS STRANGE.
WHAT FOLLOWED WAS UNBELIEVABLE.
HOVERING JUST ABOVE THE WATERLINE,
A GLOWING SPHERE.
THE SPHERE OPENED.
ONCE THE ALIENS STARTED MOVING TOWARDS THEM,
HICKSON AND PARKER WERE GRIPPED BY A PARALYZING FORCE.
IN 1973, IN ONE OF THE FIRST
AND MOST FAMOUS CASES OF ALIEN ABDUCTION,
TWO MEN CLAIM A UFO APPEARED IN THE SKY
ABOVE THE PASCAGOULA RIVER IN MISSISSIPPI.
LATER THAT NIGHT,
CHARLES HICKSON AND CALVIN PARKER JR.
WERE PICKED UP BY THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT.
THEIR INTERROGATION WAS SECRETLY RECORDED.
THEY WERE HAVING AN EASY TIME CATCHING CATFISH.
THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THEY'D BE THE NEXT ONES SNARED.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, HE SAID HE HEARD A WHOOSHING NOISE
AND HE LOOKED UP, AND THERE WAS A SPACECRAFT
RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, HOVERING OVER THE WATER,
WITH TWO BLUE LIGHTS ON IT.
AND THEY WERE KIND OF GLOWING AT HIM.
HICKSON AND PARKER WERE STRUCK MOTIONLESS WHERE THEY STOOD.
HE TRIED TO GET UP AND RUN
AND HE WAS PETRIFIED...
HE COULDN'T MOVE, HE WAS PARALYZED.
TWO OF THE ALIENS SEIZED HICKSON.
WHEN THE THIRD GRABBED PARKER... AAH!
...THE YOUNG MAN FAINTED WITH FRIGHT.
ONCE ONBOARD, THEY FOUND THEMSELVES
IN A BRIGHTLY LIT ROOM.
CHARLES SAID THERE WAS GAUGES ALL OVER THE WALL IN THAT THING.
SAID THERE WAS NO TABLES OR CHAIRS OR ANYTHING,
SAID THEY JUST WAS SUSPENDED IN THE AIR.
HICKSON DESCRIBED THE ALIENS AS HAVING A HUMANOID FORM.
THEY EXAMINED HIM WITH A DEVICE THAT LOOKED, TO HICKSON,
LIKE A GIANT EYEBALL.
HE'S FLOATING, AND THEY TOOK THAT EYE-LOOKING THING
AND SCANNED HIS BODY WITH IT...
WENT UP ONE SIDE AND DOWN THE OTHER.
AND HE COULD NOT MOVE ANYTHING, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HIS EYES.
HE COULD GO FROM RIGHT TO LEFT AND THAT WAS ABOUT IT.
HE WANTED TO RUN, BUT HE COULDN'T, OBVIOUSLY.
THEY HAD NO IDEA HOW LONG THEY WERE GONE.
THEY WEREN'T SURE WHAT HAD HAPPENED
OR HOW THEY GOT BACK ON EARTH.
THE NEXT THING HE REMEMBERED,
THEY WAS OUTSIDE, SITTING ON THE GROUND.
AND THEY LOOKED BACK AND THE SPACECRAFT WENT TO THE EAST.
CAL!
WHEN MR. HICKSON WAS RELEASED ON THE PIER,
HE IMMEDIATELY STARTED LOOKING FOR MR. PARKER.
CALVIN!
AND HE SAW MR. PARKER, AND HE HAD HIS ARMS
REACHED OUT TO HIM AND HE WAS CALLING FOR HIM.
THE EXPERIENCE WAS SO SHOCKING,
THEY FELT THEY HAD TO REPORT IT TO THE AUTHORITIES.
HEARING THE STORY, CAPTAIN RYDER WAS NATURALLY SUSPICIOUS.
I DID SMELL ALCOHOL ON CHARLES' BREATH.
I ASKED HIM... I SAID, "DID YOU GET A DRINK?"
HE SAID, "YEAH, I HAD TO HAVE ONE. MY NERVES ARE SHOT."
HE SAID, "I HAD TO HAVE SOMETHING TO DRINK."
WAS THE ENTIRE TALE FUELED BY ALCOHOL?
SHERIFF RYDER HAD A TRICK UP HIS SLEEVE
TO PUT THEIR SINCERITY TO THE TEST.
TO SEE WHAT THEY WOULD SAY WHEN WE LEFT THE ROOM,
WE HAD THE TAPE RECORDER ON.
WE THOUGHT WE'D FIND OUT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER
IF THEY WERE LYING TO US OR IF THEY WERE TELLING US THE TRUTH.
IF, IN FACT, THIS WAS A HOAX,
IT WAS SMART TO LEAVE THE TAPE RECORDER GOING.
IT WAS THE MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENT
FOR THIS FAR-FETCHED TALE OF ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE.
WHEN WE PUT THEM IN THAT ROOM
AND PUT THE VOICE-ACTIVATED TAPE RECORDER,
THAT PRETTY WELL SOLVED IT.
THEY BETTER WAKE UP AND START BELIEVING.
THEY'D BETTER START BELIEVING.
OCTOBER, 1973.
PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI.
CAPTAIN GLENN RYDER OF THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
SECRETLY RECORDED TWO MEN CLAIMING ALIENS ABDUCTED THEM.
THE SECRET TAPE RECORDINGS BEAR WITNESS
TO HOW FERVENTLY HICKSON AND PARKER HELD TO THEIR STORY.
CAPTAIN RYDER WAS IMPRESSED WITH THEIR SINCERITY.
IT DIDN'T SOUND LIKE TWO MEN PUTTING ON A HOAX.
THEY HAD SOME KIND OF EXPERIENCE.
NO DOUBT TO MY MIND THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED.
I WASN'T THERE WITH THEM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED,
BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THEM.
IT'S UNCERTAIN WHETHER HICKSON AND PARKER
EVER HAD ACCESS TO THESE REMARKABLE RECORDINGS
DOCUMENTING THEIR FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE EVENT.
FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS, THE TAPES WERE LOCKED AWAY
IN THE JACKSON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT.
OVER THE YEARS, SKEPTICS CRITICIZE THEIR STORY.
SINCE THE FISHING PIER WAS VISIBLE
FROM A NEARBY SHIPYARD AND A HIGHWAY,
WHY WASN'T THE UFO LANDING SEEN BY ANYONE ELSE?
NOBODY COULD CORROBORATE THAT
THIS SPACECRAFT CAME DOWN, LANDED...
NOBODY SAW ANYTHING TO THAT EFFECT.
20 YEARS LATER, SUSAN RUDDIMAN WAS A REPORTER
WORKING AT A LOCAL PAPER IN PASCAGOULA.
I DID RECEIVE A CALL FROM A GENTLEMAN,
MIKE CATALDO,
AND HE WAS CALLING ABOUT THE SIGHTINGS
THAT HE HAD ON OR AROUND THE SAME NIGHT
AS CHARLIE HICKSON AND CALVIN PARKER,
BACK IN OCTOBER OF 1973.
AT THAT TIME, HE WAS CHIEF PETTY OFFICER IN THE NAVY,
STATIONED HERE IN PASCAGOULA.
THAT EVENING,
CATALDO WAS JUST OFF DUTY
AND HEADING WEST ON HIGHWAY 90.
IT WAS WHILE HE WAS DRIVING HOME ON THIS DARK, SWAMPY ROAD
THAT HE NOTICED AN OBJECT IN THE AIR...
WHAT HE CALLED A UFO
TO CATALDO, IT LOOKED LIKE A LARGE, GREY TAMBOURINE,
RINGED BY BLINKING LIGHTS.
IT HOVERED ABOVE THE SWAMP...
...THEN SHOT AWAY, VANISHING FROM SIGHT.
I WAS WONDERING WHY HE KEPT QUIET ABOUT IT
ALL THOSE YEARS,
AND I THINK MAYBE HE WANTED TO BE RETIRED AND OUT OF THE NAVY,
SO THAT'S WHAT PROMPTED HIM TO FINALLY GO PUBLIC.
THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES, BOTH HICKSON AND PARKER
MAINTAINED THE REPORT OF THE ENCOUNTER WAS TRUTHFUL.
CHARLES WAS PUT ON A LIE-DETECTOR TEST,
AND HE PASSED IT.
CHERIE WARD WAS ONE OF THE LAST JOURNALISTS
TO INTERVIEW CHARLES HICKSON BEFORE HE DIED IN 2011.
I DID GO TO HIS HOUSE.
I SPOKE WITH HIM AND HIS WIFE,
AND HE TOOK ME THROUGH HIS ENTIRE STORY.
HE WAS VERY OPEN ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE.
THE MOST UNIQUE THING,
IN SOMETHING THAT'S COMPLETELY UNBELIEVABLE LIKE THIS,
IS THAT HIS STORY STAYED SOLID
FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS.
HIS STORY NEVER WAVERED... NOT ONE TIME.
I MEAN, HE BELIEVES IT HAPPENED, AND IT'S NEVER BEEN DISPROVEN.
TO ME, JUST ABOUT ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE, NOW.
WE'VE HAD OTHER SIGHTINGS AND WHATNOT SINCE THIS IN 1973,
AND THERE'S JUST SOME THINGS THAT ARE JUST NOT EXPLAINABLE.
THIS MAY BE ONE OF THEM.
BISHOPVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA...
A TOWN THAT'S NEARLY SURROUNDED IN SWAMPS.
MORE THAN A QUARTER OF THE COUNTY IS UNDER WATER.
SOME 25 YEARS AGO, NEAR THE SCAPE ORE SWAMP,
A YOUNG MAN HAD A TERRIFYING ENCOUNTER...
ONE THAT BISHOPVILLE RESIDENTS ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT.
IT'S ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN.
A LOT OF IT JUST DON'T ADD UP.
YOU DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER FOR IT.
SCAPE ORE SWAMP IS DEFINITELY A PLACE
THAT COULD HIDE UNUSUAL CREATURES AND UNKNOWN MYSTERIES
BECAUSE IT IS VAST AND RUGGED
AND OFF THE BEATEN PATH OF CIVILIZATION.
YOU GET DOWN TO THE SWAMP ITSELF,
IT'S REAL THICK.
SOMETHING COULD LIVE BACK THERE AND NEVER EVEN BE DETECTED.
THE SWAMP HOLDS A LOT OF SECRETS.
AND IN 1988,
ONE SCALY SECRET MAY HAVE SLIPPED FREE...
...THE LIZARD MAN.
IT MADE ITS PRESENCE KNOWN
IN AN EXTRAORDINARY ATTACK ON A TEENAGE BOY,
CHRISTOPHER DAVIS.
DAVIS HAS SINCE PASSED AWAY,
BUT ONE MAN STILL STRUGGLES TO MAKE SENSE OF WHAT HAPPENED...
SHERIFF TRUESDALE, LEE COUNTY SHERIFF.
OVER HIS CAREER, HE HAS SEEN IT ALL,
YET NOTHING COMPARES TO THE DAYS SURROUNDING
THE APPEARANCE OF THE SCAPE ORE MONSTER.
WE HAD RECEIVED A COMPLAINT FROM A HOUSE
IN THE BROWNTOWN SECTION OF LEE COUNTY.
WE DISPATCHED TWO DEPUTIES OUT THERE
TO INVESTIGATE THE COMPLAINT.
THEY CALLED BACK AND SAID,
"SHERIFF, YOU BETTER COME OUT HERE.
WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE."
I MEAN, LOOK AT MY CAR!
WHAT COULD HAVE DID THIS?
WHILE PARKED OUTSIDE THE FAMILY'S HOME,
THEIR VEHICLE HAD BEEN DAMAGED DURING THE NIGHT.
IT'S STRONG, THAT'S FOR SURE.
LOOK HOW WIDE THE CLAW MARKS ARE!
WHAT WE FOUND APPEARED TO BE
TRACKS ALL OVER THE CAR...
PRETTY GOOD-SIZED TRACKS...
AND THE FENDER WAS PULLED OUT.
SOMETHING HAD PULLED THE CHROME STRIP OFF AND CHEWED IT UP.
WHATEVER IT WAS WAS REAL STRONG.
THE CREATURE REPORTEDLY HAD A TASTE FOR CARS.
THERE WAS CARS THAT WERE FOUND MAULED OR ATTACKED.
IT WAS LIKE VANDALISM, BUT IT LOOKED LIKE
IT HAD BEEN BITTEN AND CHEWED AND TORN UP.
IT SCRATCHED THE PAINT, IT BENT THE METAL...
THE INCIDENT MIGHT BE DISMISSED
IF IT WAS AN ISOLATED CASE.
IT WASN'T. ARE THE KIDS SAFE?
IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD SAFE?
SOME OF THE PEOPLE WAS TELLING US THAT
THERE'S AN UNUSUAL, LARGE CREATURE
IN THE COMMUNITY.
THE LIZARD MAN WAS GENERALLY DESCRIBED
AS BEING SEVEN FOOT TALL,
IT HAD A HUMAN-LIKE SHAPE,
IT WAS LARGE, BULKY, MUSCULAR.
IT TYPICALLY WAS DESCRIBED AS HAVING THREE FINGERS.
IT HAD LONG, BLACK FINGERNAILS OR CLAWS,
IT WALKED UPRIGHT, IT DID NOT HAVE A TAIL.
WE STARTED ASKING PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD,
HAD THEY SEEN ANYTHING LIKE WHAT WAS DESCRIBED TO US?
ONE PERSON SAID, "YOU MEAN THAT LIZARD MAN?"
THEN, THE CASE TOOK AN ASTONISHING TURN.
A LOCAL TEENAGER WAS FIXING A FLAT TIRE
NEAR SCAPE ORE SWAMP
WHEN HE REALIZED HE WASN'T ALONE.
HE COULD SEE IT WELL ENOUGH IN THE MOONLIGHT
TO SEE THAT IT WAS HUMANOID-TYPE FIGURE...
...AND IT WAS MOVING PRETTY QUICKLY AT HIM.
BISHOPVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA.
IN THE SUMMER OF 1988,
SHERIFF LISTON TRUESDALE WAS INVESTIGATING CASES
OF PROPERTY DAMAGE AND ASSAULT
BY A MOST UNLIKELY PERPETRATOR...
A LIZARD MAN,
SUPPOSEDLY LURKING NEAR SCAPE ORE SWAMP.
I'M GONNA CATCH THE BIGGEST FISH, BOY.
YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW, MAN.
WE HEARD THAT IT RAN TWO FELLAS
OFF SCAPE ORE SWAMP.
THEY SAW IT AND IT WAS TOO MUCH FOR THEM, SO THEY RAN.
THEN, 17-YEAR-OLD CHRIS DAVIS
CAME FORWARD TO REPORT A TERRIFYING TALE.
THIS WAS JULY THE 14th
OF 1988.
CHRIS DAVIS AND HIS DAD CAME IN.
SHERIFF, THIS IS MY SON, CHRIS.
HE HAS A STORY TO TELL YOU.
SO, YOU HAD AN ENCOUNTER WITH THIS CREATURE?
WHEN CHRIS DAVIS'S FATHER SAW THIS IN THE NEWSPAPER,
HE PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER AND THOUGHT,
"WELL, MAYBE THIS IS THE CREATURE THAT ATTACKED MY SON."
I WAS ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK, AND...
THE INCIDENT HAD OCCURRED TWO WEEKS PRIOR
TO THE CASES THE SHERIFF WAS ALREADY INVESTIGATING.
IT WAS SOME KIND OF LIZARD MAN.
I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT THE FELLA WAS TELLING ME.
THIS KID WAS A SUPER-GOOD KID
AND HIS PARENTS IS VERY REPUTABLE.
I TRIED TO GET IN MY CAR AND DRIVE OFF,
BUT BEFORE I KNOW IT, THE LIZARD'S ON TOP OF THE CAR.
WE ASKED HIM, "WELL, WHY DIDN'T YOU REPORT THIS?"
AND HE SAID BECAUSE EVERYBODY WOULD THINK HE WAS A FOOL.
NOBODY WOULD BELIEVE HIM, THEY'D THINK HE WAS CRAZY.
ON JUNE 30, 1988,
CHRIS DAVIS WAS ON THE LATE SHIFT
AT A FAST-FOOD BURGER JOINT ON THE EDGE OF TOWN.
HE FINISHED UP AROUND 2:00 A.M.,
GOT INTO HIS CAR, AND HEADED HOME.
HE WAS COMING HOME FROM WORK AND HAD A FLAT TIRE,
AND HE STOPPED AT A LITTLE DIRT ROAD TO FIX THIS FLAT TIRE.
THAT LITTLE DIRT ROAD WAS AT THE SCAPE ORE SWAMP.
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, WITHOUT A SOUL FOR MILES,
DAVIS WOULD HAVE TO FIX THE FLAT OR SPEND THE NIGHT.
AND HE FIXED HIS FLAT TIRE
AND WAS PLACING THE TOOLS BACK IN THE CAR.
AND HE SAW SOMETHING, WHICH HE DESCRIBED AS
A TALL CREATURE, ABOUT SEVEN FEET TALL,
WITH BIG, RED EYES.
HE LOOKS UP AND HE SEES SOMETHING
COMING DOWN THROUGH THE TALL GRASS.
OF COURSE, THIS KID IS PANICKED. HE TAKES OFF.
HE COULD SEE ITS HAND HANGING BY THE WINDOW,
AND HE SAW THAT IT HAD THREE FINGERS,
IT HAD LONG CLAWS THAT HE DESCRIBED
HAVING BLACK FINGERNAILS.
DAVIS SWERVED WILDLY,
TRYING TO SHAKE THE MONSTER FROM HIS CAR.
THE NIGHTMARE WAS OVER.
OR SO HE THOUGHT.
IT GOT UP AND STARTED CHASING HIM.
HE ESTIMATED THAT THE THING WAS RUNNING
AT LEAST 35 MILES AN HOUR AS HE SPED OFF,
AND HE COULD SEE IT IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR
UNTIL IT DISAPPEARED INTO THE DARKNESS.
HE WENT HOME AND DROVE UP IN THE YARD
AND JUMPED OUT OF THE CAR, CRYING, SCREAMING, AND YELLING,
AND HIS PARENTS SAID IT TOOK TWO HOURS TO SETTLE HIM DOWN.
THAT'S HOW AFRAID HE WAS.
HIS PARENTS ARE TRYING TO ASK HIM WHAT HAPPENED.
HE'S EXPLAINING THAT HE SAW A SEVEN-FOOT, GREEN,
RED-EYED DEVIL, AS HE DESCRIBED IT.
AND THEY SAW THE FEAR AND THE EMOTIONS
IN CHRIS' EYES.
DAYS AFTER THE ENCOUNTER,
CHRIS DAVIS DREW A SKETCH OF THE CREATURE.
IT WAS A VERY CRUDE DRAWING, BUT IT BASICALLY SHOWED
A LARGE, HUMANOID-TYPE CREATURE
THAT HAD THREE FINGERS AND GLOWING EYES.
IN 1988, IN THIS ONE SMALL AREA OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
THERE WERE MORE THAN A DOZEN SIGHTINGS.
THE RASH OF REPORTS TAPERED OFF,
YET EVERY FEW YEARS, SOMEBODY SAW SOMETHING.
AT THE TIME, LISTON TRUESDALE WAS SKEPTICAL OF THE STORY,
BUT HE DID FEEL THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THIS BOY,
THAT HE SAW SOMETHING... SOMETHING THAT WAS TRAUMATIZING.
WHATEVER IT WAS MAY STILL BE OUT THERE.
BISHOPVILLE HAS A MONSTER
HANGING AROUND SOMEWHERE IN THIS AREA.
I USED TO LIKE TO GET OUT AND JUST WALK AND LOOK AT THE STARS,
BUT I DON'T WALK IN THE WOODS NO MORE.