A look back at Mississippi close encounters

Unidentified flying objects are always a topic of discussion, but the recent congressional hearing on UFOs has thrust them into the spotlight.

Three former military members testified before Congress about their knowledge of UFOs, or unidentified aerial phenomena as the government refers to them, as Congress members press for more transparency about what the government knows about them.

Some who were in Mississippi 50 years ago have already said they know about UFOs. On the night of Oct. 11, 1973, Calvin Parker and Charles Hickson claimed they were fishing on the Pascagoula River when they were abducted by aliens. Other's reported seeing UFOs that night as well.

Hickson has since died, but Parker, after decades of silence, told his side of the story to the Clarion Ledger in 2018.

Calvin Parker talks about 1971 UFO case in Mississippi

Parker said he noticed blue light reflecting off the water and his initial thought was law enforcement officers had arrived to tell the two fishermen they needed to leave the property. However, when Parker looked up, he realized the light was coming from a craft like nothing he'd ever seen.

"A big light came out of the clouds," Parker said. "It was a blinding light.

"It was hard to tell with the lights so bright, but it looked like it was shaped like a football. I would say, just estimating, (it was) about 80-foot. (It made) very little sound. It was just a hissing noise."

Parker said the two were levitated into the craft by aliens with hands like crab claws, examined and then returned to the river bank.

News of the alleged encounter was followed by a rash of reports of UFOs, but many kept quiet for fear of ridicule. When Parker wrote a book about his encounter in 2018 and spoke with the Clarion Ledger about it, others came forward claiming to have seen UFOs around that time and said Parker's speaking up emboldened them.

Others say they saw the UFO, too

Maria and Jerry Blair were living in Theodore, Alabama in 2019 when they spoke to the Clarion Ledger about the Pascagoula River case.

The two were sitting in their 1969 Pontiac GTO in the parking lot of Graham's Seafood on the opposite side of the river. Jerry worked for the business and was waiting on a boat captain to take him offshore. The captain was late and the Blairs waited for hours. Just after dark, Maria saw something strange.

"I was looking at the sky and I noticed a blue light in the sky over where they were fishing," Maria said. "It started moving and it seemed like it was following along the Pascagoula River.

"I just seen the lights on it. It was just going back and forth. Sometimes it would just sit there. It went on for 20 to 25 minutes."

The two figured it was a helicopter or possibly an airplane and paid little attention to it. However, Judy said she had a glimpse of something in the water that she didn't recognize.

Afterward, she heard about the description of aliens given by Parker and Hickson and said it matched what she'd seen in the water.

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A UFO, a crazy radio and a dead car

Later that evening, Judy Branning was sitting in a car a few miles away at a traffic signal with her roommate and their dates when they saw something in the sky.

Like the Blairs, Branning thought it was an airplane at first, but as it came closer and flew over the car she was in, the four realized it wasn't.

"It didn't make noise," Branning said in 2019. "It had bright, bright lights.

"It got closer and it was hovering. It was kind of a saucer shape or disc shape with a rounded top. The radio started sounding like it was running through all the stations and the car went dead. We were freaking out."

Branning said after it passed over the car, the craft shot straight up at a rate of speed she'd never seen and disappeared. It left her shaken.

"I didn't sleep that night thinking about it," Branning said.

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Others say they saw things that night

Joey Nelson of Mobile said he and two friends were on their way to New Orleans when they saw a large orb in the sky between Pascagoula and Biloxi. He said a smaller orb came down and hovered just in front of the windshield as they traveled at about 75 mph and then streaked away.

"It shot off and I've never seen anything move that fast," Nelson said. "It just shot straight up. I don't know if the small orb joined the big one, but they were both gone."

Rosey Nail of Moss Point told the Clarion Ledger in 2019 she was miles away in Bruce that night, but she also saw two orbs in the sky. One changed colors and grew to the size of the sun. It then began shrinking and joined the second or and shot out of sight.

Her fear could almost be heard as she told her story.

"As I'm talking, I'm reliving it," Nail said. "My heart's beating.

"My chest is tight. My hand is shaking. That thing terrified me."

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Congressional UFO hearings: A look back at Mississippi UFO encounters