Sighters say saucer swallowed their chum

STAR de Sudbury (Ontario), 12 november 1975, p. 26

HEBER, Ariz. (Reuters) - Six forestry workers were to be given lie detector tests today to verify their story that a co-worker disappeared after being struck down by a blue ray from an object resembling a flying saucer.

After questioning the men about the incident, Navaho County sheriff Marvin Gillespie told reporters: "I am not a total disbeliever in the men's story."

The six men, working as a timber-thinning team in the Apache national forest, 120 miles north of Phoenix, said they were returning home at dusk Wednesday when they saw the object hovering over the road ahead.

Travis Walton, 22, a seventh worker with the group, jumped from the truck and ran forward to get a closer look.

Gillespie said the men reported that Walton was struck by a blue light from the hovering object and fell to the ground.

The men were so frightened they drove away, leaving Walton lying there, the sheriff said. When they returned about 15 minutes later, both Walton and the flying object were gone.

Police searched for Walton on Thursday without success. A second search during the weekend also failed to locate him.