The Highway 26 UFO Encounter

A little-known UFO encounter, at least outside of UFO circles, in November 1967 in Idaho is a case of an apparent intentional attempt at contact between beings from another world and humans here on Earth. With two witnesses, although the incident was brief, it is an intriguing case nonetheless.

The sighting was investigated by both State Police and UFO investigators, and it would soon come to light that there were several other witnesses to what would appear to be the same bizarre even on the night in question. And furthermore, as well as details of strange lights overhead, many of these other witnesses (many of whom were farmers) mentioned that their cattle were also disturbed and anxious during the evening of the incident.

As we will see shortly, there were also several similar sightings around the same time that could very well have been the same object. For now, though, we will turn our attention to the fall of 1967 in the Gem State.

A Sudden Blinding Flash Of Light

At around 9:30 pm on November 2^nd, 1967, two young men, Guy Tossie and Will Begay, were driving along Highway 26 just outside the town of Ririe in Idaho. ^[1] As they made their way down the road, a sudden bright flash appeared ahead of them. At the same time, their car suddenly came to a stop of its own accord.

To their shock, around five feet in front of them was a small, transparent-domed object with two humanoid occupants visible inside it. They later estimated the object to be around eight feet wide with flashing green and orange light around its edges, which bathed the area around it in a green-orange glow.

They continued to watch as the dome opened and one of the occupants appeared to float out of it and to the ground. This strange figure was around three-and-a-half feet tall with an oval face, round eyes, and large eyes. Its head was completely hairless, and it had a slit-like mouth. It also had some kind of backpack on its back that stretched much higher than its head.

Before they knew what was happening, the figure was at the side of the car and proceeded to open the driver’s door. The two witnesses quickly slid as far as they could to the passenger side as the figure entered the vehicle, sitting behind the steering wheel.

The next thing they realized, the car was moving, seemingly being pulled or dragged by the UFO. The strange object guided the vehicle into a nearby wheat field. Then, it suddenly came to a stop.

The Witnesses Separate

As soon as the car had come to a stop, Tossie reached for the door, opened it, and ran from the scene as fast as he could. As he did so, he noticed a bright light seemingly following him. He would later state that he believed it was the second figure they had seen in the object.

While Tossie was running from the vehicle, Begay remained in the front seat, in such shock that he could hardly move. The strange figure was seemingly speaking to him, but in a language that was, to the witness, completely unintelligible. He later described the sound of this unknown language as bring “high and rapid”, very much “like a bird”. What is interesting about this is that many witnesses to reptilian encounters have made similar claims about reptilian voices and tone.

After an undetermined amount of time, the second occupant returned to the vehicle. At this, the first occupant exited the vehicle, and the two figures floated back to the object. A moment later, the object took off into the air in a zigzag motion.

By this time, Tossie had reached a farmhouse that was around a quarter of a mile away. He knocked at the door as hard as he could. It was answered by the owner of the property, Willard Hammon. As soon as he did so, Tossie launched into a rushed and incoherent relaying of what had happened to him and his friend. Eventually, Hammon stopped him, calmed him down, brought him into the house, and then told him to tell him once more. Needless to say, he and his family were shocked at what the young man was saying and agreed to accompany him back to the car.

Two Witnesses Left Shaken And Shocked

When they arrived at the vehicle, there was no sign of the UFO or the two strange creatures. Begay, however, was found sitting in the front of the car, his eyes squeezed tightly shut, clearly in fright. The headlights were shining directly ahead, and the engine was still running.

After giving the shocked Begay a moment to come around, he and Tossie listened as he offered what had happened. Given how shaken both of the young men were, Hammon agreed to follow them home in his car to ensure their safe return. After doing so, he stopped at a bar and grill on his way home, interested to see if anyone else might have seen anything out of the ordinary.

By chance, Hammon happened to speak to a county deputy sheriff who had ventured into the eatery. Intrigued, Hammon eventually brought the two witnesses to speak with the deputy sheriff, so they could give their account to him directly. Taking their report seriously, an investigation by state police was put in motion. And they would discover some interesting details.

According to their investigation, several farmers claimed to have had particular problems with their cattle on the night in question. Some even claimed to have seen strange lights overhead approximately at the same time as the encounter of the two young motorists.

Even more interesting, when UFO investigators explored the sighting, they discovered another local resident who claimed to have had an almost identical experience later that same night (although he wished to remain strictly anonymous).

What is interesting is that a little over a month later, also in Idaho, another very similar incident unfolded. And it is to that encounter that we will turn our attention next.

The Similar Encounter Of Marylin Wilding

On the evening of December 7^th, at around 7:40 pm in Idaho Falls, 15-year-old Marilyn Wilding was standing outside of her house looking for a friend who was due to arrive shortly. ^[2] There was fresh snow on the ground, which Marilyn was looking at when she suddenly noticed a light of sorts coming from above reflecting off the snow. She looked upward and saw a huge light overhead, part of which was covered by the roof of the house.

Eager to see what the object was, Marilyn stepped out further into the yard. She could see the bright light was a glowing object that appeared to be hovering just above the house. She recalled that the object appeared to be a circle shape (although it was so bright she found it difficult to make out any specific details), and was approximately the size of a car. Stressing how close the object was, she stated to investigators that if she had thrown a rock at it, it almost certainly would have struck it.

As she continued to watch, the object tipped forward and began to rotate. As it did so, she could see that there was a transparent domed section on the top. In this dome, she could see the outline of two humanoid figures.

At this point, the young girl turned and ran back to the house, calling out to her younger sister to come and look at the aerial anomaly. However, as she had nothing on her feet, she remained in the doorway of the property. Marilyn, meanwhile, returned to the yard. By this time, the object was rotating in a clockwise direction as it hovered. As it remained titled, it appeared as though it was wobbling somewhat. Eventually, the object rose into the air slightly before moving away and disappearing into the distance.

As it moved away, Marilyn’s sister and two younger brothers were watching in amazement from the window. It also came to light that their neighbors (the Schuldt family) also witnessed the strange object. What it might have been, however, remains unexplained.

Encounters That Are Likely To Remain Unexplained

Whether or not there is a connection between the object and occupants witnessed by Marilyn Wilding and the encounter of Guy Tossie and Will Begay remains unknown. They both share remarkably similar details, however, not least that they both occurred in Idaho within five weeks of each other. Perhaps the only difference being that the encounter of Tossie and Begay appeared to be one of intentional contact, while Wilding’s sighting appeared to be one of chance.

If we assume that the two sightings are connected, given they are a little over a month apart, we might ask whether these apparent visitors from elsewhere simply returned to the same area on two separate occasions or whether their presence is of a more permanent nature. Could it be possible for example that some kind of extraterrestrial base exists in Idaho? Or might it even be the case that some kind of portal resides there, which allows these otherworldly entities access to our world?

Of course, there is the possibility that this craft might not have been an alien vehicle at all, but some kind of top-secret experimental military aircraft. However, given that the witnesses stated the occupants, at least in the first encounter, were around three-and-a-half feet tall, not to mention the unintelligible language, we might dismiss this as a legitimate possibility.

Ultimately, both of the encounters we have examined here remain unexplained. And, barring further witnesses coming forward (which becomes increasingly more unlikely as the years go on) it will likely do so for the foreseeable future.

The video below looks at some of the best UFO sightings on record.