“Greenish Creatures” From Another World: The Remarkable Extraterrestrial Encounter Of Jose Cantu

The encounter of Jose Cantu is perhaps not the most exciting, drawn-out, or even detailed UFO encounter on record. It is, however, very likely one of the most discreetly credible. Not only did multiple people – including two teaching aides – state how honest and reliable the witness was, but the encounter was examined by two respected UFO investigators who came to the same conclusion. Further to that, the case is one where physical evidence was left behind, proving, at the very least, that something real and strange occurred that morning.

Perhaps offering further credibility is that the incident unfolded in one of the most active UFO regions in the United States, where several other encounters are on record with surprisingly similar details. What also makes the incident stand out is the description of the strange figures the witness claimed he saw, which were much different from the multiple accounts of grey alien entities that came both before and after it. Indeed, these differing details perhaps add yet another layer of credibility to the whole affair.

The reasons behind this encounter, however, remain a mystery. The bizarre creatures reported by the witness seem unaware of his presence throughout the episode. Ultimately, the encounter remains unexplained. It is also far from well-known, both inside and outside the UFO community.

A “Little Man” In The Garden

According to an article in the Toppenish Review ^[1] after waking at around 6:30 am on January 19^th, 1977, nine-year-old Jose Cantu decided to make his own breakfast and allow his mother to sleep for a little while longer. As he was doing so, he happened to look out of the kitchen window of the farmhouse where his family lived in Harrah in the state of Washington and spotted a “little man” outside in the garden. Realizing immediately he was seeing something out of the ordinary, he rushed to his mother’s bedroom to wake her.

His mother – Martha – was alone in bed, as Jose’s father had already left for work. As she had been up later with Jose’s younger sibling, she dismissed his pleas to “come and look” and went back to sleep. Eventually, Jose relented and left his mother’s bedroom, and made his way back to the kitchen. From there, he put on his shoes and ventured outside to investigate the strange creature for himself. Once there, he would later tell his mother, who, in turn, told investigators and reporters alike he saw not one but two “greenish creatures” who were no taller than three feet.

Instead of legs, these creatures “rotated on a base” that was connected to some kind of seat by tubes. Jose later recalled that this lower part of the creatures’ bodies appeared “almost mechanical” like a robot. By contrast, the upper bodies consisted of a round torso with short arms and an even rounder head, out of which protruded two mushroom-shaped antennas. They had a single eye in the middle of their heads and a nose that was almost identical to a pig’s snout.

Even stranger, behind the two creatures were “two steely crafts” with another of the strange figures inside each of them. One of these craft had landed in the backyard, while the other was on a flat section of the house. He took up a hiding position behind a washing machine that had been left outside close to one of the sheds and watched events unfold.

Futuristic Vehicles

From his position tucked away next to the shed, Jose watched as the two strange figures turned and made their way to the waiting crafts. He described these seemingly futuristic vehicles as being “brilliantly lighted” with “straight stairs” that were similar to ramps. At the top of these ramp-like stairs was a door that “opened in two parts, like a cross,” which, when opened, allowed him to see what appeared to be two chairs inside.

The next thing he realized, the two crafts were rising into the air, and in a moment, they disappeared into “something that resembled a cloud, steam, or smoke!” At this point, with the strange objects and figures now gone, he went back inside. He once more told his mother of what he had seen, but she dismissed him once more and sent him to school. Incidentally, she would later tell reporters that if her son ever called to her in the future and told her to “come and look,” she would do so without question.

Once at school, however, (the Harrah Grade School), he told one of the aides of his encounter – Diane Gomez. She later told reporters that “Jose is a serious boy” who was “not one that tells stories or lies!” As such, she took what he said “very seriously!” At a little after 10 am that morning, during recess, she and another aide took Jose back home.

Physical Evidence Left Behind

Once there, Gomez asked Jose to show her exactly where he saw the two strange figures. Jose pointed out the two spots where he had first seen the two figures. Gomez later recalled that when she looked at the first location, she could clearly see “two round marks in the gravel!” Jose told her that one of the figures had “rotated” on its base. In another location, she saw “two sets of three indentions!”

Gomez informed Martha of what he had told her, and he pointed out the strange indentions in the backyard. Following that, the aides took Jose back to school. After they had left, Martha telephoned one of their neighbors, Irene Sanchez, and asked her to come over and help her investigate the backyard for herself. In addition to the indentions that aides had informed Martha about, she and Irene discovered a 10-foot circle in the long grass at the back of the garden, with the grass “whirled up” towards the middle of the circle. The circle was still more than visible when Martha’s husband and Jose’s father returned home from work later that evening.

Sketch by Jose Cantu

Several days later, two UFO investigators—Bill Vogel and David Akers—arrived at the Cantu home. Although the circle and the indentions were still visible, they gave off no abnormal radiation readings, as is often the case in UFO landing cases. Vogel, however, noted that the entire Harrah area had a long history of UFO sightings and strange encounters, some of which went back decades and even included cases of cattle mutilation.

Furthermore, Vogel also discovered that several local DB radio operators had reported seeing several strange lights over the town in the hours leading up to Jose’s encounter. Not only that, but Vogel discovered a woman in Toppenish – Mrs. Johnson – also spotted a bright light on the night before Jose’s encounter over Toppenish Ridge. Of further interest, the Johnson family stated that they often witnessed strange lights from their property. Stranger still, they also discovered three strange hole-like impressions on their land, which, incidentally, sites just to the south of Harrah.

Ultimately, almost all who spoke to Jose about the incident believed he saw exactly what he claimed to have seen. Other, very similar encounters from years previously corroborated his sighting, albeit indirectly.

Other Similar Encounters Nearby

One of these occurred two decades previously, in the late 1950s, in Toppenish, Idaho. On the morning in question, during the summer, at about 6 am, Barbara Brost, who owned the Huba Huba Café with her husband, Earl, along with her uncle, were at her ranch saddling their horses when they noticed a strange object a short distance away from them. They described this object as being “greyish white and as big as a boxcar!”

They stood watching the bizarre aerial vehicle for around a minute before calling out to the main house for Earl and Barbara’s aunt to come outside. However, by the time they arrived, the cigar-shaped object made a noise “like the transference of air” and lifted off the ground. Within moments, it was no longer in sight. Barbara offered that when she viewed rockets lifting off on the television (and keep in mind this was the late-fifties), she realized that what they had witnessed that morning was “something else!”

A short time after Barbara Brost’s sighting, during the fall of 1958 or 1959 also in Toppenish, 14-year-old Ron Gardner was watching television at his family’s rural home when a sudden “brilliant bluish-violet light” permeated the entire room. He instinctively turned towards the window and could see the light had also cast its glow over the yard outside. When he peered out of the window further, he saw a bizarre object going past the window. He estimated the object was around 10 feet from him and around three feet from the ground. It was, he claimed, around seven feet high, “tapering to real thin at the bottom!”

Another resident in Toppenish had his own strange encounter just over a decade later in 1969. Although he was happy to speak about it to Frances Story, he did so only under the condition that he remained anonymous. He described a very similar boxcar-sized object hovering over a cornfield. He witnessed the strange craft from a short distance away from their home with his wife, son, and daughter. He further stated that the object randomly shone a beam of light that was so bright he had to turn away from it.

A Discreetly Credible Case

As we can see, Jose Cantu and his account appear to be very credible. Other sightings and encounters in the immediate vicinity would also appear to corroborate the incident indirectly. It is perhaps also worth noting that the state of Washington is a hot spot of sorts for UFO activity.

Given that these figures—based on Jose’s description—are rare among the many reports of UFO occupants (certainly the greys), we might question whether there is some kind of connection between these strange creatures and the northwestern states of America. Perhaps understanding encounters such as Jose Cantu’s might lead us to a greater understanding not just of the UFO mysteries but of the wider world of the paranormal.

Whether any further details or information enters the public arena concerning the incident, either from Jose or another witness who might have seen the incident from a different location and perspective, remains to be seen. Indeed, perhaps sometime in the near future, another account will be revealed describing similar or not identical figures. For now, though, the Jose Cantu case remains of interest to UFO researchers and enthusiasts alike.

The short video below explores the Jose Cantu encounter a little further.