Travis Walton - Background - Discovery in The Woods

Discovery in The Woods

A little after 6 p.m. on the evening of November 5, Rogers and his crew finished their work for the day and piled into Rogers' truck for the drive back to Snowflake. The crew reported that shortly after beginning the drive home, they saw a bright light from behind an upcoming hill. They drove closer and said they saw a large silvery disc hovering above a clearing and shining brightly. It was around 8 feet (2.4 m) high and 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter.

Rogers slowed the truck to a stop after which, they claim, Walton leaped from the truck and ran toward the disc. The other men said they shouted at Walton to come back but that he continued toward the disc. The men in the truck reported that Walton was nearly below the object when the disc began making noises similar to a very loud turbine. The disc then began to wobble from side to side, and Walton began to cautiously walk away from the object.

Jerome Clark wrote that just after Walton moved away from the disc, the others insist they saw a beam of blue-green light emanate from the disc and "strike" Walton. Clark went on to write that Walton "rose a foot into the air, his arms and legs outstretched, and shot back stiffly some 10 feet (3.0 m), all the while caught in the glow of the light. His right shoulder hit the earth, and his body sprawled limply over the ground." (Clark, 628-629)

Rogers later said he was convinced Walton was dead, so he drove away very quickly over the rough road, afraid that the disc was chasing the truck. After about a quarter of a mile, the truck skidded off the road and Rogers stopped. After some discussion, the crew claim they decided to go back to the site and find Walton. The disc was gone, and his co-workers said they searched for Walton for a half hour but found no sign of him.