Travis Walton, Snowflake, Arizona
Arizona logger Travis Walton reportedly disappeared after a roadside encounter with a luminous object witnessed by six co-workers. Walton reappeared five days later and described an interior encounter with non-human figures.
This case predates PURSUE, so the primary record was never centrally digitized. The source links below point to the best public records available: original investigators, primary reporting, and diagnostic-friendly secondary analysis. For PURSUE-era cases, mirrored files render inline further down.
Provenance metadataFields marked “not disclosed” are transparent gaps in the release, not omissions on our end.
- Coordinates
- Not disclosed in this release
- Altitude
- Not disclosed in this release
- Sensor detail
- Not disclosed in this release
- Encounter duration
- Not disclosed in this release
- Witness count
- Not disclosed in this release
- Operational context
- Not disclosed in this release
- Weather / visibility
- Not disclosed in this release
- Chain of custody
- Not disclosed in this release
- Classification
- Not disclosed in this release
Official description
Initial witness reports were filed with the Navajo County Sheriff's Office on November 5, 1975. The six co-workers reportedly passed polygraph examinations administered by Arizona Department of Public Safety personnel; one polygraph result was inconclusive. The case has been investigated extensively by both supportive and skeptical researchers.
Editor's context
One of the most cited claimed-abduction cases in the post-WWII era. The polygraph results, the corroborating witness testimony, and Walton's later writings have all been contested at length. Skeptical analyses have raised methodological concerns with the polygraphs and pointed to incentives that complicate interpretation. The case is best treated as substantially contested rather than resolved.
In the margins
Transcribed redactions, stamps, and handwritten markings, the paratext of the file. Often the most human part of a declassified document, and worth reading on its own.
- Stampp. 1NAVAJO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, INCIDENT REPORT
- StampARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, POLYGRAPH UNIT
- AnnotationSix co-workers signed witness statements: Mike Rogers, Ken Peterson, John Goulette, Steve Pierce, Allen Dalis, Dwayne Smith.
- AnnotationPolygraph examinations administered Nov 10, 1975 by C.E. Gilson (Arizona DPS): five passed, one (Dalis) inconclusive.
- AnnotationFirst Walton polygraph (Nov 15, 1975) administered by John J. McCarthy of Arizona Polygraph Laboratory returned 'gross deception' finding, reported to National Enquirer in Jan 1976 voucher.
- AnnotationSecond Walton polygraph (three months later) administered by George J. Pfeifer of Tom Ezell Associates: apparent pass; widely publicized.
- AnnotationWalton reappeared 5 days later in a phone booth at Heber, Arizona; reported confused recollection of an interior encounter.
Cite the primary source
Citations center the originating government agency and link to the official record. This archive is listed as the access point, not the author.
U.S. Government. "Travis Walton, Snowflake, Arizona." Released via PURSUE program, 1975-11-10. http://www.ufoevidence.org/cases/case242.htm. Accessed 2026-08-12 via Social Media for Aliens archive, https://socialmediaforaliens.com/files/travis-walton-1975.
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