1961 was an auspicious year. The Cold War was in full swing and in January, the United States broke ties with Cuba. That same day, an explosion at a Nuclear Reactor in Idaho killed three. Shortly after, race riots at the University of Georgia made headlines just as President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address. John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as president a few days later. The Soviet Union was launching rockets into space and China started its first nuclear reactor. In April 1961, the failed Bay of Pigs invasion took place and by May, a U.S. aircraft was hijacked to Cuba.
Yet, on September 19 and 20, 1961, an event occurred which would eclipse all previous major events. On these dates, Betty and Barney Hill of Portsmouth, New Hampshire were abducted by aliens. Their story captured the nation and quickly became the source for several books, news coverage, and a 1975 TV Movie called “The UFO Incident.” Their experience has continued to draw attention from both UFO enthusiasts and debunkers alike. Investigators were never able to discount their story and to this day, no one can find flaw with their experience.
One thing which made their story so profound was their detailed descriptions of examinations performed on them during their brief period of abduction. Barney died in 1969 from a cerebral hemorrhage, but prior to this, he provided multiple interviews recounting in detail his personal experience.
Renowned physicist Stanton Friedman co-authored Captured!, the story of the Hills. Together with Kathleen Marden, the writers take us though the events as they unfolded. Marden was niece to Betty Hill and provides both insights never before provided but also recounts what her aunt revealed under hypnosis.
For anyone serious about understanding alien abductions and why extraterrestrials continue to visit planet earth, Captured! Is a must read. Get Captured! now in the bookstore of the International UFO Museum and Research Center.