An account in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France

On July 1, 1965 at 5:45 a.m., a farmer in his lavender field hears a whistling sound that intrigues him. He moves to see that a dark, matte device unknown to him is resting on the ground. He observes for 4 to 5 minutes the presence of two figures who climb back into the device very quickly. The latter takes off and leaves at an angle before disappearing rapidly in the direction of Manosque. About ten minutes later, the farmer discovers traces on the ground at the location of the device: these traces have the shape of a star with a cylindrical hole in the middle in waterlogged soil. He returns in the evening around 8:30 p.m. with his daughter and notes that the soil has become "hard as cement." The next morning, July 2, he talks about this matter and very quickly many curious people come to see the traces, which will be trampled. Around 7:30 p.m. the local gendarmerie learns of this event through public rumor. The witness will be heard a first time on July 2, 1965 at 8 p.m. by the local brigade (see report 445). Around 10 p.m. the witness accompanies the gendarmes to the site. He will be heard again from 11:15 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. for additional information. A report of findings on the observation site and on the ground traces will be established on July 3 by another brigade (see report 105) with measurements and photographs. The witness will report very detailed additional information on August 18, 1965 (see report 145). No other testimony will be collected. No other clue will be found around the observation site by the gendarmerie. At the time of this observation, GEPAN, created in 1977, did not exist; the successive heads of GEPAN/SEPRA/GEIPAN have of course all taken an interest in this case, have received or collected documents about it, without however publishing an in-depth investigation; a GEPAN investigation would probably have been of little use due to the time elapsed since the event, and after the investigative work already done by the Gendarmerie and by several investigators, including Pierre Guérin and Jacques Vallée. Given its strangeness, this case is classified as "D".