Herbert Schirmer: The US Police Officer Who Claimed To Be Abducted By Aliens In 1967
In 1967, in Ashland, Nebraska, police officer named Herbert Schirmer hit global news headlines with his claims of encountering a UFO while out on patrol. His claims became even more astonishing when he went through hypnosis and described coming into contact with entities from another world.
It was the night of December 3, 1967, when Herbert Schirmer, a young police officer in Ashland, Nebraska, made the astonishing claims that he not only saw a UFO, but claimed to communicate with the intelligent entities that controlled it.
Herbert Schirmer, 22, was driving his patrol car along Highway 6 toward Nebraska 63 at approximately 2.30am, when he claimed to be overcome by an unusual feeling that he struggled to describe before starting to become disorientated.
Mr Schirmer recalled how he had been and checked on a local barn at around 1am and then again at 1.35am, where he had noticed that the cattle were acting "strangely".
At around 2.30am, after checking on some other facilities while carrying out his normal patrol route he crossed Highway 6 before reaching the intersection with Highway 63. This is when he claimed to see some unusual-looking bright red lights to his right, hovering just above the ground. Making the assumption that these lights were coming from a truck, Schirmer drove his patrol vehicle toward them and stopped approximately 40 feet away.
What we claimed to witness was certainly not a truck, he described the object as a "saucer-shaped metallic object" that was shining brightly in the night sky, he described seeing blinking lights reflecting from what appeared to be windows in the object.
Later, in a report, Schirmer wrote: "At 2.30am December 3, 1967, I saw a UFO at the junction of US Highway 6 and Nebraska Highway 63. Believe it or not."
He described the object as oval in shape, approximately 20 feet wide, and 15 feet tall. He recalled how he attempted to approach the craft before it lifted 50 feet off the ground, made a "loud beeping sound, and fired a bright light beam into the ground before vanishing into the sky, almost in an instant."
After the craft allegedly vanished, Schirmer thought that was the end of his strange encounter, however, upon returning to the police station he noticed the time was now 3am, claiming he had lost 20 minutes somewhere between the UFO vanishing and arriving back at the station.
Schirmer said that when he returned home after his shift, he couldn't sleep and was overwhelmed by a severe headache. He also claimed to notice what appeared to be a bright red scar under his left ear.
News of Schirmer's alleged UFO encounter quickly spread around town and was picked up by the media, instantly making him the brunt of jokes and ridicule and numerous prank phone calls. One man called him, claiming to be from Mars, while a local tyre shop owner flagged him down and said "Herb, if you ever see another flying saucer, and it lands, you tell them I want to sell them a set of tyres".
Despite intensive questioning after the event, Schirmer claimed to not be able to remember what had happened in the missing 20 minutes after he saw the UFO fly off into the sky.
Now in 1968, several months after the alleged UFO sighting, Dr Leo Sprinkle, a psychologist from the University of Wyoming, carried out a hypnosis session with the aim of attempting to help him remember what had happened that night.
The hypnosis sessions were arranged by the Condon Committee, a University of Colorado project that was funded by the US Air Force.
During his hypnosis sessions, Schirmer recalled how the engine of his car had stalled and the radio had turned off before he saw something white, followed by a "fuzzy-looking figure," that he described as resembling the figure of a man coming out of the saucer-shaped craft and approaching his police vehicle.
He described the figure as similar in appearance to a human but "certainly not a human as we know it", he was certain that this was some form of alien being. He described the being as around 4-5 feet tall, wearing a tight-fitting, hooded, silver-grey uniform, with a belt, gloves, and black boots. He said on the left chest was a red emblem of what appeared to be a winged serpent.
Schirmer said that the human-looking figure approached him and prodded him with some form of device, before asking: "Are you the watchman of this town?" Schirmer recalled answering "Yes Sir" before this unknown figure requested that he come with him.
According to the police officer, he was then taken on board the metallic craft, which he later described as being full of bright lights, large cables, and unknown instruments.
Schirmer claimed that while on board the craft, he came into contact with several beings, all of which were much smaller in stature than himself. He claimed that he was told that many "flying crafts" just the same as this one, were flying around in the atmosphere surrounding the Earth.
He claimed that these "aliens" told him they had a number of bases on Earth, several of which were in the United States, but they originated from the nearest galaxy and had been staying on Venus for some time.
The police officer detailed how these "entities" explained their propulsion system on their craft to him, telling him that it was based on reverse electromagnetism and that Earth was used as an energy source.
According to Schirmer, the alien's reason for being on planet Earth was to stop humanity from destroying the planet.
The Condon Committee dismissed Schirmer's claims as sheer delusion and hallucination. That is apart from Dr Sprinkle, who believed the claims he made but failed to convince the committee.
Although the committee dismissed his story, it continued to make newspaper headlines throughout the 1970s, Herbert Schirmer moved away from Ashland during this time and settled down in the Pacific Northwest.
Herbert Schirmer spoke very little about his claims in the years that followed, and he died in 2017.
Before his death, Cartoonist Michael Jasorka released a graphic novel called "December 3, 1967: An Alien Encounter". In the novel he illustrated Schirmer's story, with the artist even speaking out, saying that he believed the police officer was telling the truth, dedicating the novel to him.
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