Carter Roy

If anything comes out of the light, surely it'll be Jesus.

For a while, it's as if time stands still, but Vicky will later estimate that Colby is outside for about a minute before he runs back and hides in the car.

Vicky follows suit about four minutes later,

Betty gets closest to the object and spends the most time outside, about 10 minutes total.

In that time, the women say the UFO looks like it's in distress, like it's having a hard time maintaining flight.

Every time it spews flames from the bottom, it shoots back into the air and emits a horrible noise, shrill, piercing beeps.

But it's not the only flying object in the sky that night.

At some point, a swarm of helicopters surrounds the craft, big ones with double rotor blades, the kind you'd expect to find in the military.

To the women, it looks like the choppers are there to help the object, like they're on a rescue mission.

Before they know it, the sky is empty again.

The light and the flames and the choppers drift back over the trees.

and disappear.

Betty, Vicki, and Colby are alone again, in the car, unsure what they just witnessed.

They continue their drive home, confused and scared, and before they reach their destination, they make a pact not to tell anyone what happened.

After all, who would believe them?

They can hardly believe it themselves.

Now, obviously, the cat doesn't stay in the bag forever.

I mean, we're able to talk about it now.

Their secret pact eventually gets broken, but there's a good reason for it.

And that reason is a big part of what made this case so famous.