Betty & Barney Hill Abduction (1961)

First widely publicized abduction case: a couple reported being stopped and examined by beings after following a light.

Barney and Betty Hill were an American couple and civil rights activists who claimed they were abducted by extraterrestrials in a rural portion of the state of New Hampshire from September 19 to 20, 1961. The incident came to be called the "Hill Abduction" and the "Zeta Reticuli Incident" because two ufologists connected the star map allegedly shown to Betty Hill with the Zeta Reticuli system. Their story was adapted into the best-selling 1966 book The Interrupted Journey and NBC's 1975 television film The UFO Incident. Most of Betty Hill's notes, tapes, and other items have been placed in the permanent collection at the University of New Hampshire, her alma mater. In July 2011, the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources marked the site of the alleged craft's first approach with a historical marker. The Hills' story was widely publicized in books and movies.