Imagine a crisp autumn day in Wyoming’s rugged wilderness. A seasoned hunter spots his prey and fires a shot. But the bullet defies physics, drifting slowly before dropping harmlessly. What follows challenges everything we know about reality. This is the story of Carl Higdon, a 41-year-old oil rig foreman from Rawlins, Wyoming. On October 25, 1974, Higdon set out for a routine elk hunt in Medicine Bow National Forest. He ended up claiming contact with an extraterrestrial being named Ausso One, a journey to a distant planet, and a return that left physical marks on his body and the landscape.
Key Takeaways
- Carl Higdon’s 1974 encounter involved a humanoid alien and interplanetary travel, backed by physical anomalies like a deformed bullet and relocated truck.
- Medical exams confirmed unexplained healings, adding credibility to his unproven claims.
- Investigations, including hypnosis, found no signs of hoax, though skeptics suggest natural explanations.
- This case parallels other 1970s abductions, fueling debates on extraterrestrial visits.
A Routine Hunt Turns Otherworldly
Higdon was no stranger to hard work. A Korean War veteran and father of four, he borrowed his company’s two-wheel-drive truck that day after a crew member called in sick. Along the way, he helped two stranded motorists fix their vehicle. In thanks, they tipped him off to a prime hunting spot in McCarty Canyon, a remote area teeming with game. Higdon arrived, parked, and hiked in.
Around 4 p.m., he crested a hill and saw five elk grazing in a clearing. He raised his new 7mm Magnum rifle, aimed at the largest bull, and squeezed the trigger.
Higdon watched in disbelief as the bullet slowed to a stop after traveling only about 50 feet before falling to the ground. Confused, he bent to retrieve it, later finding the slug deformed as if it hit an invisible wall, yet intact.
Then, a tall figure emerged from the trees. It called itself Ausso One.
The Appearance of Ausso One
The being stood over 6 feet tall, weighing, he estimated, around 180 pounds, with bow legs and a slanted head that merged directly into broad shoulders no visible neck. Its skin was yellowish, hair like stiff straw standing straight up. Small, deep-set eyes peered from a face with no chin, a thin slit for a mouth revealing three large teeth, and two short antennae on the forehead. It wore a black jumpsuit, crisscrossed with straps, and a belt adorned with a yellow star. Instead of a right hand, a cone-shaped prosthesis extended from the arm, like a drill bit. Ausso One floated slightly above the ground, communicating telepathically in broken English.
Ausso One asked if Higdon was hungry, offering four small pills from a pouch. Higdon swallowed one, later reporting no hunger for days. The alien explained he came from a planet 163,000 light miles away (Higdon’s phrasing, possibly meaning light years) to hunt animals for breeding, as their world lacked suitable seas and had a harsher sun. He invited Higdon aboard a transparent, cube-shaped craft that appeared from nowhere. Inside, despite the cube’s small exterior, space expanded. Higdon sat in an armrest-equipped chair, facing Ausso One and another similar being. The five elk floated in, immobilized.
Journey to an Alien World
In moments, they arrived at the alien planet. Higdon described a landscape dotted with conical towers, each about 100 feet tall, topped with rotating, multicolored lights that buzzed intensely. Under one tower, a scanning device bathed him in light. Ausso One declared him “not what we need” perhaps too old or unhealthy and returned him to Earth. Higdon felt a jolt, tumbling five feet to the ground near his truck, now mired in a deep mud hole in impassable terrain, miles from his original parking spot. No tracks explained how it got there.
Disoriented, Higdon wandered, vomiting and hallucinating briefly before using his CB radio to call for help around 6:30 p.m. A search party, including his boss and the local sheriff, found him at 11:30 p.m., incoherent and unable to recognize his wife, Margery.
At Carbon County Memorial Hospital, doctors noted red, watery eyes sensitive to light, but X-rays revealed astonishing changes: scars from old tuberculosis had vanished from his lungs, and kidney stones plaguing him for years were gone. He recovered quickly, with no lasting harm.
Verified Witness Accounts
Higdon’s story emerged piecemeal. Initially amnesic, details surfaced under hypnosis by University of Wyoming psychologist Dr. Leo Sprinkle, a UFO researcher. Over multiple sessions starting November 2, 1974, Higdon consistently recounted the events without contradiction. In one session, he drew Ausso One and the craft, describing the alien’s voice as “like a record played backward.” Sprinkle noted Higdon’s sincerity, stating in a 1975 report that his emotional responses under hypnosis aligned with genuine trauma.
Margery Higdon, his wife, corroborated key parts. She found the inside-out bullet in his pocket days later, baffling ballistics experts who couldn’t replicate the damage without destroying the slug. In her 2017 book, she quotes Carl: “I thought I was going crazy.” Search party members, like foreman Rick Williams, confirmed the truck’s impossible location in a “muck hole” no vehicle could reach without four-wheel drive or tracks. Higdon passed polygraph tests administered by the Wyoming Highway Patrol, with results indicating truthfulness, though such tests aren’t foolproof.
Community reactions varied. Local newspapers like the Casper Star-Tribune reported it in 1975, and national outlets followed. On X, users like @mrjeffknox have shared historical threads, noting the case’s enduring intrigue. Higdon avoided publicity, never profiting, and stuck to his story until his death in 2018.
Expert Perspectives on Evidence
Dr. Sprinkle’s preliminary report in Flying Saucer Review detailed the investigation, classifying it as a close encounter of the fourth kind (abduction). He found no hoax evidence, citing the bullet as “physical trace” and medical healings as anomalous. In a 1978 TV episode of “In Search Of,” hosted by Leonard Nimoy, Sprinkle said: “There seems to be no evidence of hoax. No evidence of psychotic reaction.”
UFO researcher Preston Dennett, in books like “UFO Healings,” links Higdon’s cured ailments to similar cases, suggesting extraterrestrial intervention. The deformed bullet, analyzed but unexplained, remains a key artifact. Higdon’s blood tests post-abduction showed elevated vitamins, aligning with the “nourishment pills.” Yet experts caution: without the craft or aliens, it’s unproven. Sprinkle himself believed in UFOs, potentially biasing his views.
Skeptical Views on the Encounter
Skeptics argue Higdon hallucinated, perhaps from altitude sickness, bad food, or stress. The slow-motion bullet could stem from a misfire or faulty ammo. Reddit discussions on r/skeptic tie it to 1970s sci-fi tropes, like floating humanoids from pulp stories. The truck’s location? Maybe Higdon drove erratically in confusion. Healings might coincide with natural remission or misdiagnosis.
Critics note hypnosis can implant false memories, and polygraphs detect stress, not lies. No independent witnesses saw the craft. Still, physical evidence like the bullet challenges easy dismissal.
Cultural and Historical Context
Higdon’s case fits the 1970s abduction surge. The 1961 Betty and Barney Hill case set the template: humanoids, exams, lost time. Pascagoula’s 1973 fishing abduction echoed telepathy and scans. Wyoming saw another in 1975 with a rancher claiming similar contact. Globally, Brazil’s Varginha incident (1996) involved captured beings.
Culturally, post-Watergate America craved mysteries. Shows like “In Search Of” popularized such tales, blending wonder with doubt. Higdon’s story inspired podcasts, like Think Anomalous, exploring links to missing persons cases in national parks. On X, anniversary posts keep it alive, with users like @UFOB_ sharing drawings.
Higdon’s abduction remains unconfirmed, a blend of wonder and reason. Physical clues hint at something extraordinary, yet science demands more. Perhaps Ausso One lurks in the shadows, hunting still.
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