Knowles Family Nullarbor Encounter 1988

In the early hours of January 20, 1988, the Knowles family — Patrick and his mother Faye, with Patrick's two brothers — were driving across the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia when they encountered a bright object that began pursuing their vehicle. The object descended onto the roof of their Ford Telstar, making a clamping sound. The family reported the car being lifted partially off the road and shaken before the object released them and the car crashed with a blown tyre. When the family stopped and inspected the vehicle, they found a black ash-like substance on the roof and a strange odor described as 'dead bodies' inside the car. Two truck drivers — entirely independently — also reported an unusual encounter in the same stretch of Nullarbor at the same time. Ceduna Police who examined the Knowles' vehicle documented the physical evidence including dents in the roof consistent with a clamping force. The physical evidence and multiple independent witnesses made the Nullarbor case one of Australia's most thoroughly documented close-encounter cases.