Portage County Ohio Police Chase 1966

In the pre-dawn hours of April 17, 1966, Portage County Sheriff's deputies Dale Spaur and Wilbur Neff responded to a disabled vehicle call on Route 224 when they observed a brilliant disc-shaped object rise from the woods and hover above them. The object then moved away slowly and Spaur gave chase, radioing for backup. Over the next hour and a half, multiple police departments across northeast Ohio and into Pennsylvania joined the pursuit as the object moved east at 100+ mph. Officers from Ravenna, Summit County, and Pennsylvania State Police all confirmed observation. The object finally disappeared over Pittsburgh. Major Hector Quintanilla of Project Blue Book attributed the sighting to Venus and a satellite — an explanation the witnesses publicly and angrily rejected. The humiliation and ongoing ridicule suffered by Deputy Spaur, who subsequently lost his career and marriage, became one of the defining examples of official ridicule tactics. The incident is widely cited in documentation of the social cost borne by credible witnesses.