Exeter New Hampshire — Low-Altitude Craft Police Witnesses 1965

In the early hours of September 3, 1965, 18-year-old Norman Muscarello was hitchhiking on Route 150 near Exeter, New Hampshire when a huge silent craft with five bright red lights appeared from behind trees, tilting and wobbling as it hovered at approximately 50 feet above the field. Muscarello ran to a nearby house and called police. Officer Eugene Bertrand was dispatched — he had himself earlier encountered a woman on the highway who told him a UFO had chased her car. Bertrand arrived at the field and both he and Muscarello watched the craft maneuver overhead for approximately 45 minutes. Bertrand radioed for backup and Officer David Hunt arrived in time to observe the object before it departed. Horses and dogs in the area were agitated throughout. Two jets from Pease AFB were scrambled in response. Project Blue Book interviewed all witnesses and initially classified the case as 'insufficient data.' When the investigator's classification was challenged by the witnesses and a New Hampshire congressman, the Air Force sent official letters to both Muscarello and Bertrand's police chief — one of the very few cases to generate formal USAF correspondence about a specific UAP event in the public record.