In the quiet rural landscape of Illinois in 1975, a teenage photography enthusiast had an encounter that would forever change his life. David Mayhem, just 14 years old at the time, ventured into the wooded area of his father's farm near Brownstown with his camera and dog on January 5th. What began as a routine photography excursion quickly transformed into something extraordinary when David spotted an unusual craft hovering over a nearby house.

Upon seeing the saucer-shaped object, David's photographer instincts took over as he snapped several photos of the craft before it allegedly pulled him inside through some form of levitation. The experience lasted only minutes by David's perception, though his father would later claim he had been gone for over an hour. Despite David's attempts to report his encounter and share his photographic evidence with various authorities—from the FAA to the Illinois State Police—he was met with disinterest until mysterious men in black suits eventually took his negatives, never to return them.

Key Takeaways

A teenage photographer documented a close encounter with an unidentified craft in rural Illinois that included being temporarily drawn inside the object.
Despite photographic evidence and a corroborating witness, government agencies showed little interest in investigating David's experience.
Months after the initial encounter, David reportedly received telepathic impressions leading him back to the woods, suggesting ongoing communication with the phenomenon.

David Mayhem's UFO Encounter

First Observation and Camera Documentation

In January 1975, fourteen-year-old David Mayhem was exploring the wooded area of his father's property near Brownstown, Illinois. An enthusiastic photographer, David carried his Ricoh 35mm camera while walking with his Airedale dog around 2:30 PM on Sunday, January 5th. While searching for interesting subjects to photograph, he heard an unusual humming sound that caught his attention. Looking up, David spotted a strange craft hovering approximately 1,800 feet above a house about 500 yards away. Upon being observed, the object moved to a nearby field and descended to roughly 500 feet altitude. Recovering quickly from his initial shock, David raised his camera and began taking photographs. As he captured the images, the craft began moving in his direction until it positioned itself directly overhead.

Object's Approach and Physical Characteristics

The craft David observed was saucer-shaped with a black exterior surrounded by a grayish haze. He noted circular markings on its underside that resembled engines, along with a dome structure on top. David estimated the object was approximately 100 feet in diameter. It remained motionless directly above him for several moments, creating an increasingly tense situation. The craft's appearance was unlike anything he had previously encountered, with distinctive features that clearly separated it from conventional aircraft.

Craft Characteristics Description Shape Saucer with dome on top Size Approximately 100 feet diameter Color Black with grayish haze Markings Circular engine-like structures on underside Sound Humming/motor-like noise

Unusual Elevation and Craft Interior

What followed was even more extraordinary. David reported experiencing a tugging sensation and feeling himself being lifted off the ground. He described the experience as similar to levitation, feeling drawn upward without remembering passing through any entrance. Suddenly, he found himself inside a small room about five feet in diameter. The interior walls resembled brushed aluminum with small lens-like devices placed at waist height around the perimeter. These strange lenses, approximately two inches in diameter and spaced five inches apart, emitted a pulsating glow. David noticed several unusual aspects of his situation: he could move his head but his arms remained immobilized at his sides, and he couldn't walk. Despite these restrictions, he felt mentally alert. The room contained no furniture, and the humming sound had ceased, leaving only silence. On the floor beneath him, David observed a grate emitting an orange glow that pulsated like the wall lenses.

Earth Return and Temporal Anomaly

David has no recollection of how he exited the craft. His next awareness was finding himself back on the ground with the object still overhead. He watched as it rapidly departed westward. His dog, normally energetic, appeared unusually subdued, lying down and showing little interest in the surroundings. Though David estimated his experience inside the craft lasted only 25-35 seconds, with the entire encounter taking approximately 45 seconds, a significant time discrepancy emerged. Upon returning home shortly after the incident, his father insisted David had been absent for at least an hour, possibly an hour and a half. This unexplained time gap troubled David, who remained certain his experience had been brief. In the aftermath, he reported feeling tired, anxious, and fearful the object might return. Despite attempts to report his encounter to numerous authorities including the FAA, Scott Air Force Base, and Illinois State Police, David faced indifference. Later, he was visited by two men in black suits who borrowed—and never returned—his photographic negatives.

The Impact of the Sighting

Emotional and Physical Aftermath

Following the encounter, David experienced significant physical and emotional effects. He described feeling extremely shaken, with increasing fatigue and anxiety developing in the hours afterward. The normally confident teenager found himself terrified that the strange craft might return. His sleep patterns were also disturbed, as he began experiencing a series of strange and disturbing dreams involving UFOs hovering over his home. These recurring nightmares continued both before and after his January 5th sighting, suggesting a deeper psychological impact than initially apparent.

Disbelief and Support from Others

David's account met with mixed reactions from those around him. Many of his classmates, neighbors, and even his own father dismissed his story outright. The eighth-grader at Brownstone Junior High faced significant skepticism when sharing his experience. However, he did find some validation when Anne Hunter contacted him. She had been traveling with her family on the day of David's experience and had independently witnessed a large saucer-shaped object hovering over David's home. This corroboration provided David with much-needed reassurance, as he expressed relief that someone else had seen the same object he had photographed.

Government Response and Mysterious Visits

When David attempted to report his encounter, he faced a frustrating wall of bureaucratic indifference. His efforts included contacting:

Federal Aviation Administration in St. Louis (showed no interest)
Scott Air Force Base (redirected him elsewhere)
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (showed no interest)
Illinois State Police Headquarters in Watson (promised follow-up that never came)

Despite these official channels showing little concern for his report, David's case attracted different attention. Shortly after contacting the local newspaper, two men dressed in black suits visited his home. They claimed to be acting in an official capacity and requested to borrow his photograph negatives. Though they promised to return them, the negatives were never seen again. The identity of these men and the whereabouts of David's photographic evidence remain unknown.

The Quest for Explanations

Seeking Government Response

After developing his photographs, David embarked on a frustrating journey to find someone in authority who would take his experience seriously. He first contacted the Federal Aviation Administration in St. Louis, hoping they would investigate the strange craft he had documented. Unfortunately, they showed complete disinterest in his case and redirected him to Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, Illinois.

When he called the Air Force base, an operator there further deflected his report, suggesting he instead reach out to Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. This pattern continued when SIU also demonstrated no interest in his photographs or experience. David's final attempt with government agencies led him to the Illinois State Police Headquarters in Watson.

Although an officer there questioned him about the incident and promised that "proper authorities" would be notified, no follow-up call ever came. By Saturday, despite his persistent efforts to alert multiple government organizations about what he had witnessed and photographed, not a single agency had responded or shown any interest in his case.

Reaching Out to UFO Researcher

When official channels failed him, David turned to his local newspaper, the Leader Union. A reporter named Jim Michaels suggested he contact a professor at Northwestern University in Evanston who specialized in collecting UFO reports. Following this advice, David spoke by telephone with Dr. J. Allen Hynek that Sunday.

Dr. Hynek, a respected authority in UFO research, questioned David extensively about his experience. At the end of their conversation, the professor requested copies of the photographs David had taken. He indicated that if he could verify the authenticity of the images, he would contact David for further investigation.

This interaction gave David hope that someone with scientific credentials might finally take his encounter seriously. Unlike the government agencies that had dismissed him outright, Dr. Hynek appeared genuinely interested in examining the evidence David had collected.

Independent Witness Confirmation

Perhaps the most validating development came when a woman named Ann Hunter independently contacted David. Before his pictures were even published in the Leader Union newspaper, Hunter reached out to share her own observations from January 5th, 1975.

On that same afternoon, Ann had been traveling with her family when she spotted a large saucer-shaped object hovering over David's home. Sitting in the back seat with her children while her husband Dale drove, she was stunned by what she saw. Ann immediately asked her husband to turn the car around for another look, but by then the object had vanished.

In a later interview with researcher Tim Beckley for the August 1979 UFO Review newsletter, Hunter mentioned that David had disclosed experiencing strange, disturbing dreams involving UFOs hovering over his home both before and after his encounter. David expressed immense gratitude to Hunter for coming forward. Her corroboration provided crucial validation - someone else had witnessed the same object he had photographed, confirming he wasn't alone in what he had seen.

David's Photographic Evidence

The Captured Images

David, a 14-year-old photography enthusiast from Illinois, documented his extraordinary encounter on January 5, 1975. While exploring the wooded area of his father's farm near Brownstown with his Ricoh 35mm camera, he photographed a mysterious craft hovering approximately 1,800 feet above a nearby house. As the object descended to about 500 feet in a nearby field, David quickly snapped a series of five photographs while the craft moved toward him.

After developing the film, David received the physical photographs which appeared to confirm his sighting. These images became crucial evidence of his encounter with the unidentified craft, which he described as a saucer-shaped object approximately 100 feet in diameter with circular markings on its underside and a dome on top.

Visit from Mysterious Officials

Following his attempts to report the incident to various government agencies, David received an unexpected visit from two men wearing black suits. These individuals presented themselves as officials interested in his photographic evidence. They specifically requested to borrow the original negatives of the UFO photographs.

The men assured David they would return the negatives after examination. Despite their promises, David never saw these visitors again. Their identities remained unknown, as did their organizational affiliations. This mysterious interaction added another layer to David's already unusual experience.

Disappearance of Crucial Evidence

The original photographic negatives, which represented the primary physical evidence of David's encounter, were permanently lost after being handed over to the unidentified officials. This loss significantly complicated efforts to verify his experience through technical analysis of the original film.

Despite the disappearance of his negatives, David's account gained some external validation when Ann Hunter, a local resident, independently confirmed seeing a large saucer-shaped object over David's home on the same day as his experience. Her corroboration provided additional support for David's claims, even as the primary photographic evidence remained missing and beyond recovery.

Renewed Communication and Mental Impressions

Compelling Drive to Revisit the Forest

After months of relative normalcy following the January incident, David's life took another unexpected turn on June 20, 1975. While sitting quietly in his bedroom around 3:30 PM, he experienced what he described as a powerful mental impression urging him to return to the wooded area behind his family home.

This wasn't a casual thought or simple desire to go outdoors. David later explained to researchers that the sensation felt remarkably similar to telepathy - a direct communication bypassing normal sensory channels. The impression carried such intensity that it seemed to originate from an external source rather than his own consciousness.

The timing proved significant, coming approximately five months after his initial encounter with the unidentified craft. During the intervening period, David had experienced recurring dreams featuring UFOs hovering over his residence, creating a pattern of unusual mental phenomena that culminated in this compelling urge.

This mental prompting represented a notable shift from the physical nature of his January experience. While the initial encounter involved visual observation and alleged physical interaction with a craft, this new development suggested a potential non-physical connection being established.

Conclusion

David Mayhem's extraordinary encounter in January 1975 represents one of the more compelling UFO cases of that era. His detailed account of the saucer-shaped craft, including specific observations about its appearance and behavior, provides remarkable insight into the phenomenon. The craft's black exterior with a grayish haze, circular markings on the underside, and dome-shaped top created a distinctive profile that David estimated to be approximately 100 feet in diameter.

The reported missing time element adds another layer of intrigue to this case. While David believed he was only gone for a short period, his father insisted he had been absent for well over an hour. This time discrepancy aligns with patterns observed in other close encounter reports.

Perhaps most frustrating was the institutional indifference David faced. Despite his persistence, neither the FAA, Scott Air Force Base, Southern Illinois University, nor the Illinois State Police showed interest in his photographic evidence. This bureaucratic runaround ultimately led him to seek help from Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a respected UFO researcher.

The independent corroboration from Ann Hunter, who witnessed a similar craft in the same location on the same day, strengthens David's account considerably. Such third-party verification is rare in UFO cases and adds significant credibility to his experience.

The mysterious men in black suits who confiscated David's photographic negatives represent a troubling aspect of this case. Their official-seeming demeanor, coupled with their failure to return the evidence as promised, suggests possible government involvement or surveillance.

David's telepathic-like experience months later, compelling him to return to the woods on June 20, 1975, indicates this case extended beyond a single incident. This continued connection points to an ongoing phenomenon rather than an isolated event.

Taken together, these elements form a pattern consistent with close encounter cases, combining physical evidence, witness corroboration, missing time, and subsequent unusual experiences. The Strange Case of David Mayhem stands as a remarkable example of UFO encounters that defy conventional explanation.

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