Alabama/Texas Contact Case – Potential Abduction, Missing Time, UFO Sighting
- Chairman Dave
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 23 hours ago
Birmingham UFO Group Case Report
Author: Dave Hodrien
Release Date: 17/03/2026
Last Updated: 19/03/2026
Introduction
My wife Natasha’s maiden name is Patching. Many years ago she reached out to a lady from Tampa, Florida named Sherrie Patching who she came across on Facebook. They have remained in touch ever since. In February 2026 I and Natasha took a flight to Tampa for a cruise around the Gulf of Mexico. Because we were in the area and had a number of hours available, Natasha decided that it would be a great opportunity to meet up with Sherrie and her son Brandon.
On the morning of 13th February Brandon arrived at our bed & breakfast in his truck, and we headed to a nearby breakfast diner for some food and conversation. During our chat Sherrie wanted to find out more about my work as a UFO investigator. She also went over the details of a fascinating incident which she and her friend Peggy had experienced back in the late 1960s.
After I was back from the cruise I got back in touch via Facebook Messenger video call to go over everything in more depth. Sadly, as it happened so long ago there are gaps in Sherrie’s recollection of events, but there is still enough known to warrant this case report.
Incident Details
Back in the 1960s Sherrie’s husband Jimmy was a travelling salesman. He and Sherrie used to travel around various states as part of a crew of young adults. They would visit colleges to speak with students and sell magazines.
Around late 1967 to early 1968 they were either in Alabama or Texas (sadly Sherrie cannot recollect the precise location). One day she and her friend Peggy were sent out by their manager (Peggy’s older brother Bill) to visit a college. Peggy was only 16 years old at the time.
At around 6pm they left the college and began the drive back to the motel where they were staying. Peggy owned a car which they had used to get to the college.
They were driving along a wide highway in a very rural location. Either side of the road were flat farmer’s fields. It was a clear, dry and still evening. Sherrie recollects that it was not particularly busy on the road but there were occasional other vehicles.
They were relaxing and listening to music. As Peggy drove along the road and the sun slowly set, Sherrie stared out of the passenger side window at the open fields on the right. After a while she noticed a white light in the distance which appeared to be a yard light on a farm. This was quite common to see in the area because the farm houses were usually positioned quite far away from the edge of the road.
She kept her eye on the light. After a short while she realised that it was still visible and did not appear to have moved. The longer she watched it, the more she became aware that the light was moving! It appeared to be travelling at the same speed as their own car.
She let her friend know, saying “Peggy, look at this light out my side of the car, it seems to be travelling at the same speed we’re going!” Peggy glanced at the light but did not try slowing down or stopping the car to see if the light did the same.
They continued their journey. At the same time as observing the light, Sherrie began to notice that cars were occasionally pulling over and stopping at the side of the road. It looked like they had also spotted the light and had stopped to check it out.
Suddenly the white light seemed to dim. As it did the object behind it came into view. It appeared to be disc shaped and hovering just over the tree-line. It looked dark grey in colour, although this may have been partially due to the low amount of light in the sky at this point.
Without warning the object suddenly shot extremely rapidly towards the highway, roughly a mile ahead of them. As it got close to the road it suddenly ascended and passed over the road in a semi-circular arc!
When it reached the left side of the highway, at roughly the altitude it had been before, it hovered still for a brief moment. Then it suddenly shot vertically at a tremendous speed, vanishing in seconds due to the height. Sherrie could barely believe what she had just witnessed. She excitedly told Peggy what she had just seen.
She cannot recall the remainder of the drive to the motel. However, she does remember that when they arrived there the rest the crew were waiting in a group outside. They appeared very concerned. To her recollection they had arrived at the motel much later than expected.
When Sherrie informed the crew about what they had seen they laughed at her. Because of this negative reaction this was the last time Sherrie discussed the incident with anyone. She doesn’t recall even going back over the details with Peggy.
After the incident Sherrie found that she could not relax while travelling in the car after dark. She became fascinated with looking up at the sky in the hopes of seeing something again. This led to an interest in the UFO subject. The more she read, the more she became convinced that she and Peggy had witnessed an alien craft.
One day in the early 1970s she was sitting in her doctor’s office waiting for an appointment. She came across an article about the Betty & Barney Hill abduction case. As she read the details her whole body became nervous and she started to shake.
In the mid-70s she was visiting her mother in Memphis, Tennessee. While she was there the movie of the case The UFO Incident happened to be on television. The film re-ignited her interest in what had happened to her and Peggy.
Her husband got in touch with the crew manager via phone, who passed on Peggy’s number. Sherrie then gave her a call. Even though she couldn’t speak for long because of the call expenses back then, she was so thrilled to discuss the incident with her.
She asked her “Do you remember that experience we had when we were driving back from college?” Peggy excitedly responded “Oh my god yes!” They both confirmed with one another that they’d never felt able to talk about it with anyone else. This brief call convinced her that she had not lost her mind and the incident had actually taken place.
Over the following decades Peggy formed a deeper understanding of the subject. She was comfortable with what had happened, but just wanted to know more about where the craft had come from, who was piloting it and why they had been there.
In the 1990s she once again felt a strong compulsion to get back in touch with Peggy. Jimmy once ag again managed to get hold of her telephone number. By now calls were much cheaper and Sherrie was able to have a much deeper conversation about what Peggy remembered.
When Peggy described the incident, Sherrie was shocked to realise that her recollection of events was significantly different to what she personally recalled. But something deep inside her knew that what Peggy informed her was the truth.
Instead of the UFO being off in the distance, Peggy said that the craft had approached right over the car. Sherrie was apparently terrified and was trying to climb out of the passenger side window while the car was in motion. Peggy kept screaming at her to not be afraid, shouting “They didn’t hurt us! They didn’t hurt us!” She used her left hand to keep steering, and her right to grab hold of Sherrie. She then stated that the UFO flew ahead of them before performing the semi-circular manoeuvre over the road.
Thinking back to the incident, Sherrie had convinced herself that the reason they had arrived late to the motel was because they had spent time at a party at the college before departing. However, Peggy informed her this was not the case, and they had left on time, around 6pm. The journey time to the motel should have been no more than 3 hours, yet when they arrived it had been around 11pm.
Peggy stated that her brother Bill was extremely worried and wanted to find out what had happened. She said that she went back to his room to discuss things, and when they went there they were met by two unknown men who started pressing her regarding what had happened. Apparently Bill was quite strong, and when he got involved they backed off.
Incident Analysis
Towards the start of the investigation I asked Sherrie if I would also be able to speak with Peggy regarding what she recollected happening. Sherrie had not spoken with her in a good while, but did have her contact details so got in touch with her via phone.
Unfortunately, a complication has arisen. Peggy is an author and has written a novel. She is currently working with a production company to adapt this into a movie. The company has expressed an interest in making a film relating to her and Sherrie's UFO encounter in the future, and as a result she has apparently signed a contract stating that she will not give any interviews relating to it.
This means that at present I only have Sherrie’s testimony of events to go on. However, after speaking with her directly and via Messenger numerous times I have absolutely no doubt that the details she has provided are accurate to the best of her knowledge.
If the UFO had remained as a distant white light seemingly following alongside them at the same speed, I would have potentially put it down to a bright star/planet low down in the sky. However, the fact that the light dimmed revealing the disc-shaped object puts this possibility out of the question.
The manoeuvres it was seen to perform were clearly advanced. It could not have been an aeroplane as before it ascended vertically it came to a halt in the sky. It was moving much too rapidly to have been a helicopter, and the incident occurred many decades before drones were available. It was also moving much too fast for other mundane explanations such as an inflatable drifting on air currents or radio controlled model.
What Peggy later informed Sherrie over the phone is absolutely fascinating. It suggests that both of them were abducted that evening, and that Peggy potentially had some knowledge of this fact. At the very least she seemed to be aware of the fact that the UFO had approached and hovered over the car.
Whether she had any conscious memories of what happened next, or was just making the assumption that they’d been taken due to how Sherrie was reacting is unknown at present. It is also unclear whether Sherrie was traumatised just by the fact that the UFO had flown close to them, or whether at the time she was aware that something else had happened.
The fact that they arrived back at the motel much later than expected, as confirmed by the concern of the rest of the crew on their arrival, combined with what Peggy confirmed over the phone, indicates that there was a period of time that could not be accounted for, at least a couple of hours.
There is also the implication that there was some kind of surveillance going on regarding what had happened, with two unidentified men trying to press Peggy for answers at her brother’s motel room. If Peggy decides to provide a statement at a later point we may find out more about these intriguing aspects of the case.
Even though some of the specific details of what happened here have been lost due to how long ago it took place, I still believe it is worth getting down on official record. I would like to thank Sherrie for openly coming forward with this information, and hope that in due course more details will come to light.
Copyright Dave Hodrien 2026
Comments