On the evening of October 11, 1973, local shipyard workers Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker were fishing on the west bank of the East Pascagoula River between the railroad and the Highway 90 bridge when a buzzing sound alerted them to a football-shaped craft hovering behind them. Three creatures glided out, carried them into the craft, and after Parker fell unconscious and Hickson was “paralyzed,” Hickson was examined by a robotic eye before both men were returned to the riverbank and the craft shot away. They promptly reported the encounter to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, and a secretly made recording of the men alone indicated they were terrified and had no intention of deception. The next day they were taken to Keesler Air Force Base, where they were interviewed and found negative for radiation, and Hickson later passed a lie detector test. As news spread, many UFO investigators came to Jackson County, including Dr. J. Allen Hynek of Northwestern University, who interviewed the men in Pascagoula and concluded they were absolutely honest and had undergone a very real, frightening, and fantastic experience. Hickson later appeared on the Dick Cavett Show, interest in the event spread worldwide, and over the years magazine articles and two full-length books recounted the story. Though theories have ranged from hoax to hypnogogic reverie to a true encounter, it has remained regarded as the best documented case of alien abduction because of the secret tape and the presence of two witnesses.