Three young women in Varginha, Brazil, report a strange creature, and rumors of a military recovery follow
January 1996 · Varginha, Minas Gerais · Sighting · Secondary sources only
In January 1996 three young women in Varginha said they saw a crouching being about three feet tall with brown skin, bulging red eyes and horn-like bumps. Brazilian UFO researchers said firemen and soldiers captured it and a second one, that one died at an Army base and that its body was moved by convoy to a hospital. The town embraced the story, and the mayor proposed a UFO park. A 1997 Army inquiry heard the soldiers named by the researchers, who denied taking part.
Why it matters (4/5)
Brazil's best-known case, investigated by an Army inquiry whose files were made public in 2026.
Caveats
The Army's spokesman called the cover-up claims 'absurd' and said the convoy was delivering vehicles for maintenance. The inquiry, whose files the Superior Military Court released in January 2026, concluded the case came from 'a misinterpretation': the women had seen a man with a mental disorder crouching wet against a wall in the rain, and vehicle logs showed no matching movements. Researchers and some witnesses, including a doctor who says he treated a non-human being, reject that account.
Sources
- STM divulga dados de inquerito sobre ET de Varginha: 'caso fruto de engano e boatos' (O Povo (Agencia Estado)), criticism
- Brazilian City Cashes In On an E.T. With Horns (The Christian Science Monitor), context
- 1996 Varginha incident: recovery of extraterrestrials? (NewsNation), context