The Onilson Pátero Case, is considered one of the classic cases of Brazilian Ufology, was investigated by several nationally renowned ufologists. One of the most prestigious UFO research institutions in Brazil, the Brazilian Society of Flying Saucer Studies (SBEDV), carried out an extensive investigation on the case, publishing a detailed research report in two SBEDV Bulletins, edition 94/98 (September - 1973 / June 1974) and edition 99/103 (July - 74 / April-1975). In this report, SBEDV transcribes research data from other UFO researchers in National Ufology, such as Max Berezovski and Silvio
I have only made a few comments but left the account more-or-less as it was given in the 1970s. I have attempted to track down Patero but have hit a stonewall -Brazilian UFO groups seeming quite unwilling these days to cooperate.
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The target of several investigations and speculations over it's veracity, the so-called “Patéro Case” is one of the classics in the history of Brazilian ufology and considered the Brazilian equivalent of Travis Walton case and the strange facts reported by the merchant Onilson Patero were even investigated by the Department of Political and Social Order (DOPS), which, at the time of the Military Dictatorship in Brazil, had the function of monitoring and repressing political movements. and social issues contrary to the established power. In this case Patero disappeared for six days and then re-appeared over 1000km (621m) from the location of the alleged abduction while his car was still at the abduction site.
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Passing the "Salto" bridge of Avanhadava, approximately 150 km from Catanduva, he came across a bank truck parked on the highway and a person hitch-hiking nearby. His first thought was that the person was someone associated with the police station near Avadanha -a security guard? He decided to give the hitch-hiker and so Patero stopped and the man got into the car and Patero introduced himself and the man identified himself as Alex. Patero offered Alex a cigarette but he refused the offer stating that he did not smoke when he was traveling. Patero noticed that Alex carried something similar to a metal cigarette box which he kept close to his body.
During the trip Alex asked several questions about Patero - his education level and his way of life, how long he has lived in Catanduva, his time working and so on. Patero answered all of the questions and occasionally asked some himself and one of these was regarding Alex's work and Alex simply replied that he worked on "providing services". Throughout the conversation Alex proved to have a great memory and remembered everything that Patero had said. Here I ought to point out that this was not that long a conversation or journey so that Alex remembered everything Patero told him was far from extraordinary. At one point Patero told Alex where he lived giving both the house number and street name (not something I would personally give a stranger I had just met).
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Initially, Alex's destination was to have been Catanduva, the city where Patero was heading but at a certain point, on the Washington Luis highway, at the entrance to the city of Catanduva, he told Patero that he remembered that his destination was not Catanduva but Itajobi which was located 18 km away. It was dawn and there was no transportation available to Itajobi and it was also raining, which is why Patero decided to take Alex to his final destination. When they arrived in the town, Patero left Alex in the central square and refused the money that was offered him. Even with Patero's opposition, Alex placed a 50 cruzeiros bill in the pocket of the shirt he wore. After that, they said goodbye and Patero went home again. He looked at his watch, checking that it was approximately 0300 hrs.
Patero only had 7 kilometers left tbefore he got home but at this point unusual things began to occur; initially Patero noticed interference on his car radio. as if the volume were being turned down and then the car's engine started to fail. Shortly after all of this he noticed a blue light, about 20 cm in diameter, on one of his cars panels. This "spotlight" shifted to the right, positioning itself on the empty seat beside him. Then the focus of the light went down, moving to the left side in a wave motion and on to the pedals, where it disappeared. Where this beam of light hit the illuminated area was transparent, allowing Patero to see the engine running and the asphalt passing under the vehicle. Intrigued, he looked at the sky through the windshield in order to identify the origin and such phenomenon. However, nothing was seen and the rain was getting heavier.
The car engine was continuing to have problems and this forced Patero to slow down. After 500 meters Patero noticed an intense light object just ahead of his car. From this light came a stronger beam of light pointed in his direction. When approaching the object along the road the light became so intense and blinding that Patero had to protect his eyes. Thinking that this was another vehicle coming from the opposite direction he signaled four times, alternating between high and low headlights. There was no response. The car engine failures had intensified and further reduced the vehicle performance. Patero slowed down to the first gear and fearing a collision with the supposed oncoming vehicle he turned his car to the road`s hard shoulder, where he stopped. He was unable to see if he was still partly on the road or off due to the light that was blinding him.
At this point, he realized that the entire electrical system of his vehicle was inoperative; engine, headlights, radio and dashboard were no longer working. He took off his glasses and was afraid he had hit another vehicle and realizing that the supposed oncoming vehicle had not passed he decided to look at the source of such light. To his surprise, he observed an object suspended in the sky. It was circular in shape, like two overlapping plates.
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Patero, still sitting in the driver's seat, felt very hot and so he opened the door and put his right foot out onto the road and it was at this point that he noticed that a kind of field started circulating the object; at the same time that he felt the temperature lessen. Patero remained watching the object until a type of cylinder started coming out of it and this descended to the ground while the main object approached his position. Patero was frightened and thought of running away on foot and decided to run away towards the city of Itajobi and entering a forest and then trying to reach Catanduva. However, Patero only ran about 30 meters before something made him stop moving, although he did not actually see what it was holding him. He turned towards the car and noticed that the object was close to the car and illuminating it with the ray of light. Amazed, he realized that his car was all transparent like glass. Then Patero suddenly lost consciousness.
The following morning policeman Clóvis Queiroz, was in his guardhouse at the junction Catanduva-Presidente Washington Luiz, when, just before 0500 hrs, he approached by two man and they told him that they were driving their Kombi vehicle along the Itajobi road and had found a man lying next to a Blue Opal with whose doors open and the headlights on. The men were concerned that there had either been an accident or robbery and that Patero was dead.
Immediately, Queiroz drove to the given location and once there he positioned his car so as to illuminate the scene and the supposed victim, who was still lying down. When Queiroz lent over to examine Patero he realized that he was alive he tried to turn him over; immediately, Patero woke up and tried to free himself from the policeman, but Queiroz calmed him and asked what had happened. Patero declared: "They want to catch me ...". but as soon as he succeeded in freeing himself from the policemen he identified himself and narrated all that had happened.
At this point, a truck was approaching and Queiroz signaled for the driver to stop. Then he took the driver to Patero and said:? "There are three people here now. I demand you to tell us who wants to catch you." Faced with such a question, Patero declared: "The situation here is serious... it is no joke". Still incredulous, the policeman considered Patero to have had an epileptic attack and thought it best to refer him for treatment. He went to the car to close it and noticed an open road map. He questioned Patero as to whether he had consulted the map, before fainting or driving off the road. Patero denied this and said that the map was kept in a case next to the driver`s seat. Both men inspected the location and found the folder open on the seat with the papers rummaged through and scattered on the seat and floor of the vehicle; the key to the case was still in Patero's pocket and he reaffirmed that he had not opened the case and removed the papers.
Shortly afterwards, Queiroz took Patero to the emergency room of Santa Casa de Catanduva, where he was seen by the doctor Dr. Elias Azis Chediak, and he underwent clinical examinations, neurological and psychological tests, but nothing unusual was found. A strange fact observed by all involved is that Patero was driving in the rain and yet he and his car were dry.
Patero's wife, upon receiving the news that her husband was at the hospital, picked up new clothes and went to Santa Casa. Upon arriving she found her husband and was astonished, that his hair was black instead of brown, his natural color. The natural color only reappeared 3 or 4 days after she took him home. Unfortunately there appear to have been no hair samples taken at this time.
Another physiological disorder that troubled Patero was a strange itch that appeared shortly after the event. Dr. Chediak prescribed a medication and recommended that Patero return the next day, to complete his examination.
The mayor Antônio Soares, arrived at 1730hrs and did not finalize the purchase, claiming that he would first have to listen to the opinion of the teaching supervisor in the neighbouring city (Marília). Patero then decided to continue his trip to Marília (30 km away), but again, the teaching supervisor was absent. Frustrated, he had a quick snack and started the trip back home at 2230 hrs.
Patero had previously had sold his 1976 Blue Opala (shortly after his alleged abduction) and was now traveling in a Bluish Volkswagen Beetle. Around 2330hrs, he was 15 km from Guarantã, and 120 km from Catanduva. About 200 meters from the Voltage Station Line of Cia. Elétrica de São Paulo, when he observed a bluish luminosity running parallel along the wires. At that moment, the car's engine started to fail at the same time. Remembering his first experience, Patero decided to go ahead and drive past the roads speed limit to avoid a new contact.
His escape, however, was thwarted because the car's engine died and this forced Patero to pull into to the roads hard-shoulder. As soon as he stopped the car he noticed an identical object, or perhaps the same object seen on the first occasion. Frightened, Patero once again decided to flee on foot but as he opened the car door and was about to put his feet on the ground he realized that some kind of metallic treadmill instantly appeared under his feet. That treadmill started moving towards the object with Patero unable to move. Suddenly he found himself in an oval room on board the object.
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In the middle of the room there was a great blue luminosity, which apparently came from the ceiling (about 3.5 meters/11.4ft high), which was the shape of a dome, where many wires were seen crossing over like cobwebs in 3 to 4 layers . Along the wall of the room, at a height of approximately 1 meter (3,2ft) from the floor, a bluish light moved in circular motion. Alex then asked Patero to sit in a chair with a high back and a soft seat which looked like rubber.
Patero doesn't know how long he had stayed in the first room as he was only conscious for 1 to 2 minutes. He only became conscious when he was already in another room that was similar to the first. There were wires in the ceiling and around the wall a shiny metal tube, about 30 cm thick, was arranged in circle format and also lights arranged in circumference parallel to the tube and approximately 1 span above it. In addition, there were 3 to 4 points of light on the wall that used to turn off in the same way as you see on an old TV screen when it is turned off.
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Alex was also in this room and asked Patero to take off his clothes and to put on another set of new clothes (Alex helped him). The clothing was made of a fabric that looked like it was made of metallic threads, with aspects of matte-gloss nylon, and that covered Patero down to the feet.The clothes fit his body and felt soft inside. He doesn't know if there were wires that connected the clothes to the wall. Patero again heard Alex's explanations but he couldn't hear his own questions.
He also saw that on the wall a window of approximately 1.5 m in length and 60 cm in width and through this noticed in the adjoining compartment the movement of people who seemed to be sitting on chairs - he could only see the silhouette above the waist. The chairs seemed to be motorized or moving in some way as these people moved while keeping their bodies immobile,which would no longer happen if they were walking on their own feet. The people, who at most were three together at a time, were covered by hoods that were part of the very clothes they wore -if only silhouettes then how could he see head coverings?.
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Alex, then said "you are going to see a maneuver" and passed his hand over a place on the wall, where, afterwards, a 40 cm wide viewfinder came out, allowing a view out of the Flying Saucer. Patero was then given a helmet to put on and which fitted around his neck but didn't caused shortness of breath. The helmet had a visor on the front and Patero had the impression that when it was placed on his head he ended up seeing better and farther away, perfectly distinguishing the landscape. He did not know if it was day or night outside but he distinguished a valley, where there was a city that seemed to him to be in Europe as it consisted of houses with high and steep roofs and there also appeared to be church towers.
Distant from the city, perhaps 2000 meters from it, an egg-shaped formation emerged from the ground, 4 to 5 meters wide, which was accompanied by a white cloud and it rose into the air and approached the craft Patero was on. . If the egg-shaped object had entered the same flying saucer Patero was on then he guess that it was elsewhere and not in the section where he was.
Alien's Mission
Alex then explained that his job on the planet was to remove a certain substance from Earth which could be easily manipulated by humans and was fatal for flying saucers of various non war-faring species who visited Earth. This substance existed on Earth in abundance and would inevitably be discovered by its inhabitants sooner or later. However, "they" were studying the material to find a defence against its use in the future.
Patero listened carefully as Alex further explained that in the future he hoped other civilizations could reach an understanding with humanity but if that was not the case a fine powder similar to smoke would be released into the atmosphere that would "not hurt a butterfly" but would "achieve their goals" which it has to be pointed out that Alex did not explain. Nice alien that he was, Alex explained also that "if necessary" they would abduct Patero again... but this time together with another person of a much more important status on Earth.
Then Alex placed metallic bracelets, yellow and opaque, onto Patero's wrists and ankles and these which did not bother him. After being in this second room for about 5 minutes -?- he was placed into something that looked like a styrofoam mold embedded in the floor and in which there was room for the whole body. However, Patero doesn't know how long he stayed in that "device" because he doesn't remember anything else. He only knows that when he regained consciousness he was already dressed in his own clothes and in another more spacious compartment but without Alex around.
The last room that Patero remembers being in was semi-cylindrical shape, 12 to 15 meters in diameter (42ft to 48ft) and he was sitting on a chair in a row of another 5 to 6 placed in the middle. There was still, in the center of the room, a shiny metallic cylinder, about 40 cm in diameter, that reached the ceiling of the hall and that was of a height of about 10 to 15 meters (38ft to 48ft). In the corner to his left, there was nothing but to his right were three hooded people standing and whose loose clothes extended to their feet. They had the regular height of a human being, of approximately 1.70m (5'5). (Patero referred to these as "doctors"). One of them was sitting in front of a screen. Another looked at Patero and the third was observing some objects present in the room.
It was at that moment that a new character emerged: a human individual identical to Patero in its smallest details. The doppleganger wore an identical outfit to the one that Patero wore on the day of his 1st abduction some 11 months earlier. The duplicate stayed in this room for a while before leaving. Shortly thereafter, three other people, also of a human appearance, entered the room before disappearing shortly thereafter. All of this did not last more than three minutes.
The next memory Patero had was of being disembarked from the object through the same conveyor belt that captured him at the beginning of his experience. It somehow placed Patero gently on the grass somewhere unknown to him and he sat on the grass and watched the object leave. He looked at his watch and saw that it was already 0315 hrs. Looking around he saw lights from a city in the distance and lights from vehicles traveling on a highway in a nearby valley. Patero started running downhill towards this road.
The descent of the hill with the absence of moonlight and in very rough terrain was desperate and every so often over the next three hours he would call out for help. When Patero reached a larger boulder, already close to the road, he decided to rest because he had injured a foot in a crack in the ground and also had cramps. While he was standing to rest for about 15 to 20 minutes, a thunderstorm started which brought him greater cheer. He then took shelter under a sloping stone, where he marked his passage through the place with a pocket knife engraving the initials of his name.
At daybreak he arrived at the base of the hill where he saw a group of people. He approached, identified himself and asked for help to reach a Police Station as he wanted to warn his relatives that he was okay. He told one of the farmers who helped him, called Cesar Menelli, about his experience. The farmer took him to his own home where Patero took a shower and made Onilson a snack.
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The
following day, Wednesday 1st Ma, Éder Pátero, brother of Patero, his nephew Antônio Chagas and his brother-in-law Francisco Sanches,
started a new search. First they checked Onilson's car, held at the
Guarantã Police Station, and found no clue. They then retraced the
likely route that Patero would have taken on his trip, visiting
roadside farms, cities, hospitals and police stations. Thus, they
passed through Marília Pirajuí, Pongaí, Cafelândia, Guarantã,
Novo Horizonte and Júlio de Mesquita, and in the latter they sought
out the mayor himself, with whom Patero had spoken on the day of his
disappearance.
On
Thursday, 2nd May, family members received a call informing them that
Onilson Pátero had reappeared in Colatina, Espírito Santo. They
immediately started the journey to pick him up in Colatina. Upon
meeting Patero, it appeared that he was a little pale. And at around
1300 hrs on 4th Ma, they made their way back home. By this time, the story of
Pátero's disappearance and reappearance had already reached the
press and several reporters were committed to covering the abduction.
Twelve kilometers from Colatina, reporters awaited the passage of the
Pátero family at the entrance of the Catuá farm, owned by Mr.
Menelli (where Onilson was a guest).
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The reporters then asked Patero to go up with them to the rock where he had
engraved his name while marking his descent down the hill .
Reporters not only confirmed the existence of the marked rock but also
photographed it, publishing it in the newspaper "O Vespertino",
in Vitória, on 6th May, 1974.
The
family's investigations and his search trip resulted in considerable
expenses, in addition to working days wasted by Eder, during the
search period for Patero. Doctors did examine Patero and noticed injection points on his body. Patero had disappeared for 6
days and was found in a point 1000km(620 miles) away from his
car.
Onilson
never saw Alex or had a strange experience again.
