Summary: Twenty-two-year-old policeman Herbert Schirmer would have a bizarre experience on December 3, 1976. While making his normal patrol rounds in Ashland, Nebraska, he saw what appeared to be red lights atop a large truck. He had checked locations along Highway 6, and just hit the intersection of two highways, 6 and 63, when he saw the red lights. He would get a closer look.
A Metallic, Oval-Shaped Object: As he moved on down Highway 63, he came to a stop, and shined his headlights on the red-lighted object. He immediately knew the object was no truck. The red beaming lights were coming through what Schirmer described as "portholes." He could clearly see a disc-shaped, metallic UFO that was hovering about eight feet off the ground. The polished, aluminum object had a type of walkway around its circumference. He could also see what he thought were legs below the object.
Believe it or not!: The UFO began to send flames below it, as it rose into the air. Schirmer could hear a siren sound coming from the object as it rose higher and higher. The UFO then passed directly over his police car, then flew out of sight. Schirmer sped back to the police station, making a note of the time as 3:00 AM. This shocked him, because he knew he had been on patrol much longer than the 10 minutes the present time indicated. Schirmer made the following entry into his log book: "Saw a flying saucer at the junction of highways 6 and 63. Believe it or not!"
Psychologist Dr. Leo Sprinkle: Schirmer began to experience some physical problems right after his sighting. He suffered from headaches, felt ill, and had a red welt on his neck. The Condon Commission, located at the University of Colorado, and at the time, investigating UFO sightings, heard of Schirmer's sighting, and requested that he come to Boulder, Colorado. On February 13, 1968, Schirmer would undergo regressive hypnosis, administered by psychologist Dr. Leo Sprinkle of the University of Wyoming.