The Betty and Barney Hill encounter

On the night of 19 September 1961 a New Hampshire couple driving home through Franconia Notch reported being followed by a light, and later, under hypnosis, described being taken aboard a craft. Theirs became the first widely publicised alleged abduction in the United States and set the template for every account that followed. What is not in dispute: they were real people, a respected postal worker and a social worker, who reported it in good faith, were investigated seriously, and never sought money for it. New Hampshire put up an official state historical marker near the site in 2011, which is a rare thing for a story like this.