I'm Laura Norton, and this is one strange thing, the show where we search the nation's news archives for stories that can't quite be explained.

If you've watched the news lately, you might have seen a lot of talk about the skies,

or more specifically, what unidentifiable objects have or have not been seen in them.

The story we're interested in today is one that has, at least officially, been closed,

so it's not likely to show up in any declassified reports.

And, strangers, that's a bit of a shame, because this one's a real wild ride.

It all started in Ohio in the spring of 1966.

To be exact on April 17th, at about 5 a.m.

Portage County Sheriff Deputies Dale Spar and Barney Neff were on patrol that early morning, cruising a stretch

of U.S. 224 in eastern Ohio. Per the Akron Beacon Journal, the two deputies were just a little

ways outside Randolph Township. That's when their radio crackled with a message from dispatch.

A call had come in from a resident who'd seen

something strange, a bright object as big as a house in the night sky. It may go without saying

that the deputies didn't take this very seriously, at least not at first. They were probably

used to all manner of early morning oddities,

but, according to the Cincinnati Inquirer, they had spotted something that piqued their interest.

A vehicle stopped on the shoulder of the highway. It was a red and white Ford, a 1959 model,

and it was seemingly abandoned. And there was more.

When Dale Spar got out to investigate, he noticed what was painted on its side. A strange symbol,

a triangle paired with a lightning bolt, and the following words, seven steps to hell. And, per the inquirer, the car was absolutely,

quote, filled with walkie-talkies and radios. Now, what kind of shady business could this possibly be?

Unfortunately, Dale Spar and Barney Neff never got

...