Officer Eugene Bertrand

Police Officer

Officer Eugene Bertrand was a key witness in the Exeter Incident, a landmark UFO sighting that occurred on September 3, 1965, near Exeter, New Hampshire.

Bertrand, an Exeter Police Department officer, initially responded to a report from a distressed motorist who claimed a large object with flashing red lights had chased her for miles. Later that night, he assisted 18-year-old Norman Muscarello, who had fled a field after encountering a silent, hovering craft. Bertrand, along with colleague Officer David Hunt, drove Muscarello back to the scene where they jointly observed a large, dark object approximately 100 feet above a pasture, featuring five bright red lights that flashed in sequence.

The witnesses described the object as silent and maneuvering erratically before disappearing rapidly. While the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book later attributed the sighting to misidentified aircraft (such as KC-97 Stratotankers or B-47 bombers) or atmospheric effects, Bertrand and Hunt firmly rejected these explanations, maintaining that the object’s behavior and silence were inconsistent with known conventional aircraft. Bertrand, a former U.S. Air Force crewman, consistently upheld his testimony in subsequent interviews.

PHOTO: Officers David Hunt (left) and Eugene Bertrand (right).