1977: Six witnesses see UFO in Jayess, MS

THINK ABOUTIT UFO SIGHTING REPORT

The Jayess sighting of February 5, 1977, represents one of the most credible multi-witness encounters in Mississippi’s aviation history. Occurring during a localized “UFO wave,” the event involved at least six adult witnesses—including members of the Alexander and Cothern families—who observed a dish-shaped craft at a distance of approximately 50 yards. The object was characterized by its ability to transition from a “roaring” or “swooshing” sound to total silence while remaining motionless. Given the proximity of the craft and the number of corroborating witnesses, the event is classified as a Close Encounter of the First Kind (CE-I).

Date: February 5, 1977

Sighting Time: Night (Specifically around the time of a telephone call between the families and sightings by a driver on the road).

Day/Night: Night

Location: Jayess, Mississippi

Urban or Rural: Rural

Hynek Classification: CE-I (Close Encounter I) Observation of an object in close proximity to the witness (i.e. within 500’)

Duration: Not explicitly stated, but long enough for the Cothern family to stop their car, alert the Denver Alexander family, and for a phone call to be made to the Darwin Alexander family while the object was still visible.

No. of Object(s): 1

Size of Object(s): Approximately 16-foot intervals between lights on the rim.

Distance to Object(s): 50 yards

Shape of Object(s): like a dish turned upside down

Color of Object(s): grey

Number of Witnesses: Multiple

Special Features/Characteristics: Portholes/Windows Included (noted in the checklist and corroborated by the Madison County sighting reported in the same wave).

• Dome: A smaller dome was visible at the top of the craft.

• Sound Dynamics: Transitioned from a “roaring” or “swooshing” sound to absolute silence while hovering.

• Maneuverability: Capable of instant disappearance and reported by a pilot to “dodge” passing jets.

Source: Tylertown Times (Tylertown, MS), Feb. 17, 1977

Summary: “The most dramatic sighting of an UFO to be reported in this part of Mississippi took place near Jayess Saturday, February 5, and was seen at close quarters by at least six adults. Another sighting was reported in Madison County Wednesday, February 3, and was seen there by a constable and a deputy sheriff.”

Full Report

“UFO is sighted in Jayess by six”

The most dramatic sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) to be reported in this part of Mississippi took place near Jayess Saturday, February 5, and was seen at close quarters by at least six adults.

Another sighting was reported in Madison County Wednesday, February 3, and was seen there by a constable and a deputy sheriff.

The Wednesday sighting was reported by the associated press and on local television news programs from Jackson. One version of the Saturday sighting at Jayess, reported by the Brookhaven Leader-Times, was confirmed by another Jayess resident in a telephone interview with the editor of The Tylertown Times Sunday.

Mrs. Darwin Alexander, who said she had never seen anything like the object, said that she and her husband both witnessed the sighting.

“We looked out our patio window after my sister-in-law called and told me about it,” she recalls. The Darwin Alexanders live less than a half-mile from the Denver Alexanders on the same road. The road curves between the two homes, and the rear of the two houses are about 300 yards apart. Darwin and Denver Alexander are brothers and live about two miles west of Jayess toward Pricedale.

Mrs. Darwin Alexander said the object made a “swooshing noise, hovered silently, then disappeared without a sound.”

She said red lights were visible from the object. “I couldn’t really make out the shape because of the lights. I suppose it looked something like a dish turned upside down, but I’m not really certain. I saw it through a patio window.”

Her sister-in-law, Mrs Denver Alexander, her son Eddie, and Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Cothern, all viewed the object from the yard of the Denver Alexander home. The Cotherns had seen the object from their car on the road and stopped at the Denver Alexander home.

The Brookhaven newspaper reported the sighting that night, but did not identify the residents who reported it.

Four adult occupants described the object as grey in color with red lights at about 16-ft. intervals around a rim and a smaller dome at the top. It zoomed toward the house with a roaring noise and stopped about 50 yards away, they said, hung motionless and noiseless while the observers stared in disbelief. Then it just disappeared with no noise and no visible movement.

A belief that they they had “just been seeing things” was dispelled by a report from neighbors across a field that they had seen the same thing and by talk in the community Sunday among several others having had the same experience.

A pilot at Brookhaven Municipal Airport says several calls have been received at the airport from persons who have seen unidentified flying objects, often in the Ruth-Jayess area.

He, himself, tells of having witnessed from Lakewood Village, in the presence of “12 or 15 others,” an object of vague shape with lights around a rim hover in the sky and definitely dodge two passing jets. One of the jet pilots, he said, was overheard in radio contact with the McComb FAA Flight Service Station. He answered negatively when asked if he had seen the object.

The February 2 Madison County sighting was reported by deputy sheriff Ken Creel, 20 feet above his patrol car.

He said the craft was round, had portholes and gave off a soft light. “It moved with ease,” he said. “We turned the engine off to see if it made some kind of sound, but there was only a very faint noise.”

Creel was patrolling in the area with county constable James Duke. He said he did not believe in ‘ ‘stuff from outer space” but added that he had no idea what the object might have been “unless it was some secret Air Force test.”

Over the years, there have been reports of UFO sightings in the Tylertown area. Doug Walker said he was on board duty at the radio station WTYL on the night of Friday, Jan. 28, when a lady called to report a “strange lighted object in the northern sky.” Walker went outside to look, but failed to spot the object.

Dr. William Hughes at the University of Southern Mississippi keeps a record of UFO sightings in this area. To report sightings or obtain information, he may be called at 266-7206.

Researcher’s Notes

• Corroboration: The strength of this case lies in the independent verification from separate households. The Darwin Alexander and Denver Alexander families, living roughly 300 yards apart, observed the same phenomena from different vantage points, ruling out simple optical illusions or localized reflections.

• The “Wave” Context: This event was not isolated. It was preceded by a sighting in Madison County on February 2, involving Deputy Sheriff Ken Creel and Constable James Duke, who reported a metallic-blue craft hovering just 20 feet above their patrol car.

• Aviation Interference: A local pilot at Brookhaven Municipal Airport reported that the object appeared to actively “dodge” two passing jets, a detail that suggests intelligent control rather than a natural atmospheric phenomenon.

• Academic Oversight: At the time, Dr. William Hughes of the University of Southern Mississippi acted as the regional lead for tracking these sightings, highlighting the seriousness with which the academic community treated the 1977 wave.

The Jayess encounter began on the evening of February 5, 1977, when the object was first spotted by the Cothern family from their vehicle. Seeking confirmation, they stopped at the Denver Alexander home, where four adults watched as a grey, dish-shaped craft with red lights spaced at 16-foot intervals zoomed toward the residence. The witnesses described a terrifying “roaring” sound that ceased abruptly as the craft stopped and hung motionless in the air. After a period of silent hovering, the object reportedly vanished instantly without any visible movement or sound, a characteristic often reported in high-transmedium craft sightings.

Simultaneously, less than half a mile away, the Darwin Alexander family witnessed the same object through their patio window. Mrs. Darwin Alexander corroborated the “swooshing” noise and the presence of brilliant red lights, noting that the object hovered silently before disappearing. This dual-location testimony, combined with reports from the Brookhaven Municipal Airport regarding similar sightings in the Ruth-Jayess area, reinforces the validity of the encounter. The 1977 Mississippi sightings remain a cornerstone of regional research, particularly due to the involvement of law enforcement and seasoned pilots who could not identify the craft as any known military or civilian hardware.