Travis Walton
Travis Walton was a twenty-two-year-old Arizona logger working for the Mike Rogers forestry crew at Turkey Springs in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest on the evening of 5 November 1975 when the crew observed a lit object hovering above the forest floor. Walton left the truck, approached the craft, and was struck by a beam of light. His six fellow workers drove away, returned approximately fifteen minutes later, and found him gone. The Navajo County Sheriff's Office led a multi-day search with helicopter support. Walton reappeared on 10 November after five days. The six crew members were polygraphed by C. E. Gilson of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Five were assessed as truthful; one was inconclusive, attributed to lack of cooperation. Walton's account became The Walton Experience (Berkley, 1978), the expanded Fire in the Sky (Marlowe, 1996), and the 1993 Paramount Pictures film of the same name.
A Life
Travis Walton was born in 1953 and grew up in Snowflake, Arizona. In 1975, aged 22, he was a member of a seven-person forestry crew led by Mike Rogers. Rogers held a federal contract to thin approximately 1,277 acres of timber at Turkey Springs in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. The contract deadline was 10 November 1975.
Walton published The Walton Experience (Berkley, 1978), his first account of the encounter and its aftermath. An expanded edition, Fire in the Sky (Marlowe and Company, 1996), included additional material and responses to sceptics. The case was adapted as the Paramount Pictures film Fire in the Sky (1993), directed by Robert Lieberman, with D. B. Sweeney as Walton and Robert Patrick as Rogers. Walton has continued to speak publicly about the encounter and organises the annual Skyfire Summit conference in Sedona, Arizona.
On UAP
At dusk on 5 November 1975, the seven-person crew was driving away from the Turkey Springs worksite when they observed a lit object above the forest floor near the road. Walton exited the truck and ran toward the object. A beam of light struck him and he fell to the ground. The crew drove away. They returned approximately fifteen minutes later. Walton and the object were gone.
At 7:45 p.m. a crew member called the Navajo County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Marlin Gillespie, officer L. C. Ellison, and Deputy Kenneth Coplan drove to Heber to meet the crew. Rogers and two crew members returned to the Turkey Springs site with the officers that night. The search continued over the following days: on 7 November a party of approximately fifty searchers with helicopter support scoured the area and found nothing. The search was paused at the request of Walton's mother and resumed at the insistence of Rogers and Walton's brother Duane. Walton reappeared on 10 November, five days after the encounter.
It was many years ago that I got out of a crew truck in the national forest and ran toward a large glowing object hovering in the darkening Arizona sky. But when I made that fateful choice to leave the truck, I was leaving behind more than just my six fellow workmen. I was leaving behind forever all semblance of a normal life.Travis Walton, Fire in the Sky (Marlowe and Company, 1996), opening page.
On 10 November 1975, the six remaining crew members were polygraphed by C. E. Gilson of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Five were assessed as truthful: Mike Rogers, John Goulette, Dwayne Smith, Kenny Peterson, and Steve Pierce. The sixth, Allen Dalis, was recorded as inconclusive; Gilson attributed this to a lack of cooperation rather than deception.
Walton was polygraphed separately. On 15 November 1975, Jack McCarthy, a freelance examiner arranged through the National Enquirer, administered a test and concluded that Walton was engaged in what McCarthy described as "gross deception." The National Enquirer did not publish this result. Subsequently, examiners arranged through APRO and the National Enquirer administered further tests and reported results consistent with truthfulness. The Enquirer published these results and awarded the crew a $5,000 prize for the best UFO case of the year.
In March 2021, Mike Rogers posted publicly: "I, Michael H. Rogers, being of sound and rational mind, do hereby give notice that I am no longer to be considered a witness to Travis C. Walton's supposed abduction of November 5, 1975." In May 2021, Rogers posted an apology to Walton.
Career Record
- 1953, Born, Snowflake, Arizona.
- 1975, Member of Mike Rogers' forestry crew, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona.
- 5 November 1975, Encounter at Turkey Springs. Reported missing.
- 7 to 9 November 1975, Search conducted by Navajo County Sheriff's Office with helicopter support.
- 10 November 1975, Reappeared after five days. Crew polygraphed by C. E. Gilson, Arizona Department of Public Safety.
- 15 November 1975, Walton polygraphed by Jack McCarthy.
- 1978, Published The Walton Experience (Berkley).
- 12 March 1993, Paramount Pictures released Fire in the Sky, directed by Robert Lieberman.
- 1996, Published Fire in the Sky (Marlowe and Company).
- March 2021, Mike Rogers publicly withdrew as a witness. May 2021, Rogers posted an apology.
- October 2025, Skyfire Summit conference, Sedona, Arizona. Podcast appearances.
Document Trail
Travis Walton, The Walton Experience (New York: Berkley, 1978). ISBN 0425036758. Walton's first published account. Travis Walton, Fire in the Sky (New York: Marlowe and Company, 1996). ISBN 1-56924-840-0. Expanded edition with additional material.
Fire in the Sky (Paramount Pictures, 1993). Director Robert Lieberman. Screenplay Tracy Torme. Cast D. B. Sweeney, Robert Patrick.
The C. E. Gilson polygraph examination of the six crew members, conducted 10 November 1975, is documented in the Navajo County Sheriff's Office case file.
In the Archive
- The Travis Walton Abduction, 1975, case exhibition.
- Coral Lorenzen, whose APRO arranged additional polygraph examinations.
- APRO Bulletin, contemporary civilian-research coverage.
- United States country profile.
