The Sherman ranch: craft, doorways and missing cattle
In their own words
“It just lit the whole side of the mountain up like broad daylight.”
Terry and Gwen Sherman bought a 480-acre cattle ranch south of Fort Duchesne around 1994. From April 1995 they saw three kinds of craft, from a small box with a white light to a ship the size of several football fields. Lights came out of orange 'doorways' in the air, and a red beam 'lit the whole side of the mountain up like broad daylight'. Terry heard men's voices speaking an unknown language about 25 feet above him while the dogs fled. Seven cows were lost: four vanished, one with its tracks ending in the snow, and three were found with neat holes and no blood. The family told the Deseret News in June 1996 that they just wanted it to stop. Within three months they had sold the ranch to Robert Bigelow.
Evidence, in date order (2)
- 1995Gwen Shermanwitnessco-witness to the craft and lights Deseret News, 'Frequent fliers?', 30 Jun 1996
- Jul 1995Sherman family videotapessensor datarecordings of two sightings Deseret News, 'Frequent fliers?', 30 Jun 1996
How plausible · Moderate
A named ranching family reported craft, cattle losses and ground marks to the press at the time, with their own videotapes; fabrication is proposed, not shown, and NIDS later reported similar events on the property.
- ●●Access Their own ranch.
- ●○Cost of speaking Named in the press.
- ●○Consistent over time Reported in 1996 and since.
- ●○Independent convergence NIDS staff later reported similar events.
- ●○Checkable details check out Deseret News, 1996.
- ●○Fits the documented skeleton Bigelow bought the ranch for NIDS.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- Deseret News, 'Frequent fliers?' (Zack Van Eyck, 30 June 1996): the family's account, their videotapes of two sightings, three 8-ft circles in a triangle and seven cows lost.
- The sheriffs had no reports, because the Shermans hadn't filed any; ranchers had told them the authorities could do nothing.
- Bigelow bought the ranch for about $200,000 in September 1996 and kept Terry on as caretaker under a nondisclosure agreement (Deseret News, 20 October 1996).Bigelow buys the ranch: NIDS on watch