Bernard G. "Gerry" Irwin

Bernard G. 'Gerry' Irwin (died 2018) was a U.S. Army soldier and Nike missile technician stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. On February 28, 1959, while driving from leave in Idaho, he encountered a glowing object near Cedar City, Utah, mistaking it for a crashed plane. He left a note on his car and investigated, but was found unconscious nearby. Subsequent fainting spells led to hospitalization; he awoke disoriented, asking about survivors, with memory loss. Released after tests in April, he went AWOL for 81 days in August 1959, hiding in Idaho mountains. His case, predating Betty and Barney Hill, is debated in UFO research as possible alien abduction or CIA MKUltra involvement. Books like David Booher's 'No Return: The Gerry Irwin Story – UFO Abduction or Covert Operation?' (2017) detail the mystery; UFO researcher Coral Lorenzen noted abduction parallels. Irwin sought answers until his death.