Within Ashland Case
Can Ashland's missing time be trusted?
The most dramatic part of the Ashland story rests on memory, hypnosis and a time gap that investigators could not verify.
On this page
- The reported 20 minute gap
- What hypnosis added to the story
- Why confident memory is not proof
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Introduction
The most controversial part of Herbert Schirmer’s 1967 Ashland UFO report is not the light he said he saw over a Nebraska road. It is the claim that roughly 20 minutes of time went missing, followed by memories that emerged under hypnosis months later. Those elements helped turn a local police sighting into one of the better-known UFO cases in American folklore. They also created the strongest reasons for caution.
Unlike a radar track, photograph or physical trace, missing time is difficult to verify independently. Hypnotically recovered memories are even more problematic because modern psychology treats them as potentially vulnerable to suggestion and reconstruction. In the Ashland case, investigators could confirm that Schirmer believed time had passed differently from what the clock suggested. They could not independently confirm what, if anything, happened during that period. That distinction remains central to understanding the case. [Internet Archive]archive.orgInternet Archive Full text of "Scientific Study Of Unidentified Flying Objectsanalysis of sighting reports in the light of current knowledge of radar propagation. Thus, atmospheric information was useful in evaluati…
The reported 20-minute gap
According to accounts gathered during the investigation, Schirmer believed only a brief interval had passed during his encounter near the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 63 outside Ashland. When he later checked the time, he concluded that roughly 20 minutes could not be explained by his conscious memory of events. The missing period became one of the defining features of the case and helped separate it from an ordinary sighting report. [Internet Archive]archive.orgInternet Archive Full text of "Scientific Study Of Unidentified Flying Objectsanalysis of sighting reports in the light of current knowledge of radar propagation. Thus, atmospheric information was useful in evaluati…
The problem for investigators was that the gap was largely inferred rather than directly observed. No second witness was present to document Schirmer’s actions during the period. No recording device tracked his movements. The evidence for the missing time rested mainly on Schirmer’s own recollection of when he believed events occurred compared with later clock readings.
That does not automatically mean the gap was invented. Human beings frequently misjudge elapsed time, especially during stressful, confusing or highly unusual experiences. Fatigue may also have been relevant. Schirmer was working a late-night shift in the early morning hours, precisely the sort of setting in which memory and time perception can become unreliable. The key point is that investigators could establish that Schirmer reported a discrepancy, but they could not establish exactly what happened during the discrepancy. [Internet Archive]archive.orgInternet Archive Full text of "Scientific Study Of Unidentified Flying Objectsanalysis of sighting reports in the light of current knowledge of radar propagation. Thus, atmospheric information was useful in evaluati…
For believers, the missing time suggested that part of the encounter had been suppressed or forgotten. For sceptics, it raised a simpler possibility: that an unexpected sighting, stress, distraction or ordinary memory failure created an inaccurate reconstruction of the timeline.
What hypnosis added to the story
The Ashland report became significantly more dramatic after hypnosis entered the picture. During later sessions, Schirmer described memories that went far beyond the original roadside sighting. Under hypnosis he reportedly recalled being taken aboard a craft and encountering humanoid occupants. Elements of the narrative that later became widely associated with UFO abduction stories emerged from these sessions rather than from his first immediate report. [Facebook]facebook.comFacebookAfter a host of calls about UFOs, a woman disappears. Her…His case was one of those investigated in the Condon Report. He flew…
One reason the case attracted attention is that it appeared before the abduction narrative became a major part of popular UFO culture in the 1970s and 1980s. Supporters therefore argued that Schirmer was not merely copying a well-established template. The hypnosis sessions seemed to provide details that were not publicly developed in the same way at the time. [avalonlibrary.net]avalonlibrary.netVolu~e 2: Catalogue of Cases. by. Tho~as E. Bullard. Bloo~ington, Indiana. For. The Fund for UFO Research. 1987. Page…Read more…
The psychiatrist most often associated with the hypnotic work, Berthold E. Schwarz, was not an outsider with no professional credentials. He was a trained psychiatrist who later became known for his interest in paranormal research and psychic phenomena. His involvement gave the case a degree of professional attention, but it also complicated later assessments because he was already sympathetic to the possibility of unusual paranormal experiences. [Wikipedia]WikipediaForensic hypnosisForensic hypnosis
An important detail is that hypnosis did not independently prove the reality of the new memories. It produced a more elaborate narrative. Whether that narrative reflected genuine hidden memories, symbolic imagery, dreams, confabulation or a mixture of psychological processes remains disputed.
Why confident memory is not proof
One of the strongest misconceptions surrounding cases like Ashland is the idea that a vivid memory must be an accurate memory.
Modern research on memory generally rejects that assumption. People can become extremely confident about events that never occurred exactly as remembered. Confidence and accuracy are not the same thing. Investigators today are especially cautious about memories recovered through hypnosis because suggestive questioning, expectations and the hypnotic process itself can alter recollections without the subject realising it. [Wikipedia]WikipediaBerthold E. SchwarzBerthold E. Schwarz
By the late twentieth century, criticism of forensic hypnosis became increasingly influential. Researchers studying memory argued that hypnosis can increase confidence while simultaneously increasing the risk of error. The subject may sincerely believe the recovered account, yet still be mistaken about important details. This concern became a major reason why courts and investigators grew more cautious about treating hypnotically recovered memories as reliable evidence. [Wikipedia]WikipediaCondon CommitteeCondon CommitteeThe Condon Committee was the informal name of the University of Colorado UFO Project, a group funded by the United Sta…
That issue matters directly in the Ashland case because the most extraordinary parts of the story emerged after hypnosis rather than before it. The roadside sighting, the unusual lights and the perceived time discrepancy belong to the original report. The more detailed abduction-style narrative belongs largely to later recollections. Critics therefore argue that the strongest claims rest on the weakest form of evidence. [Believing the Bizarre]believingthebizarre.comherb schimer ufo encounter and abductionBelieving the BizarreThe Herbert Schirmer Alien AbductionHerbert Schirmer, a Nebraska police officer, reported a 1967 UFO encounter with…
What investigators could and could not verify
The Ashland encounter is often described as a case involving a credible witness. That assessment is not the same as saying the claims were verified.
Investigators found little evidence that Schirmer was deliberately fabricating his story. His superiors reportedly regarded him as honest, and the broader investigation did not conclude that he had staged a hoax. Yet credibility of character answers only one question: whether a witness appears sincere. It does not establish that the witness interpreted events correctly or remembered them perfectly. [Internet Archive]archive.orgInternet Archive Full text of "Scientific Study Of Unidentified Flying Objectsanalysis of sighting reports in the light of current knowledge of radar propagation. Thus, atmospheric information was useful in evaluati…
The distinction becomes especially important with the missing-time claim. Investigators could verify that Schirmer reported a discrepancy. They could verify that he later underwent hypnosis. They could document the narrative that emerged afterward. What they could not verify was the content of the missing interval itself.
No physical evidence demonstrated that an abduction occurred during those minutes. No independent witness observed such an event. No record established where Schirmer was for every moment of the gap. The central mystery therefore remained a personal experience rather than a confirmed historical event.
Why the missing-time claim remains disputed
More than half a century later, the missing-time element still sits at the centre of debates about the Ashland case.
Supporters point to several factors: Schirmer’s status as a police officer, his apparent sincerity, the consistency with which he maintained his account and the fact that he reported a time discrepancy before hypnosis added further details. They argue that these features make the case difficult to dismiss as a simple invention. [Believing the Bizarre]believingthebizarre.comherb schimer ufo encounter and abductionBelieving the BizarreThe Herbert Schirmer Alien AbductionHerbert Schirmer, a Nebraska police officer, reported a 1967 UFO encounter with…
Sceptics focus on a different set of facts. The missing time was never independently documented, the extraordinary memories emerged through a technique now viewed with considerable caution, and no physical evidence established what occurred during the alleged gap. From this perspective, the case demonstrates how a witness can be truthful about having an unusual experience while remaining mistaken about its cause. [Wikipedia]WikipediaForensic hypnosisForensic hypnosis
That unresolved tension explains why the Ashland encounter continues to occupy an unusual place in Nebraska UFO history. The missing time is not a solved mystery, but neither is it strong evidence on its own. It remains a claim supported mainly by memory, and memory is precisely the part of the story that investigators have the greatest difficulty testing.
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Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens
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Endnotes
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Title: Internet Archive Full text of “Scientific Study Of Unidentified Flying Objects
Link: https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-4vyHjooOJagoGAwN/Scientific%2BStudy%2BOf%2BUnidentified%2BFlying%2BObjects_djvu.txtSource snippet
analysis of sighting reports in the light of current knowledge of radar propagation. Thus, atmospheric information was useful in evaluati...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Forensic hypnosis
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forensic_hypnosis -
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FacebookAfter a host of calls about UFOs, a woman disappears. Her...His case was one of those investigated in the Condon Report. He flew...
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Volu~e 2: Catalogue of Cases. by. Tho~as E. Bullard. Bloo~ington, Indiana. For. The Fund for UFO Research. 1987. Page...Read more...
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Title: Berthold E. Schwarz
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berthold_E._Schwarz -
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Title: “At 2:30 a.m
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December 3, 1967, I saw a UFO...Patrolman Herb Schirmer scrawled a short message summarizing the night's bizarre events: "At 2:30 a.m. D...
Published: December 3, 1967
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During the Cold War, as Project Blue Book investigated...... Condon Report–in 1968. According to the Condon Report, the sightings they e...
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and has had several missing time experiences myself I find...Read more...
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Herbert Schirmer of 1967 early case of missing time &...On December 3, 1967, a young police officer in Ashland, Nebraska, named Herbert...
Published: December 3, 1967
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ON THIS DAY IN 1967. November 17, 1967. 6:00 p. m.... alien, again experiencing an episode of missing time. I KNEW IT WAS A UFO. In the m...
Published: November 17, 1967
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Aliens).Read more...
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Title: Condon Committee
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Condon CommitteeThe Condon Committee was the informal name of the University of Colorado UFO Project, a group funded by the United Sta...
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Title: The mammoth encyclopedia of extraterrestrial encounters
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Alien Roots: Six Entity Types and Some Possible Earthly Ancestors” by Alvin H. Lawson. First published in the 1979. MUFON UFO Symposium P...
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UFO book: encyclopedia of the extraterrestrialSome individuals became consumed with UFOs, and by the early 1950s the first UFO organizat...
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Title: herb schimer ufo encounter and abduction
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Believing the BizarreThe Herbert Schirmer Alien AbductionHerbert Schirmer, a Nebraska police officer, reported a 1967 UFO encounter with...
Additional References
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Alien DNA Physical evidence of abduction experiences is hard to come by, and physical evidence of actual aliens is all but...Read more...
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BrainScratch: Herbert Schirmer's Alien StoryWhat Quantum Computers Just Proved About Reality Is Terrifying · BrainScratch: Cool Teleport...
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Report: Case Closed by Capt. James McAndrew, which states alien bodies found at Roswell, NM and Holloman AFB were actually test dummies a...
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Title: International Business Times UKDid Aliens Brand Him?
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Nebraska Officer Claims Abduction...26 Jan 2026 — Sceptics argue that hypnosis can produce false memories and that fatigue or stress cou...
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Title: A History of Canada s UFO Investigation 1950 1995
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history of canada's ufo investigation, 1950-19957 Apr 2022 — citizens felt it was their duty to report their sightings, in case it aided...
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Herbert Schirmer hypnosis missing time UFO Herbert Schirmer (1967) 👮♂️ | Police Sighting, Missing Time & Unexplained Mark The13thTransmi...
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Inside Herbert Schirmer’s Night: Patrolman Meets Aliens, Sparks Nebraska’s Enduring Mystery Legend...
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At 2:20am, police officer Herbert Schirmer sees a UFO beside highway 63. UFO took off and he experienced...Read more...
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1967 Alien Abduction Case of a Nebraska Police Officer Herbert Schirmer...
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