Padrick, Sid (fl. 1965)

UFO contactee Sid Padrick rose out of obscurity in 1965 when he claimed that on January 30 a spacecraft landed near his home in Watsonville, California. A high school graduate, Padrick worked as a radio/television repairman. He was married and the father of three sons. Frightened at the sight of the ship, he dropped his guard after the being from the ship assured him that they were not hostile. He invited Padrick aboard their ship. Walking into the saucer-shaped ship, he met a humanoid being who spoke English and indicated his name was Xeno. All the entities on the craft were young. The single female among the crew was attractive. The other crew members did not speak, and Padrick concluded that they communicated by telepathy. This observation appeared to be confirmed by Xeno's slowness in answering Padrick's questions. He seemed to be receiving his answers through telepathic contact with another source.

Xeno indicated that he came from a planet hidden by another planet that could be seen from Earth. He told Padrick of his hometown on that planet. There was no crime or sickness. People lived long lives and the society practiced strict birth control. Children were trained for the single task they would work at later in life.

Unusual in contact claims, Padrick said he was led into a room on the spaceship that functioned as a chapel and was invited to "pay his respects to the Supreme Deity." He offered prayer in the manner he had been accustomed to do through his life, but for the first time actually felt the presence of God. He concluded that these advanced beings had found the means to unite science and religion.

The contact had been made in the early morning hours while Padrick's family was asleep and he was walking outside. He was returned to his home around 4 a.m. Several days later he reported the incident to nearby Hamilton Air Force Base and announced plans to write a book, though it was never published. He lectured for several years to contactee audiences and claimed further contacts, though he did not elaborate on them. Eventually he moved back into the obscurity from which he had emerged.

Sources:

Clark, Jerome. "Two New Contactee Claims." Flying Saucer Review 11, no.3 (May/June 1965): 20-23.

Lorenzen, Coral, and Jon Lorenzen. Encounters with UFO Occupants. New York: Berkley Medallion, 1976.