Quick Info
On August 29, 1967, in the small village of Cussac in the Auvergne region of France, two young children, François Delpeuch (13) and his sister Anne-Marie (9), were out tending cows when they saw something that changed their lives. A round, glowing object landed in a field nearby. Four small black beings, about 4 feet tall, emerged from inside their UFO, and then ran towards the children...
The kids started running, the beings turned around and went back inside the UFO. The craft then took off with a loud whistling sound and left a white mist and sulfur smell. The kids ran home terrified. Their parents called the police. This case became one of the most thoroughly investigated child-witness UFO close encounters in history, with physical traces, consistent drawings, and official French government files that still have no explanation.
Timeline of Events – August 29, 1967
Reconstructed from the children's statements, police reports, Gendarmerie investigation, and later interviews with François and Anne-Marie as adults.
- Late morning, August 29, 1967 ~8:00–9:00 a.m. François and Anne-Marie Delpeuch are herding cows near Cussac. François notices a round object in the sky. It descends rapidly and lands in a field about 150 feet away. A loud whistling sound fills the air.
- Landing & beings emerge The craft is round, about 15–20 feet in diameter, glowing bright white with a dome on top. Four small black beings (around 47 inches tall) step out through an opening. They are completely black, no visible clothing, large heads, short legs, long arms. One holds a small device that emits sparks or light.
- Encounter The beings move quickly toward the children. François shouts and runs toward the cows. The beings stop, then return to the craft. The object rises with a louder whistle, leaves a white mist that smells strongly of sulfur, and flies away rapidly to the northeast.
- Immediate aftermath The children run home crying. Their parents call the local Gendarmerie (French police). Officers arrive, interview the kids separately, and find their stories match perfectly. They draw what they saw, the craft and beings are nearly identical in both sketches.
- Investigation Gendarmerie searches the field, finds a circular trace about 15 feet wide, grass flattened in a spiral pattern, sulfur smell still present. Soil samples taken. More witnesses (local farmer, another child) report seeing the craft earlier that morning. Case forwarded to French military and space agency (CNES).
- 1970s–2020s The children (now adults) reaffirm their story in interviews. No recanting. French government files eventually declassified, still no explanation. Case remains one of the strongest child-witness UFO landings on record.
What the Children Described
François and Anne-Marie were consistent from day one. The craft was round, glowing bright white, about 15–20 feet across, with a dome on top. It landed silently except for a loud whistling sound that hurt their ears. Four small black beings stepped out, about 47 inches tall, completely black (like shiny black suits or skin), large round heads, no visible ears or noses, short legs, long arms. They moved fast and oddly, almost gliding. One held a small device that shot sparks or light.
Later the kids (by now Adults) said the beings seemed curious, not aggressive, but as they were kids at the time they were terrified and ran. I would have left Usain Bolt looking like he was running in slow motion to be fair. The UFO then took off with a louder whistle, left a white mist that smelled strongly of sulfur, and flew away at incredible speed. The children drew almost identical pictures later that day: round craft with dome, four small black figures.
"It was round and glowing white, with a dome on top. Four little black men came out. They were small, black all over, big heads, long arms. One had something that made sparks. They moved fast toward us, so we ran to the cows. Then they went back inside and it flew away with a whistle and white smoke that smelled bad, like sulfur."
– François Delpeuch, age 13 (1967 statement to police)
François was the older one, so he saw more. His fear comes through clearly, he ran to protect the cows and his little sister. The sulfur smell and white mist were reported by police too, who smelled it at the site hours later.
"The little men were black and shiny. They had big heads and long arms. They came toward us but didn't catch us. The thing made a loud whistle when it left. There was white smoke and it smelled terrible, like rotten eggs."
– Anne-Marie Delpeuch, age 9 (1967 drawing & statement)
Anne-Marie's drawing shows the same round craft and four figures. She was scared but kept saying "they were little black men." The consistency between the two kids, who were interviewed separately, is what makes this case so strong. Kids that age don't usually match details so perfectly unless they really saw the same thing.
"The children were very upset. Their drawings matched exactly. The field had a circular mark, grass flattened in a spiral, and a strong sulfur smell. I believed them, they weren't making it up."
– Local Gendarmerie officer (1967 report)
The police took it seriously enough to search the field and take samples. The sulfur smell and spiral trace were real, not imagination. The Gendarmerie forwarded the case to higher authorities, which is rare for a rural sighting.
What makes Cussac so special is the innocence of the witnesses. Two kids, no reason to lie, no knowledge of UFO lore in 1967 rural France. They saw something strange land in that field, weird looking beings come out of it, and leave, and their story has never changed. The physical traces and sulfur smell back them up. It's one of those cases that makes you pause and think: what if they really saw what they said they saw?
Good video on this event from @WeirdWorldOfficial on YouTube
More videos from @WeirdWorldOfficial on YouTube
The Official Response & Investigation
The French Gendarmerie took the case seriously, they interviewed the children separately, collected drawings, searched the field, and took soil samples. They found a 15-foot circular trace with spiraled grass and a strong sulfur smell that lingered for hours. The case was forwarded to the French military and CNES (France's space agency). No conventional explanation was found. The French government never publicly debunked it.
And, it should be noted, The incident is still listed to this very day in official files as unexplained. In 1977, the case gained international attention through UFO researchers, but no new official statement was ever issued.
Legacy
More than 50 years on, the Cussac encounter still feels fresh and unsettling. Two ordinary kids in a quiet French village saw something land right next to them, a glowing craft and small black beings, and their story never changed. The police believed them enough to investigate properly. The physical traces and sulfur smell were real.
This case reminds me of other similar landings like at Ariel School in Zimbabwe 1994, or Broad Haven in Wales 1977, where groups of kids saw craft and beings and all of them drew pictures of the same things. Maybe the beings were there for the Cows and decided to try and abduct the kids? Who knows. What I do know is that these 2 kids really did experience something extremely strange to say the least.
