The Bells Corners Mystery

W.B. Smith and J.R. Buchanan

From "Topside" June 1960

Bells Corner is a small village and rural center about five miles west of Ottawa. The area south of the village is largely bush and swamp, with a few meadows interspersed, and it is practically uninhabited, except for a few farmers who have built their homes fronting on the highways. One of the small holding one and a half south of Bells Corner is held by Mrs. Couturier and her family, who live in a large rectangular shaped house set well back from the highway. The land immediately surrounding the house and up to the highway is cleared but behind the house is a bush running into swamp. Across the swamp and about a mile west is an abandoned farm with the barn still standing and reasonably serviceable, with a couple of meadows nearby which were originally fields.

During the week of August 18, 1958, exact date impossible to determine, at about 10:45 p.m. E.D.T. Couturier glanced out her window and noticed a patch of bluish light from some unexplained source in the yard about 25 feet south from the house. She immediately put on a black housecoat and went out to investigate. Although Mrs. Couturier walked up to within a couple feet of the light, her son remained near the corner of the house, urging extreme caution.

Mrs. Couturier said that she saw within the patch of light what appeared to be a small person laying down on the ground with the face lifted so she could see the eyes but not the lower part of the face. She described the head as perfectly round and about the size of a size year old child, with short cropped rather dark blond wooly hair on it. The skin appeared to be very white and without blemishes or markings. She was unable to see if there was any nose, mouth or ears, but she did note that the eyes were quite large, round and seemed to be facetted and jewel-like. She was unable to determine the source of the light but gained the impression that it came from the eyes.

At this point and after looking at this being for about a minute Mrs. Couturier’s son became so insistent that she left the vicinity and to satisfy him she returned to the house. When she looked out the window the light was gone and since there was no moon nothing further could be seen. Although Mrs. Couturier says she was not frightened, her son apparently was terrified, otherwise a further investigation might have been made at the time. Subsequently she told this story to various friends but was met with frank disbelief.

This story came to our attention February 16, 1960, following a short TV program on flying saucers over the local station, when Mrs. Couturier phoned the station and told her story. Heavy snows in the area prevented any investigation until May first. On this date she was interviewed on tape and the grounds looked over. She pointed out the place where the being was seen, which was marked by a irregular area of dead grass about 3 feet by 1.5 feet. She explained where the small unexplained footprints had been seen in the snow last March, the line of which was projected to the vicinity of the old barn mentioned above. The footprints were described as being about what a six-year old child might have made but sideways, and fairly close together as if the person had paced along sideways.

It is unfortunate that the footprints were not reported at the time they were noted, since some investigation might have been made at the time in spite of the heavy snow. However, Mrs. Couturier is strongly of the opinion that the being, whoever or whatever he is, is still in the neighborhood. A superficial search of the three or four square miles of bush and swamp at the back of the Couturier house failed to yield any tangible evidence of either a space craft or a possible occupant or alien being, but the terrain is such that a small army could hide out with little or no chance of casual detection. Mrs. Couturier has promised to advise immediately of any further developments in the area.