Well first, to be clear, there is no record of a person(s) ever having been abducted by a UFO while traveling on a Montana highway. But a few staunch believers in UFOs think it will happen, not a matter of if but when.
A story related by Heinrich and Sarah Ertel, while traveling on U.S. Highway 12, the east-west road between Harlowton and Lavina, Montana, after midnight on July 17, 1974, suggests a present danger.
On that night, the sky was mostly clear with stars brightly overhead and a partial moon was lighting up the sage-covered plains. The muddy waters of the slowly flowing Musselshell River anchored the roadway. Shadows of the distant Big Snowy Mountains were in sight to the north of the highway, and endless plains to the south.
Mile after mile, Heinrich and Sarah did not see a car coming or going over about forty-seven miles on this lonely stretch of Montana highway. The couple were alone and vulnerable to whatever might happen. Adding to the story, the clunky Ford Fairlane with Sarah behind the wheel had seen better days even in its good times.
At the time, the couple speculated, what if the clunky Ford broke down? Would anyone ever happen along to find them stranded in the middle of the highway, which was not much better than the historic dirt trail but now paved over with a thin veneer of asphalt?
If there was ever a time for a UFO abduction to happen, this was it, the couple feared. Fortunately, Heinrich and Sarah made it to Lavina, a near ghost town, with its old Mercantile store, a reminder of days long past, and, turning off from U.S. Highway 12, they cruised southeast on Montana State Highway 3 for the final forty-five miles of their trip, finally reaching Billings at 1:37 am, safely.
