Physical trace reports were labelled Close Encounters of the Second Kind (CE-II) by the late J. Allen Hynek and involve instances where there was a physical interaction between the UFO and its environment. Usually, these involve a landing trace, such as depressed grass or soil, but also burned or broken vegetation, residues, and more exotic traces.

Physical traces found at landing sites include the imprints left behind by the landing gears of the object which indicate tremendous pressure - great weight - generally found as three or four in number, arranged in either a triangular or rectangular pattern.

Apart from imprints, the soil in the landing area is often extremely dehydrated and unable to absorb water. UFO-affected soil cannot support seed germination and plant growth.

Ted Phillips

Ted Phillips of the Center for Physical Trace Research, has collected over 4,000 UFO physical trace cases from 91 countries.

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Another type of physical evidence that exists but the general public is not aware of...are the recovered artifacts found at UFO crash sites, including bodies of the occupants. The most famous of all UFO Crash/Retrievals is the July 1947 Corona, New Mexico case - more popularly known as "The Roswell Incident".

Because of the number of first-hand witnesses to have spoken out about this case, and the fact that front-page newspaper headlines of the day actually exist, Ufologists are in agreement that something highly unusual did take place near Roswell, all those years ago.

But the Roswell Incident isn't the only case where a UFO or a flying saucer crashed and the evidence, including bodies, was quickly picked up...and subsequently covered up...by the military and other government agencies.

Leonard H. Stringfield

The late Leonard H. Stringfield investigated several such cases and wrote about them in his Status Reports. In THE UFO CRASH/RETRIEVAL SYNDROME, Status Report II: New Sources, New Data (January 1980), he lists a Chronology of Crash/Retrieval Events.

Since then, additional reports of UFO crashes have been uncovered, including one which predates the Roswell Incident. I've included these in the listing as well.