THINK ABOUTIT UFO|ENTITY SIGHTING REPORT
Date: July 23 1952
Sighting Time:
Day/Night: evening
Location: Basito River area, Borneo, Indonesia
Urban or Rural: Rural
Hynek Classification: CE-III (Close Encounter III) Close observation with animate beings associated with the object.
No. of Entity(‘s): 3
Entity Type: Humanoids
Entity Description: 1-meter tall, large eyes, large heads, long arms, small mouths and pointed chins.
Duration:
No. of Object(s): 1
Size of Object(s):
Distance to Object(s):
Shape of Object(s): A shiny disc-shaped object with a central dome encircled by luminous portholes. It hovered very close to the ground without touching it.
Color of Object(s): shiny
Number of Witnesses: 1
Source: UFO Nachrichten # 261, Denys Breysse Project Becassine
Summary/Description: 28-year old Theo L. Smeets a local tour pilot was exploring a jungle area when he came upon a clearing and on the clearing encountered a hovering shiny disc-shaped object with luminous portholes encircling a central dome. The craft hovered very close to the ground but did not actually touch it.
Three 1-meter tall humanoids stood about 10 meters from the UFO. The humanoids had large eyes, large heads, long arms, small mouths and pointed chins. The humanoids approached the witness and communicated with him in an Indonesian dialect, explaining to him that they hailed from a planet called “Homan” located in the star system called “Wolf”. Before leaving the small humanoids collected some tree branches and other ground samples and then walked back into the object. As the humanoids disappeared into the object there was a very bright explosion of light and the object vanished.
Historical Context: The “Wolf” System and 1950s Contactees
“The claim by Theo L. Smeets that the entities hailed from a star system called ‘Wolf’ is historically significant within UFO lore. In the early 1950s, Wolf 359 was one of the few nearby red dwarf stars widely discussed in both astronomical circles and science fiction, often portrayed as a likely candidate for extraterrestrial life. This encounter in Borneo mirrors the ‘contactee’ movement of the era, where witnesses frequently reported peaceful dialogues and scientific sample-gathering by humanoids. The mention of the planet ‘Homan’ provides a unique identifier for this case, distinguishing it from other CE-III reports in Indonesia and highlighting a period when the phenomenon was often viewed through a lens of interstellar diplomacy.”
The encounter reported by Theo L. Smeets remains a standout case in Southeast Asian ufology due to the specific astronomical details provided by the entities. By identifying their origin as the planet “Homan” within the Wolf star system, these beings bridged the gap between local Indonesian folklore and mid-century Western contactee narratives. The peaceful nature of the interaction—focused on scientific sample gathering rather than hostility—serves as a primary example of a CE-III event that characterizes the optimistic, almost diplomatic era of early 1950s sightings. As one of the few detailed humanoid reports from Borneo, this case continues to challenge researchers to look beyond regional boundaries for a global understanding of the phenomenon.
