'The E.T. of Varginha': 30-year mystery of 'alien' spotted by three girls, a military 'cover-up' and a doctor only now coming forward to describe 'creature brought into his hospital'
By Eliana Silver
Daily Mail
Jan 31, 2026
A statue of the E.T. of Varginha
Thirty years ago in a quiet municipality of southern Brazil, three girls came face to face with an alien-like creature that would haunt them for decades.
They described it as having a heart-shaped face, big red eyes, three horns on its forehead and a shiny brown body, crouched beside a wall in a vacant lot in the city of Varginha.
Terrified, the girls fled and told their mother they had seen the devil.
That encounter on January 20, 1996, launched the mystery of the ‘E.T. of Varginha,’ a case that remains unsolved until this day.
Now, the story is once again under the spotlight after new testimonies have come to light, including that of a doctor who claims he encountered a non-human creature in his hospital.
At the time, one of the witnesses, Liliane Silva, said: ‘It had arms and legs, like a human being, but also had three horns.’
The girls’ account quickly spread across Brazil, becoming a national sensation and earning the nickname ‘the E.T. of Varginha.’
In the days following the sighting, local lawyer and ufologist Ubirajara Rodrigues interviewed the girls.
The girls described a creature with a heart-shaped face, big red eyes, three horns on its forehead and a shiny brown body
The alien-like creature was reportedly crouched beside a wall in a vacant lot in Varginha
After hearing their account, he told them: ‘You didn’t see a demon or an ape, you saw an extraterrestrial,’ Silva recalled years later in a documentary released to mark the anniversary.
In the weeks that followed, ufologists began collecting anonymous testimonies from people claiming to be members of the military.
They alleged that the creature had been captured alive, taken to a hospital and later transferred to the Três Corações barracks before being moved to a secret laboratory in Campinas.
One soldier claimed the being ‘barely had a nose, its eyes were very red, and its mouth was small.’
Residents also reported seeing a UFO flying over the area before landing.
As the story escalated, the Brazilian Army launched an official investigation.
Investigators questioned soldiers, commanders, firefighters and ufologists who had published books on the case. They also examined the movement logs of military vehicles during the relevant days.
The result was a two-volume investigation totaling 600 pages declaring the story false and blaming the media for spreading lies.
‘The military personnel cited by the press did not participate in any operation transporting any type of cargo. The media are mistaken, publicizing untrue events,’ the report stated.
The official explanation suggested the girls had misinterpreted what they saw during a violent summer storm, which included heavy rain and hail.
Investigators proposed the figure may have been Luís Antônio de Paula, known locally as Mudinho, a man with mental disabilities who walked crouched through the city.
Investigators proposed the alien-like figure may have been Luís Antônio de Paula, a man with mental disabilities who walked crouched through the city
The three women (then girls) who allegedly saw a nonhuman being give their testimony in the Moment of Contact documentary
The witnesses have rejected that explanation ever since. ‘We had known Mudinho since we were children; he was always crouching low,’ said Valquiria Silva, ‘Without a doubt, it wasn’t him.’
Silva was speaking in a new documentary released by Globo featuring fresh testimonies, including that of neurologist Italo Venturelli, who claims he encountered a nonhuman being in a Varginha hospital in 1996.
‘It was like a child, neither green nor brown, as they said. What I saw was white, with a teardrop-shaped skull and lilac eyes. I looked at it, it looked at me, it looked out the window and back at me,’ Venturelli said.
He explained that fear of ridicule kept him silent for decades, but a serious illness that nearly killed him prompted him to speak publicly.
‘It was completely different from a human. It was very calm, it seemed like an angel,’ he said.
Further testimony was recounted this week at a press conference in Washington organized by investigative filmmaker James Fox.
Fox directed the film 'Moment of Contact' about the Varginha incident, where he interviewed several star witnesses.
Italo Venturelli, (pictured) claims he encountered a nonhuman being in a Varginha hospital in 1996
Carlos de Sousa, a Brazilian man who said he witnessed the crash, told a press conference he initially thought the object was a blimp
The director presented written and video testimony from people who say they encountered a nonhuman biological entity after what they describe as a UFO crash in January 1996.
Witnesses claimed a cigar-shaped object in distress crashed into a field near Varginha.
Carlos de Sousa, a Brazilian man who said he witnessed the crash, told the conference he initially thought the object was a blimp.
He described seeing debris scattered around part of the craft and noticing a strong smell of ammonia and rotten eggs.
According to de Sousa, army vehicles arrived shortly afterward and soldiers ordered him away at gunpoint.
He said that after leaving the scene, men in suits approached him in an unmarked car and demonstrated knowledge of his personal details before telling him he never saw anything.
Journalist Nyei Nadeia claimed he experienced a similar situation when attempting to investigate the incident.
He said he was blocked by soldiers and described hearing people running through the woods shouting ‘surround it’ and ‘it’s smooth,’ and was warned he could be arrested if he continued asking questions.
The girls mother claimed four men allegedly offered money if the family would say the girls had seen an animal or a sick person
The witnesses drew the creature they had seen crouching beside a wall in Varginha
The mother of Liliane and Valquiria Silva also spoke via video message at the conference, saying she found a footprint in the grass with three long toes and noticed a lingering smell.
Luiza Helena de Silva described a visit from four men dressed in black who allegedly offered money if the family would say the girls had seen an animal or a sick person.
The conference also featured testimony from individuals claiming military involvement.
One man, whose identity was concealed, said he helped transport an extraterrestrial from a hospital before handing it over to other soldiers.
A medical examiner who worked in Varginha at the time described performing an autopsy on a young soldier who died unexpectedly from what appeared to be a severe infection.
A pathologist involved said the bacterium was highly aggressive and unusual. In a written statement for the event, he claimed the bacterium does not commonly infect humans, although it is found on Earth.
Venturelli also spoke at the conference, where he expanded on his testimony. He claimed he sensed that the creature in the hospital was thankful for the care and wanted to leave.
The neurosurgeon described having the impression that the being was very intelligent, with a strong sense of understanding and compassion in its gaze.
The neurosurgeon described having the impression that the being was very intelligent
Venturelli, who claims he saw the alien-like creature, comforts another witness, Carlos de Sousa, at the conference after sharing their testimonies
Retired Colonel Fred Clausen told the conference that in his work as a fighter pilot in 1980, he encountered a UFO, but the military confiscated footage from his gun camera.
He said he believes a US cargo plane secretly flew into Brazil in January 1996 and departed with ‘unusual cargo,’ calling on anyone with knowledge of such a mission to come forward.
The Pentagon has denied any evidence linking unidentified aerial phenomena to extraterrestrial life.
Brazilian authorities have never officially endorsed the extraterrestrial claims.
Varginha’s City Council said it has never commented on the military investigation, according to El Pais.
However, the city’s current mayor, Leonardo Ciacci, revealed in the Globo documentary that when he managed a local bakery in 1996, the hospital allegedly involved refused its daily bread delivery on the day of the incident.
As the mystery continues, citizens of Varginha have embraced their alien story.
Once known solely for being a major coffee-producing area, the city is now a tourist attraction, with people flocking to see statues of the 'E.T. of Varginha' as well as a water tower designed as a UFO.
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