Decemystery (2019) 23: The Ririe Carjackers

An artist's depiction of the aliens (source: Monster-Man-08 on DeviantArt)

This is without a doubt one of the most bizarre and surreal extraterrestrial stories I’ve ever read in my 23 years on this planet. So naturally, I must share it with you all. This is the story of the Ririe Carjackers.

Rockstar Games Presents: The Mystery of the Ririe Carjackers

Don’t sue me, Housers. I use that header merely out of love for your games.

Anyways: let me start this by saying that finding information for this mystery was a nightmare. Checking YouTube for anything on this story yields precisely nothing. Oh sure, there are videos on carjackings. That’s all fine and dandy, but I’m not here to discuss any ordinary carjacking.

In the way of using Google, I was met with a whole two websites that had information on it. One was the Obscurban Legend Wiki while other one was related to skepticism. Beyond that, I was up a creek without a paddle. Or a boat for that matter.

As such, today we’re just going to go off of the Wikia and make do with it all. So let’s take a trip to Ririe, Idaho. The date is November 2, 1967. Will Begay and Guy Tossie were on their way home from a night of drinking when all of a sudden, a UFO landed in front of their vehicle. The object was described as being shaped like a saucer, covered in orange and green lights. At the top was a clear dome, which opened up and revealed the occupants of the craft: two small entities with skin that was described as looking “rough and scarred” like that of a cantaloupe.

Those details aren’t the only ones out there apparently. According to the Iron Skeptic—a website that I’ll be citing later for a theory—the creatures also sported thin, slit-like mouths, tiny, black eyes, had two sizable, pointed ears, and lacked any hair. In essence: they looked like goblins.

One of the creatures then floated out of the saucer and entered the car. I must stress that I have absolutely no idea as to how the alien entered the vehicle, whether it opened the door, if the men got out of their car, or if the alien simply floated through the car door. While the drawing at the start shows the door alien, there’s no specific indication if Begay and Tossie kept their doors unlocked or not. Whatever the case, the being commandeered the steering wheel and drove the car for a brief moment before it crashed into a field and stopped.

At this point, Tossie got out of the car (Begay remained in it and stated that the alien rambled incomprehensibly in a tone that sounded like a woman or bird) and rushed over the nearest building. As he did this, he was chased by a green light before it gave up pursuit and retreated to pick up the carjacking alien. Once it picked up its companion, the craft took off into the sky; a yellow light propelling it to the stars above.

Fantastical as this story may seem, it wasn’t the only sighting of these aliens—presumably at least. A farmer by the name of Elaine Quinn allegedly saw a UFO that was “zig-zagging” in the sky that night. Another unnamed local also said that a UFO stopped his vehicle and an alien attempted to carjack her.

That would normally be the end of the story, but the artist whose drawing I used as the cover art (per-se) for this entry has a few additional details that I’d like to share. As such: all credit for this goes to Monster-Man-08.

#1:  Monster-Man states that both Begay and Tossie slid down to keep away from the alien as it entered the vehicle, which may have not been driven by the alien, but rather “towed” by the saucer. Whether it was an accident or deliberate if it was towed by the UFO, the car then crashed.

#2: When the UFO took off, it zig-zagged its way into the sky (perhaps this is what Quinn saw). Monster-Man also states that the yellow light that assisted in its take off was akin to a flame, but not exactly like one.

#3: Tossie got assistance from William and Bob Hammon. Upon returning to the vehicle, they found a terrified Begay. After retrieving the car, Begay and Tossie reported the incident to the sheriffs—which they found at a bar.

Those are the three additional details. It isn’t much, but it helps to paint a somewhat clearer picture (not that that’s saying much in the long run). Whether the two men were booked for a DWI or not, I cannot find any information on. his magnificently bizarre tale of carjacking aliens. Let’s move onto the theories, of which there are a mere two.

Theories

1. Aliens really tried to steal the vehicle

Life can sometimes be black and white. In today’s case, we’re looking at one of those times.

In our first theory: the idea is that the two men really were carjacked by an alien. Evidence for this comes in the form of the other sightings from Quinn and the nameless man. Beyond that however, there’s little to nothing to go off of. We’re merely left with the word of Begay and Tossie. Given that this story on its own has almost nothing (at least that I could find), we’re left with two testimonies from two men who were drunk. Make of that what you will.

2. It was a hoax

This theory is, well, natural if we’re dealing with something that’s black and white. It also claims that it may have been induced by the alcohol that the two men were drinking (my source being the aforementioned skeptical website that I linked earlier).

The idea behind it is that Begay and Tossie had so much to drink that they ended up crashing their vehicle and made up the story to cover up the fact they were intoxicated. As such, Tossie rushed off to report the supposed close encounter and from there, the two ran with it in the hopes of getting out of trouble due to their intoxicated state.

I cannot verify this of course; Iron Skeptic went with the story and it’s easy to understand why. Coupled with the lack of others claiming to see the array of lights from wherever Tossie rushed off to, no one else on the road (admittedly, I have no idea how desolate the road was where they saw the UFO), and the general lack of information and what you’re left with is a very barren story that doesn’t have much to back it up.

Now as for the report of Elaine Quinn: I cannot find anything on her. Same with the other driver who was allegedly almost carjacked. Both stories, if they’re legitimate, do put a kink in the skeptical angle of things. Until I can find anything on it though, one has to stop and ponder what if the two men were really covering for drinking and driving.

My Take

I lean very heavily towards this being an excuse made up by Begay and Tossie for having wrecked their vehicle after drinking. However, part of me can’t shake the report of seeing a zig-zagging light in the sky from Quinn. As for the report from the unnamed man who was supposedly almost carjacked by aliens, that one I lean towards the skeptical side on due to the lack of a name. Should it be real though, then I have no idea as to what to make of this story. Even if it is fake, it’s one of the most fantastical and bizarre alien encounter stories I’ve ever heard of. So much so that I’d put it in the top three, just behind the Kelly–Hopkinsville Encounter and a story I call “The Man Who Befriended Aliens.”

Conclusion

Idaho is known for its potatoes and also its potatoes. This story makes me wonder if Idaho’s potatoes are really just aliens masquerading as a delicious part of Thanksgiving dinner. If they are, then what do they think when I have mashed potatoes? Do they consider it cannibalism or is it merely a natural part of life for them? Or is them attempting to carjack two drunks their way of extracting revenge for eating their fellow kin? These are questions for another time. Until then, do you think that these two men were carjacked by aliens? Or were they merely that drunk? Sound off in the comments below while I eat some mashed potatoes.