Corporal Armando Valdés, Putre
A Chilean army corporal on night patrol near the Bolivian border was said to have vanished for 15 minutes and returned with days of beard growth and his watch five days fast.
1977 CE · -18.20, -69.56 · status: claim
The account
In the early hours of 25 April 1977 a small army patrol camped at Pampa Lluscuma near Putre reported purple lights coming down towards them. Corporal Armando Valdés walked towards one and, his men said, disappeared, returning about a quarter of an hour later in shock, bearded, and with his calendar watch showing a date five days ahead. The story was carried by the Associated Press ('Soldier loses 5 days to UFO') and became Chile's best-known abduction case.
The sceptical view
No independent record confirms the beard or the watch. Valdés later gave conflicting versions, at times casting doubt on the event, and the army never published an inquiry. Some Chilean researchers suggest a prank or a staged episode during a tense period on the border.