by VDC Staff

With Halloween just days away, Vermont ranks first in a new study of estimated alien abduction odds from Canada Sports Betting. The analysis examined 18,561 UFO sightings reported across the United States since 2020 and ranked states by population-adjusted reports that included possible abductions, physical contact, or unexplained missing time.

Vermont recorded the highest rate of abduction-flagged reports at 10.89 per million residents. That works out to modeled lifetime odds of roughly 1 in 5,700. The state logged 91 UFO sightings in the dataset. Oregon placed second, followed by New Hampshire. The rest of the top 10 includes Washington, West Virginia, Alaska, Iowa, Rhode Island, Colorado, and Montana.

These figures are modeled estimates based on reporting rates, not verified probabilities of actual extraterrestrial contact. As the study notes, they reflect patterns in how people describe unusual experiences rather than proof of visitors from elsewhere. Vermont’s relatively small population of about 645,000 amplifies per-capita rates even when absolute numbers stay modest compared with larger states.

Vermont has a documented history of UFO reports that sometimes escalate into claims of close encounters or abductions. One of the best-known cases is the 1968 Buff Ledge incident near Colchester on the shores of Lake Champlain. Two teenage camp employees, Michael Lapp and Janet Cornell, reported a glowing craft approaching them on a quiet evening while most of the camp was away at a swim meet. Later investigation and hypnosis sessions produced accounts of missing time, a beam of light from the object, and telepathic contact with entities inside. Investigator Walter N. Webb detailed the case extensively in his book Encounter at Buff Ledge. The former camp property later became Big Foot Stables, but the UFO abduction claims remain one of the state’s most thoroughly examined reports.

More recent National UFO Reporting Center filings from Vermont continue to include unusual lights, structured objects, and occasional descriptions that go beyond simple sightings. Witnesses have described rectangular craft with rows of lights, bright orange orbs that move against the stars, inverted-bowl-shaped objects with rotating multicolored lights, and events involving missing time or physical effects. Reports come from rural areas such as Whitingham, Brookfield, Colchester, Stowe, South Burlington, Cambridge, and Vergennes. In a state with dark skies and low population density, anomalous lights stand out and are more likely to be noticed and reported.

The study’s focus on abduction-flagged cases—those mentioning missing time, physical contact, or being taken—highlights a subset of reports that carry a more personal and unsettling quality. Vermont’s combination of rural terrain, active skywatchers, and a cultural willingness to share unusual experiences appears to contribute to its high ranking. Similar patterns have appeared in other northern New England states, where per-capita UFO reporting rates often exceed those of more populous regions.

Canada Sports Betting’s ranking joins a series of data-driven looks at reporting patterns rather than scientific claims of visitation. Larger states generate more raw reports but dilute the per-capita rates that drive these indexes. For Vermonters, the numbers arrive as seasonal curiosity more than alarm. Whether the lights over the Green Mountains are drones, planes, satellites, atmospheric effects, or something rarer, the reports keep coming. The study simply quantifies how often those reports include the more personal, abduction-style details that capture the public imagination.

Full details of the analysis are available in Canada Sports Betting’s Alien Abduction Odds 2026 report.