The Black Curtain Incident (Official Case File 24-11789)

OFFICIAL REPORT- ARCADIA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Case Number- 24-11789

Date- October 13, 2024

Reporting Officer- Deputy Sheriff J. Potash

Location- State Highway 46, Mile Marker 113, Arcadia County, NV

Incident Type- Traffic Accident/Anomalous Occurrence

INITIAL RESPONSE

At approximately 0206 hours, the Sheriff’s Office received multiple emergency calls reporting a major traffic accident involving no fewer than twelve vehicles on State Highway 46. Callers claimed that a portion of the highway had “disappeared.”

Deputies arrived on the scene at 0218 hours. Upon approach, dispatch advised that Nevada State Patrol units were en route as well as three ambulances. Arcadia County Fire Rescue had also been alerted.

SCENE OBSERVATION

The highway appeared normal until reaching mile marker 113. There, the pavement abruptly ended. Where asphalt should have continued for several hundred yards, there was instead open desert terrain, flat and untouched. Tire marks led directly into this barren stretch, as if the road had been removed. Twelve vehicles of varying make and model were either overturned, crashed, or resting at odd angles in the sand and brush.

Notably, the severed ends of the highway were unnaturally clean, showing no debris, crumbling, or sign of demolition. The paint of the median lines stopped mid-stroke. The effect was as if the road had simply ceased to exist.

WITNESS TESTIMONIES

Driver 1 (G. Blanchet, 38, of Reno)- Reported seeing the highway “shimmer” before realizing pavement was gone. Lost control of his SUV but was not seriously injured.

Driver 2 (S. Lee, 29, of Arcadia)- Stated that one moment the road was normal, the next it “peeled away like paper.” Claimed she saw “a black wall or curtain” drop ahead of her car before impact.

Passenger (C. Chang, 17)- Said the car was driving normally and then “the sky looked wrong, like bent glass,” before their sedan pitched forward.

Several other witnesses reported disorientation, nausea, and intense ringing in the ears seconds before the crash. Two witnesses mentioned a “humming sound, like power lines” immediately preceding the incident.

CASUALTIES

Out of the twelve vehicles, there were 24 individuals. 17 sustained minor to moderate injuries. 6 sustained serious injuries requiring hospitalization. 1 individual (male, 46, identity withheld pending notification) was declared deceased at the scene due to blunt force trauma.

No alcohol or drug impairment was detected in initial testing of drivers.

EVIDENCE COLLECTION

Samples of asphalt at the termination point were taken. Lab analysis pending.

Dashcam footage recovered from three vehicles shows the highway intact until frames where the image abruptly cuts to desert terrain. The footage skips, with three seconds unaccounted for.

Nevada Department of Transportation records confirm the highway was last resurfaced in 2021 and inspected July 2024, showing no structural issues.

Satellite imagery of the area, pulled at 0300 hours (less than an hour after the event), shows desert where the road segment should be. Historical imagery (up to September 2024) shows the highway intact.

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS

At 0347 hours, an Arcadia County drone unit deployed to survey the affected stretch experienced total electronic failure when passing over mile marker 113. Video feed froze, and the drone crashed. Post-recovery inspection revealed complete battery discharge despite being at 87% prior to deployment.

At 0512 hours, a patrol unit stationed on the opposite side of the missing stretch reported that the road had “reappeared.” The highway was once again continuous, with no sign of the earlier gap. Vehicles previously stranded in the desert terrain remained where they had landed, but the pavement extended beneath them as though it had always been there.

Witnesses confirmed the road was absent for approximately three hours and then “returned.” No seams or repairs are visible. Asphalt is consistent with adjoining highway sections.

STATEMENT OF REPORTING OFFICER

This deputy has worked accidents for twelve years. I have never witnessed or recorded anything comparable to this incident. The physical evidence (photographs, road samples, and dashcam video) contradicts the current state of the highway. Unless tampered with, the evidence indicates that the highway did in fact vanish for a measurable period of time.

I submit this report for review by the Sheriff’s Office, Nevada State Patrol, and — at the Sheriff’s discretion — federal authorities. Recommend road closure at mile marker 113 until explanation is determined.

ADDENDUM- NEWS COVERAGE

At 0700 hours, Arcadia Daily Chronicle released an article titled- “Highway Collapse or Mass Hysteria? Strange Event Halts Traffic on State 46.” The piece references ‘rumors of a vanishing road’ but leans toward speculation of a sinkhole or temporary mirage caused by atmospheric conditions. NDOT has issued a statement that “all roadways are safe and intact,” but has not addressed the witness claims of disappearance.

Public response is growing, with some residents calling the event a hoax, while others cite it as proof of “dimensional instability” or “government testing.”

As of the filing of this report (0930 hours), patrol confirms the highway remains intact. Investigation is ongoing.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL- PERSONAL JOURNAL ENTRY (Recovered from Witness)

The following is a handwritten entry submitted voluntarily by witness S. Lee, dated October 14, 2024.

“I keep going over it again and again. One second there was road, the white lines flashing under the headlights, and then nothing. Just desert. The car went airborne for a second, like the earth itself yanked the ground out from under us. The strangest part wasn’t the crash — it was the sound. A low humming, like standing under a power station. It rattled my teeth, but I think it was inside my head too. I saw something in that moment. Not desert, not road. A kind of black curtain, waving, like fabric in a storm. For a blink, I swear I saw lights behind it. Not headlights, not stars — something else. Shapes moving. Then we hit sand and I lost it. But I keep dreaming about it. Every time I close my eyes, I see that curtain ripple, like it’s waiting for me to look behind it again.”

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL- NEWS ARTICLE (Excerpt, National Coverage)

From Associated National Wire Service, October 15, 2024-

“Authorities in Nevada remain tight-lipped after a bizarre accident on Highway 46 left one dead and dozens injured. While local officials cite ‘unusual atmospheric conditions,’ witnesses are adamant that a portion of the roadway disappeared for several hours before mysteriously reappearing. Amateur drone footage and multiple eyewitness videos are already circulating online, though their authenticity is debated. The incident has sparked conspiracy theories ranging from secret government experiments to theories of alternate dimensions. The Federal Highway Administration has dispatched investigators, though no timetable for public findings has been announced.”

Filed- Deputy Sheriff J. Potash

Approved- Sheriff S. Oliver