The Lead Masks Case

On August 20, 1966, a young boy flying a kite on Vintem Hill in Brazil discovered the bodies of two well-dressed men lying in the tall grass. They wore formal suits, raincoats, and crude masks made of lead over their eyes. Beside them lay a notebook with bizarre instructions. Decades later, their deaths remain unexplained.

The Discovery

The Scene

The bodies were found on Vintem Hill (Morro do Vintém) overlooking the city of Niterói, across Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro. The men lay side by side, looking up at the sky.

Found with them:

• Crude lead eye masks (simple lead ovals with holes)
• A notebook with handwritten instructions
• An empty water bottle
• Two wet towels
• A crushed packet that may have contained capsules

The Victims

The deceased were identified as:

Manoel Pereira da Cruz (32) An electronics technician from Campos dos Goytacazes

Miguel José Viana (34) Also an electronics technician, Manoel’s business partner and friend

Both men were known as serious, reliable professionals with no history of drug use, mental illness, or occult involvement. They were described as intelligent and rational.

The Last Day

August 17, 1966

The investigation reconstructed the men’s final days:

Leaving Home Both men left Campos together, telling their families they were going to São Paulo to purchase car parts and electronic equipment for their business.

In Niterói Instead of going to São Paulo, they:

• Bought raincoats from a shop
• Purchased the water bottle
• Bought a packet of materials (possibly capsules) from a waiter at a bar

The Hillside At some point, they climbed Vintem Hill. What happened there is unknown.

The Notebook

The notebook found beside the bodies contained instructions in Portuguese:

“16:30 estar no local determinado” (16:30 be at the agreed location)

“18:30 ingerir cápsulas, após efeito proteger metais aguardar sinal mascara” (18:30 ingest capsules, after effect protect metals await signal mask)

The instructions appeared to be waiting for some kind of contact or experience that required the lead masks.

The Investigation

Cause of Death

Critically, no autopsy was performed on the bodies:

• The coroner’s office was backed up
• By the time resources were available, the bodies had decomposed
• The actual cause of death was never determined

This failure would permanently hamper the investigation.

No Signs of Violence

Initial examination showed:

• No external injuries
• No signs of struggle
• The men appeared to have lain down deliberately
• Their positioning suggested they were waiting for something

The Lead Masks

The masks were crude:

• Simple pieces of lead shaped to cover the eyes
• Holes cut for the eye openings (though covered)
• Not professionally made
• Purpose unknown

Lead shielding is used to protect against radiation. Were the men expecting some kind of radiation exposure?

Theories

UFO Contact Attempt

The most popular theory suggests:

• The men were attempting to contact extraterrestrials
• They believed aliens would appear at the specified time
• The masks were to protect their eyes from bright lights
• Something went wrong (overdose, exposure, or actual contact)

Supporting evidence:

• Multiple witnesses reported seeing UFOs over the hill around that time
• The area had a history of UFO sightings
• The instructions suggest waiting for a “signal”

Séance or Occult Ritual

Some researchers believe:

• The men were conducting a spiritualist experiment
• They may have been part of a scientific spiritualism movement popular in Brazil
• The capsules may have been intended to induce altered states
• The masks were for some ritual purpose

Accidental Poisoning

The men may have:

• Ingested a toxic substance believing it would enable contact/visions
• Overdosed unintentionally
• Been victims of a bad batch of whatever they were taking

Without toxicology, this cannot be confirmed.

Murder

Despite no evidence of violence:

• The men may have been killed elsewhere and placed on the hill
• They could have been poisoned by a third party
• The bizarre elements could be staging

Hoax Gone Wrong

The men may have:

• Been playing an elaborate prank
• Taken substances as part of the prank
• Died accidentally while staging the scene

The Witness

The Light in the Sky

A woman who lived near Vintem Hill reported:

• On the night the men likely died
• She saw strange lights over the hill
• The lights hovered and moved unusually
• She assumed it was nothing important

Her testimony was not taken seriously at the time but later became significant to UFO researchers.

Connections

The Spiritualist Movement

Brazil in the 1960s had active spiritualist and esoteric movements:

• Scientific spiritualism attempted to prove supernatural phenomena
• Groups experimented with contacting other intelligences
• Electronics technicians were sometimes involved (viewing technology as a bridge)

The men may have been part of such a group, though no direct evidence links them.

Other Cases

Some researchers connect the Lead Masks Case to:

• Other mysterious deaths in Brazil with occult elements
• A pattern of people dying during alleged contact attempts
• The broader UFO contactee movement of the era

Unanswered Questions

Decades later, fundamental questions remain:

1. What killed them? Without autopsy, we don’t know
2. What were the capsules? Contents never identified
3. What were they expecting? The “signal” was never explained
4. Why lead masks? The purpose remains unclear
5. Were they alone? Some evidence suggests a third person may have been present

Legacy

The Lead Masks Case has become:

• One of Brazil’s most famous unsolved mysteries
• A fixture in UFO literature
• The subject of books, documentaries, and articles
• An enduring puzzle that defies explanation

Two intelligent, rational men climbed a hill, put on lead masks, apparently took something, and waited for a signal that may or may not have come. Whatever they expected, they died waiting for it.

The truth of what happened on Vintem Hill that August day died with them - their eyes covered by lead, their faces turned toward the sky.