khoji parkMystery · Niterói · 1966
Two Men Climbed a Hill Wearing Homemade Lead Masks
Unresolved deaths of two men found with cryptic instructions in Rio de Janeiro.
Read in slides1. Discovery on the Hill
On August 20, 1966, a young boy flying a kite on Morro do Vintém in Niterói discovered the bodies of two men. Police and firefighters reached the rugged site the following day to inspect the scene. The corpses lay side by side, partly covered by grass and wearing formal suits. Each man also wore a waterproof coat and an eye mask made of lead. Authorities found no major trauma or signs of a struggle.
Investigators initiated inquiries to identify the two deceased men.
2. Last Known Movements
The victims were identified as Manoel Pereira da Cruz and Miguel José Viana, electronics technicians from Campos dos Goytacazes. Witnesses established that the pair left their hometown on August 17 to purchase work materials. They boarded a bus to Niterói and arrived during the afternoon. A local bar waitress recalled that Miguel appeared very nervous and frequently checked his watch. This marked the final confirmed sighting of the men alive.
Police traced their route from the bar toward the hill.
3. Cryptic Evidence Found
Next to the corpses, police recovered an empty water bottle, a packet containing two wet towels, and a small notebook. The notebook contained electronic part numbers alongside esoteric instructions. The written note directed the reader to be at a specified location at 16:30 and to ingest capsules at 18:30. It further instructed them to protect metals and await a signal mask after the effect. No capsules were found at the scene.
The origin of the handwritten note remained unverified by authorities.
4. Decomposed Organs
Autopsies were delayed due to a heavy workload at the coroner's office. When the examinations were finally conducted weeks later, the internal organs of both victims were too badly decomposed for reliable testing. Consequently, toxicological analysis to detect potential poisons or drugs could not be performed. Officials officially listed the cause of death as cardiac failure.
The absence of toxicology data prevented conclusive chemical findings.
5. Spiritualist Connections
During the investigation, police spoke with Elcio Gomes, an acquaintance of the two technicians. Gomes stated that Cruz and Viana belonged to a local group of scientific spiritualists who experimented with contacting spirits and extraterrestrials. He described a previous unsuccessful attempt to build a device in a garden to contact Mars. Witnesses also reported a loud explosion on a nearby beach months earlier, which locals linked to a UFO sighting.
Detectives documented these claims while exploring alternative explanations.
6. Workshop Discoveries
A search of Miguel's workshop revealed tools and scraps of lead sheets. Investigators determined these materials were used to construct the eye masks worn by the victims. Authorities also found a book with passages concerning intense luminosity highlighted. This discovery suggested the men wore the lead eye covers to shield their vision from bright lights expected during spiritual experiments.
The workshop items supported theories involving paranormal experimentation.
7. Alternative Theories
Investigators considered several hypotheses ranging from foul play and electronics smuggling to an accidental drug overdose. Some local commentators suggested the men ingested substances like LSD to enhance telepathic communication with spirits. However, medical experts noted that deaths from LSD alone are extremely rare and lack corroborating evidence. Contemporaneous reports also noted other sightings of unusual aerial objects in the area.
No single theory gained definitive backing from physical evidence.
8. Unresolved Conclusion
The investigation did not establish what caused the two men’s deaths. The written instructions and the homemade masks were evidence of preparations, but they did not prove that a particular experiment, drug or outside attacker caused the outcome. Without a conclusive toxicological finding or a witnessed sequence, investigators could not turn the competing explanations into an established account of what happened on the hill.
The surviving objects did not establish a cause of death.