The true part of the story is as follows.
In 2005, FBI homicide detectives did in fact investigate the mysterious disappearance of 24 people that had taken place in Nome between the 1960s and 2004, which caused locals to initially think there was a serial killer involved.
According to the Anchorage Daily News, most of the victims were native men who had travelled to Nome from surrounding villages. The FBI determined there was no real reason to suspect a serial killer and instead came up with the explanation that, “Excessive alcohol consumption and a harsh winter climate,” were to blame for the disappearances. (4)
However, The Fourth Kind is based on a conspiracy theory from the movie producers as to why those people went missing from Nome, and that they were actually abducted by aliens.
The footage in the film that shows hypnotherapy sessions taking place between “Dr. Abigail Tyler”, played by Milla Jovovich, and the patients who claimed they had been abducted. The movie was dubbed as being, “the most disturbing evidence of alien abduction ever documented.” (5)
Between the FBI dismissing the Nome missing people’s case as being due to “excessive alcohol and a harsh winter climate”, and movie producers ‘cashing in’ on the story by producing a fabricated tale about alien abduction, it is hardly surprising that the families of those who disappeared are upset about the lack of case closure.
