What can we actually tell from that Tuscumbia sighting report?

Not from that description alone. It tells us that a sighting was reported, but gives no account of what was seen, when or under what conditions, or whether anything independently supports it. I’d look for a fuller original account before drawing conclusions.

The wording leaves a lot open. A brief report can’t distinguish an unusual event from a mistaken identification or a story that lost context in retelling. I’d keep it as an unverified claim, rather than treating “appeared human” as evidence of what the beings were.