Bothell, WashingtonJanuary 1961

On the morning of January 9, 1961, a resident of Bothell, Washington saw two unusual objects in the sky from the kitchen window of his ranch home, located about five and a half miles north of Bothell. The first object appeared at dawn, moving toward the west at high speed. It was burnt-orange in color and falling or descending as it moved, tumbling over and over until it disappeared below the trees on the horizon.

Within seconds, a second object burst into view high in the sky, emerging from white clouds. This object also turned burnt-orange almost immediately and moved in the same tumbling, rolling motion. As the second object moved westward, it flickered between bright and dark as it tumbled. The entire event lasted only about five or six minutes, from roughly 7:19 to 7:25 a.m. The observer noted that both objects fell swiftly toward the west before vanishing.

The witness was skeptical of his own observations and considered whether the objects might be sky rockets, perhaps set off from nearby Everett, Washington, or connected to Paine Field, a military installation in the area. However, he noted that he had never seen sky rockets tumble repeatedly while alternating between light and dark, or rise as high in the sky as the second object did before bursting through the clouds. He believed the objects were beyond human manufacture and felt compelled to report them to the Air Force. The sighting was originally reported to Senator Henry Jackson before being forwarded to the Congressional Inquiry Division of the Air Force.

In its official evaluation, the U.S. Air Force marked the case as "unidentified," though the investigative file noted that it was "possible the objects were aircraft flying in the area from one of the many military and civilian airports," including Paine Field. The full case file, comprising 14 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.