Project Blue Book Case File
Canton, OhioMay 1958
Summary
On the evening of May 12, 1958, a resident of Canton, Ohio saw an unidentified object in the sky. The object appeared as a red light moving from the northwest toward the east. It had no visible body, only the light itself. The witness watched it for about five to eight minutes. The object moved slowly and in an erratic path, changing direction unpredictably.
The U.S. Air Force's technical intelligence center investigated the sighting. Officers learned that the U.S. Weather Bureau had launched weather balloons from Warren, Ohio, about 40 miles northeast of Canton, on the night of the sighting. The prevailing winds at the time were blowing from Warren in the direction of Canton. The balloon's slow, wandering movements matched what the witness described seeing in the sky.
Based on this evidence, the Air Force concluded the object was most likely a weather balloon with a light attached to it. The bureau had released it from Warren, and wind patterns would have carried it over Canton right around the time of the sighting. The case file notes that the description of the object and its erratic movements indicated a "strong possibility that it was a balloon."
The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 17 pages.
Reported location
Canton, Ohio
Date of incident
May 1958
State / country
OH / US
Page count
17 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 32