Dodge City, KansasJanuary 1959

# Dodge City, Kansas – January 1959

On January 3, 1959, a person driving a car near Dodge City, Kansas saw a bright object move rapidly across the sky through the windshield. The witness stopped the car to get a better look. The object appeared to be disc-shaped, roughly the size of a baseball, and seemed to be moving in level flight.

As the witness watched, the object emitted sparks and changed brightness, getting brighter and then dimmer in a pulsing manner. The object circled over the southern part of the sky, then moved away toward the east at what the witness estimated to be more than 600 miles per hour. The witness described the object as appearing annoyed or agitated, and thought it might have shot away at a sharp angle near the end of the sighting.

The Air Force initially asked for more information, and the witness completed a detailed technical questionnaire. However, the witness could not estimate the object's actual size or distance because the altitude was uncertain. When asked what the object might have been, the witness ruled out an airplane, helicopter, and balloon, saying the object moved too fast for any of those explanations.

The Air Force's evaluation of this case, as recorded in the file, noted that the witness's descriptions contained inconsistencies between different accounts. The Air Force concluded the sighting was probably an aircraft, though the case itself was marked as unidentified. The full case file, consisting of 12 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.