Farmington, UtahOctober 1962

On the evening of October 23, 1962, a duck hunter near Farmington, Utah heard a sound like a flock of ducks flying overhead. When he looked up, he saw a gray and silver ball about three feet in diameter approaching from the west at roughly jet aircraft speed. The object trailed what looked like gray or silver twine or cobweb material with two knots in it. After passing directly over the hunter's position, the object suddenly swerved to the southeast, accelerated tremendously, and vanished in one to two seconds. The entire sighting lasted about 20 seconds.

The witness was a 52-year-old driver for Yellow Cab Company in Salt Lake City. An Air Force security specialist who interviewed him found him to be a mature and stable observer. The man was convinced he had seen something real and solid, not a trick of light or imagination.

The Air Force investigated thoroughly. Weather records from Hill Air Force Base showed clear skies, good visibility (30 miles), and no unusual atmospheric conditions that might explain the sighting. The U.S. Weather Bureau had released weather balloons at 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. that evening, but those balloons drifted south and west over a different part of Utah and could not have been the object. No aircraft were operating in the area, and no missile tests were being conducted nearby. The investigating officer noted that no conventional aircraft matched the description of what the hunter saw.

After completing its initial investigation, the Air Force found no explanation for what the witness observed. The case remains unidentified. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 10 pages.