Independence, Mo., July 1960July 1960

On the night of July 11-12, 1960, a civilian in Independence, Missouri reported seeing two glowing objects in the sky. The witness described them as round and oblong in shape, about the size of a pea to a dime, and red in color. The sighting lasted only three to four seconds. The objects appeared at an elevation of 20 degrees in the north direction and disappeared at 30 degrees elevation toward the south, traveling southeast at high speed before fading from sight.

A military air defense controller in the Kansas City area also filed a report around the same time that night, saying he believed he had observed the same objects in his own sighting. The controller reported seeing objects for about 30 seconds. Other military personnel witnessed a third sighting that lasted approximately 10 to 3 minutes (the OCR text is unclear on this duration). Investigators checked radar installations and local airports for any aircraft in the area, but found no corroborating evidence of conventional planes.

The Air Force's conclusion, stated on the case record card, was that the objects were probably a balloon. However, the file also notes that the duration and characteristics of the sighting were consistent with a meteor. One analysis suggested the witness observed a large meteor in the process of breaking up, since two separate objects were seen, as the meteor would have appeared fragmented as it traveled across the visible sky before disappearing.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, consisting of 7 pages.