Indian Lake, OhioJune 1954

Unidentified

Summary

On June 25, 1954, at 1705 Eastern Daylight Time (5:05 p.m.), a civilian witness near Indian Lake, Ohio reported seeing an unidentified aerial object. The observer was outdoors in open countryside when the sighting occurred.

The witness described the object as polished metal with a very light appearance. The underside appeared flat, and the object had an inverted cone shape on top. During the sighting, the object suddenly sped up and rushed away. The witness heard no sound from it. Based on the observer's account, the object was estimated to be about 40 feet in diameter and traveled at approximately 5,000 miles per hour. The sighting lasted roughly 2.5 minutes.

The witness completed a detailed Air Force Technical Information Sheet, providing sketches and answers to standardized questions about the object's appearance, motion, and the conditions under which it was observed. The weather was clear with no wind at the time. The observer reported being fairly certain of some details but uncertain about others, including the object's exact speed and distance.

The Air Force's evaluation, marked on the case record card, produced contradictory conclusions. Visual observers indicated the object was probably a balloon, while radar data (if collected) labeled it as unidentified. An additional note on the file stated there were "contradictions in account." The case was ultimately classified as unidentified by the Air Force. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 13 pages.

Reported location

Indian Lake, Ohio

Date of incident

June 1954

State / country

OH / US

Page count

13 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 21

| ” rn P AROIECT 10073 RECORD CARD ’ 1. DATE iP LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS b i AH ; \ 3 AE [a 4 Was Bolloon oi Tivva a Qf fry 11 an ‘ 3 i 25 June 1954 | ‘tniien Lake, “hilo OQ Probobly Bollson ¢ 3. DATE-TIME GROUP [4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION | 2 Possibly Balloon E 1705EDST ) 4 Local: Rept J Ground- Visual O Ground-Rodar 0 MEERA P E 25/ 1052 a Pro Hit is : GMT ____ &F Air Visual O Air-Intercept Rador 0 Fossibly Alrcroit 4 5. PHOTOS . SOURCE 0 Wos Astronomicol E 0 Yes O Probably Astronomical i & No Civilian O Possibly Astronomical 4 EER eRe Ta I OO Re RON | OE RT A VER rd SC Br sl ARE SSR TTT TT oT 18 7. LENGTH OF ORSERYATION 9. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE Cr Other alt R iE ey Ee H QO Insufficient Date for Evaluation 3 2% ih ey J Unknown Eb 3 « 5 Minutes 1 SE i jie BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING Ea 11. COMMENTS : 1 olished metal, (Very light), Suddenly Contradictions in account, 3 speeded up, No sound, Inderside of object Visual - Ballon 3 appeared flat, Inverted con= on top. Speed ~ Radzr-Unidentifed 3 S000MPH, AQT in diameter, - | ATIC PORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)