Lake Erie, Put In Bay, OhioOctober 1958

Insufficient Data

Summary

In October 1958, several witnesses near Put In Bay, Ohio, on Lake Erie reported seeing an unusual object in the sky over the course of several weeks. The object appeared as a round, white light that would fade out and reappear at different times.

The Air Force received a letter about the sighting on October 31, 1958, and requested that witnesses complete detailed questionnaires to gather more information. The case file includes responses from at least two observers. One witness described the object as metallic with a gyrating (spinning) motion, moving from north to south in a horizontal path, and noted that it was viewed through binoculars. The color was described as pale white and dull. Another witness characterized the object as moving at a regular speed with apparent motion that was more or less uniform.

The Air Force investigators noted that ground fog could account for the intermittent fading of the object. They also found that the planet Mars was in the position described by the witnesses, which may have explained the sightings. The investigators suggested that the object was probably a balloon, though they acknowledged that the evidence was limited and noted some inconsistencies between witness accounts.

This case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 28 pages.

Reported location

Lake Erie, Put In Bay, Ohio

Date of incident

October 1958

State / country

OH / US

Page count

28 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 34

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 28

View transcribed text

ais r— a ———— Le EEEEE—— ce —
ge TTI TEE EAT Ye PETE | - ; Sete or re -

: 1 eas PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD 4
5 at abseil, TN ni 2 -~- ~ 2 g : a
¢ 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS . 3
: Lake Erie O Was Balloon |
& : 1 Doetoher 1954 Bath ee Tete Shan O Probably Balloon E
£ eee sure onl JH i, O10 8 possi bly Balloon F
E 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION %
$ Ee : O Was Aircraft =
§ Loedls i oe oe O Ground-Rador O Probably Aircraft 3
Es - GMT __= 1/ 11177 0 Air Vi sual O Air-Intercept Rodor D Possibly Aircraft =
Fs 5. ‘PHOTOS 8. SOURCE - LX Was Astronomical arg 5
E 0 Yes G OD Probably Astronomical i:
3 | 30 No Civilian O Possibly Astronomical 3
: "| 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE OE Othee oie ee ey : 3
g : : OD Insufficient Data for Evaluation -
: : 2 0 Unknown : Hr
; iL minute one stationary 2
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING ~~ 1). COMMENTS =
3 b+
: ; : Rpund, white light, apreared to The obj was seen in the same 5
fade out & reappear. “he obj was place at differenct times by >
observed several times in the several people, The planet Mars :
course of several weeks, was found to be in position given. ; 2
| Ground fog could account for 1
intermittent fading of dj. 5

: ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)
BN h
EE ———————

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28980815