Manitou Springs, ColoradoAugust 1949

On the morning of August 8, 1949, a man near Manitou Springs, Colorado, reported an unidentified object above a ridge between Cameron's Cone and Mount Arthur, west of Colorado Springs. He sighted it at about 7:58 a.m. while wiping a clothesline in his yard. He watched it for about three minutes.

The man, a civilian, said the object was balloon shaped and silver in color. He estimated it was about one and one half feet across and roughly 200 feet above the ridge. It seemed to stay in one spot and made no maneuvers. He saw no smoke, odor, sound, lights, or means of support. When he turned to call his wife a fourth time and looked back, it had disappeared.

Air Force investigators checked the weather and found clear skies. Winds aloft were from the north and northeast. No aircraft were known to be in flight at the time. A wide search of the area found no object and no other witnesses. The investigation noted that the U.S. Weather Bureau in Denver often sent up weather balloons, and with the winds from the north, a balloon could easily have drifted into the area. On the Air Force record for unidentified flying object reports (Project 10073), the conclusion was balloon.