Marietta, OhioMay 1958

On the night of May 9, 1958, a man in Marietta, Ohio reported seeing five lights in the sky moving from east to west near Parkersburg, West Virginia. He described four amber-white lights followed by one bright white light, covering roughly the size of a small aircraft and traveling at about 50 miles per hour. He observed it for approximately five minutes using binoculars and a telescope and reported hearing no sound. He also claimed to have seen similar objects on two previous occasions, on April 9 and April 24, 1958.

Air Force investigators from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base contacted the witness on May 13, 1958, and traveled to Marietta to interview him. During their investigation, they checked with the Filter Center in Charleston, West Virginia, which reported no unusual sightings on May 8 or 9. They also reviewed radar scope readings from the 783rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Guthrie Air Force Station for four hours before and after the reported sighting. All radar tracks were identified as conventional aircraft, and no unidentified objects appeared on radar.

Through interviews with local authorities, the investigators learned that the witness was unemployed, had no stable address, and was described by neighbors, the sheriff, and the postmaster as an unusual and unreliable person. He reportedly stayed indoors during the day and went out every night with his telescope until early morning hours. The witness was a member of UFO enthusiast organizations, including NICAP and APRO. When asked about his means of support, he gave inconsistent stories about inherited property. The investigators concluded that the witness appeared to have fabricated his account or imagined the sighting, and they noted that his imaginative description bore little credibility.

The Air Force evaluator suggested that if such an object had actually been observed, it would most likely have been conventional or jet aircraft involved in high-altitude refueling operations, which can produce multiple amber-colored lights with flashes at the rear. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 35 pages.