Montezuma, IndianaNovember 1957

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Summary

# Montezuma, Indiana, November 1957

On the night of November 20, 1957, multiple witnesses in the Montezuma area of Indiana reported seeing unusual objects in the sky. The reports were unclear and contradictory. Some witnesses described round, white objects the size of a baseball. Others reported seeing as many as eight objects. The objects appeared to glow brightly and moved through the clouds at around 7,000 feet altitude. One account mentioned a round object the size of a basketball with a bright orange light, moving from east to west and then upward.

The sightings lasted between two and five minutes, depending on the account. The witnesses described the objects as moving in an easterly direction, though some details conflict. The Air Force noted that four separate reports came in describing apparently the same sighting, but the accounts were so garbled that it was unclear whether observers had seen one, two, or eight objects, or whether they were moving east, west, or upward.

The Air Force indicated that if the objects were sighted closer to Terre Haute, a fighter aircraft would be sent to investigate. However, no additional information was received, and the file states that no attempt at analysis was made on these reports. The Air Force's final evaluation was marked "Unknown."

The full case file, consisting of 17 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

Montezuma, Indiana

Date of incident

November 1957

State / country

IN / US

Page count

17 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 30

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 17

View transcribed text

¥ aiah atid Od RT aes lo dai oe bb ad lacs abi Go die did tl i ai A -
A 5 AREY SM mig FPIRRI———————————_ BLE auld
RN ee PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD shila omaen fod
1. DATE 2. LOCATION Montezuma, Indiaua 12. CONCLUSIONS
; Terre Haute’ indiana
| Robinson, I111innis™ ~ |O Was Balloon |
20 YNovanher 195 Newport, Indiana O Probably Balloon
EB 3 DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION @ Pesnvy Seton |
| Le 24i/,U04U% : : bl of
; Local Bs sli. fo Be Re 0 at SCORN XO Ground- Visual O Ground-Radar O Was Aircraft
= 51 01007 Bi pana lars a Probably Aircraft
] owr_sde 51/434 4 RARE T oF 1: be ARRON 0 ‘Aw Visuef = 47 O Air-Intercept Radar |D Possibly Aircraft
i 5. PHOTOS » SOURCE 0 Was Astronomical
3 O Yes QO Probably Astronomical a.
] No Civilian & GOC Observers 2 A TYLER. AR
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION _ | 8 NUMBER OF OBJECTS 9. COURSE RR RRR Rr OR Ar AOR TT
3 1 5 ming 2. 5 mins ls 8 and 2 Ae Upwald &< Insufficient Data for Evaluation
; = ® ~~ oi - E i : i . 2 3 > 9 A 1 Z [J pes 9 a] Unknown
; 3. 2-8 mins 4, 2 mius he 3. East 4. West
E 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
3 Ls One report of 8, another rpt of 2 Objects moving in easterly direc-
f - |round, white o})js, size of baseball, tion & should they be seen closer
: siving off bright light, to Terre Haute, a fighter will be
ge 2. 2 round white objs size of baseball.| sent aloit to investigate, ATIC
4 Objs seen moving up through clouds & was to pe informed if anything furl
s were in sight 5 mins, ther developed. No further infor-
gE Be O light-icoking objects darting in &| mation received, Four garbled rpts
: out of clouds at 7,000 ft, of apparently same sighting. Eithejr
g 4, Round obj, size offbasketball, bright l,2 or 8 objs moving E, W or up.
3 oranze light moving fm E to W upward. No attempt at analysis, fon
E ATIC FORM 329 (R2V 25 SZP 52) :
0

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28975027