Parryville, MissouriMarch 1960

On the morning of March 6, 1960, a woman in Parryville, Missouri saw two bright streaks of light in the sky from her home. The objects appeared golden in color, like sunlight reflecting off clouds, and were positioned at a slant angle with one lower and in front of the other. She watched them for five to ten minutes as they descended slowly, then leveled off and moved eastward before disappearing to the northeast.

The sighting prompted an investigation by the U.S. Air Force. An Air Intelligence Information Report was filed after the witness completed a detailed questionnaire. The Air Force contacted the 798th AC&W Squadron in Belleville, Illinois, the Radar Bomb Scoring Group in St. Louis, and the U.S. Weather Bureau, but none could provide information to identify the objects.

The investigating officer noted that weather conditions on that morning included clear skies, temperatures around minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, and a temperature inversion (a layer of warm air trapping cooler air below it) extending from the surface to 10,000 feet. A U-3A aircraft had departed Scott Air Force Base at 6:17 a.m. that same morning, but the officer concluded it was unlikely to have been involved due to its distance and size. Instead, the officer suggested the sighting was probably caused by sunrise reflections from distant clouds, combined with the temperature inversion creating an unusual optical effect.

The Air Force officially classified this case as unidentified, though the prepared explanation pointed toward natural atmospheric phenomena. The full case file, consisting of 7 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.