Polk County, FloridaOctober 1957

On October 23, 1957, civilian pilots and ground observers in Polk County, Florida, reported seeing a round, silver object with a red light on one side hovering overhead. The object appeared to be about the size of a dirigible held at arm's length. It moved slowly and remained in sight for roughly two hours.

A group of licensed pilots took a Piper Apache aircraft to investigate. Climbing to 16,500 feet near Haines City, they estimated the object to be 50,000 to 60,000 feet above them. The pilots kept the object in continuous view while circling it, ruling out the possibility that it was a star or a fixed point. The object remained stationary over the area despite upper wind reports showing 22-knot winds at that altitude. A weather balloon would have drifted with such winds. The pilots also noted the object appeared too shiny to be a weather balloon, which are typically coated with a dull, powdery finish. After approximately two hours of observation, the object appeared to ascend rapidly and disappeared.

The Air Force sent an aircraft to search the area for 15 minutes without success. An unidentified radio contact initially told one witness that two B-47 aircraft had been sent from Pinecastle Air Force Base, but later investigation found no record of any aircraft being deployed. The investigation included weather analysis and coordination with radio operators. The case file concludes that the object was "possibly" a weather balloon, though the investigating officers noted the balloon would have been "much too shiney" for that identification.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 25 pages.