Sardis Lake, MississippiJune 1954

On June 2, 1954, a fisherman named Phillips was casting lines in Sardis Lake near Sardis, Mississippi, when he saw an unusual object descending from the sky. The object appeared small and seemed to be emitting a blue flame. It fell into the water near his boat with a splash, then floated briefly with steam rising around it before disappearing into the lake, which was about nine feet deep at that location.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the lake and dam, decided to search for the object. They probed the water on June 13 and 14 but couldn't find it. Instead of giving up, engineers kept checking the lake weekly, figuring that the object would turn up when the water level dropped as planned during the summer months.

Their patience paid off. On September 20, 1954, as the water receded, reservoir staff spotted the object resting on the lakebed. It turned out to be a plastic case measuring about 4 by 10 by 8 inches. The case had a parachute harness attached and contained metal radio tubes and wires. Engineers brought it to the Sardis Dam field office, where Captain Virgil Kuns from the nearby Greenville Air Force Base examined it. Kuns and other Air Force officials identified it as a Signal Corps radio transmitting device, a type of equipment dropped from military cargo planes to mark the spots where paratroopers are supposed to jump. The apparatus sends out a weak radio signal that the aircraft can pick up. Air Force officials concluded the transmitter probably fell from a plane by accident.

The complete case file, consisting of eight pages held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.