Wadena, MinnesotaJanuary 1957

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the morning of January 4, 1957, a caretaker at Shady Lanes Rest Home in Wadena, Minnesota saw an unusual object in the sky. The witness used binoculars to observe what he described as a multi-colored shape resembling crossed bars with luminous balls at the ends, or like a child's jack toy. The object appeared nearly overhead and remained visible for about twenty minutes as it swayed in place with a yawing motion. The caretaker reported hearing a humming sound during the sighting. The object eventually faded and disappeared to the east.

The sighting was reported to the 739th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Wadena Air Force Station. A 1st Lieutenant Ivan R. Weiss, who served as a controller there, documented the report on the official UFOB (Unidentified Flying Object) form. The observation took place around 0730 hours (7:30 a.m.) in darkness or twilight conditions. Weather data from the area showed scattered clouds at 12,000 feet and light winds at various altitudes.

The Air Force investigated the sighting and checked with local balloon research facilities and the Civil Aeronautics Authority. No balloons or aircraft were reported to have been released or flying in the area at the time. The Director of Intelligence at the 31st Air Division concluded that the sighting was most likely a star of unusual brightness and size, though the file also notes that the characteristics were consistent with a balloon observation. The official evaluation remained uncertain, with investigators unable to definitively explain what the witness had seen.

The complete case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, consisting of 9 pages of official Air Force records.

Reported location

Wadena, Minnesota

Date of incident

January 1957

State / country

MN / US

Page count

9 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 27

| : PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD ” iN b! RY saat ee CC Le rT TG : 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS 0 Was Balloon \ 3 4 January 1957 Wadena, Minnesota 0: ¥Probobly Balloon b 4 Janualy 2290 oer Gt GRSERVATION ~ «50 Pinos a Pos sibly Bolloon \ | 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION ~ + 50 pinos 5 ; 0730 — 0800 Vi i 0 Wos Aircraft E Loca! cy a 0 Ground-Visuol O Ground-Radar 0 Probably Aircraft 4 cr 04/1 2307 14007 0 Air Vizuol O Air-Intarcept Rodar O Possibly Aircraft | 5. PHOTOS é. SOURCE O Was Astronomical K 0 Yes DO Probably Astronomical Ele Ho Civilian - rest home caretakepfs Possibly Astronomical 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE a sr a perp ji > Les nsufficiant Data for Evaluation | ove rhead to 8 kaa \ 20 minutes one Fast 4 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS | | multi-colored, "X" draped object Sighting has characteristics of observed apparently overhead (7?) for balloon chservation almost 20 minutes, Appeared to have 3 yawing motion (would have if observed A through binoculars at night). Source 4 claims humming sound. Obj disappeared | to East, i ATIC FORM 322 (REY 325 32ZP 52) ] J .