Wayside Park, FloridaMay 1961

On the evening of May 23, 1961, Sergeant Charles A. Baumgart and his wife were driving near Mexico Beach, Florida, when they spotted what looked like a fire in the Gulf of Mexico. They drove to Wayside Park to get a closer look. What they saw instead was a fiery red object shaped like two humps, hovering about three miles away. The object appeared to be only about 8 inches across from their vantage point. It looked like a blaze in terms of color, but unlike a normal fire, there were no visible flames shooting up, and the object made no sound.

Baumgart watched the object for 30 minutes while standing at Wayside Park. It seemed to fade somewhat during this time and eventually disappeared by fading down toward the horizon. The object remained stationary and never moved during the entire observation. The weather that night included a cloud ceiling at 2,000 feet and visibility of 7 miles. As far as Baumgart knew, only he, his wife, and their children witnessed the sighting, though he noted that anyone looking in that direction could have potentially seen it as well.

The sighting was officially reported by Staff Sergeant Henry J. Lacour, the Assistant UFO Flying Object Officer at nearby Tyndall Air Force Base. The case file includes sketches and maps showing the location where the object was observed. However, the detailed analysis section of the case file is largely illegible in the available scan. The Air Force officially classified this case as unidentified.

The full case file, as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below in 10 pages.