Project Blue Book desk file, Socorro (217 pages)

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asked Chaves whether Chaves thought that he, Zamora, should first speak ~/
to the priest before saying anything. Chaves indicated that this was
up to him • . Chaves described Zamora's radio call to him on that evening,
and . indicated that Zamora had asked him to come out alone. Chaves
indicated that, when he got to Zamora, he found him very badly shaken,
pale, and sweating. He attempted to kid him, saying, "' What's the
matter, Lonnie; you look like you've seen the devil. " And Zamora
stated, "Well, maybe I have. " Chaves indicated that Zamora was re-
luctant to go down into the small ravine, and asked that Chaves pre-
ceed him, even though it was still bright daylight. It was Chaves who
first discovered the imprint. During the L~ terview, Zamora was far
from talkative, and there seemed to be a few minor contradictions as
to just where he was when he first radioed in, etc., and even as to
. how many times he had radioed in. Both Zamora and Chaves appeared to
me to be hoping that I could tell them that this had been a secret
air force devise, so that they could dismiss the whole thing from their
minds. Zamora was still evidently troubled over some of the towns'
rea~tions, and Chaves was disturbed by the hullabaloo and the mis-
representation, and the flurry of "me too" reports.
After my talk with the two men at the courthouse, I called Captain
Holder and asked him to have anightcap with me. He came down to pick
me up, and invited me to his home instead, and transmitted to me a carbon
of his report, and the statement describing himself.
Exhibit A) Captain Holder was most helpful and anzious to demonstrate
that he had done a good job in procuring measurements, and· other data
before the coming of the crowd of curiosity seekers. I, of course, .
~estioned ·captain Holder, as to his impressions about ~ amora's relia-
bility and of the connection of the tracks with the sighting, etc.,
and he, as did all others whom I subsequently questioned, indicated
that the markings were, to all intensive purposes, fresh and were
associated burned, or that the burning seemed to be sporadic. Clumps
of grass in close proximity to the burned ones were untouched,while
. others just a short distance away from the unburned ones were again
burned, etc.
I put up at a local motel, making arrangements to be taken out to the
site first thing in the morning. Mr Zamora and Sergeant Chaves joined
me at breakfast the next morning, but j~st previous to that, a man whose
name I did not ge~he introduced himself as from the FAA, and indicated
to me that it was strange that their radars had not picked up anything.
He felt that, MTI radars can pick up cars on the road, that this object
should certainly have been picked up by the radar eqJipment.
In going ·out to the site, I asked that precisely the s&~e road be
traveled that was traveled on the evening of the sighting, and so we
did, and as we went along, Zamora pointed out the place where the
2Rob Mercer