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Project Blue Book Socorro file

The Black Vault · 167 pages · text by GLM-OCR

This Black Vault release compiles 1964 newspaper and wire service clippings plus a Project Blue Book summary on the Socorro, New Mexico sighting by policeman Lonnie Zamora on April 24, 1964, when an egg-shaped object left four depressions and burned brush. It covers J. Allen Hynek's site visit, APRO and NICAP comment, and related New Mexico reports at La Madera, Edgewood and Albuquerque. The Air Force summary reports that soil and brush analysis found no radiation or propellant, and the case remained open.

  • p. 1 …of Socorro. UFO experts from different parts of the country are in New Mexico to investigate…
  • p. 3 # 'Flying Saucer Reports Spread In New Mexico SANTA FE (UPI) - New Mexico's perennial addiction to…
  • p. 4 …Sam Chavez of the New Mexico State Police. They took six other men to the spot…
  • p. 6 …the special Unidentified Flying Object consultant to the Air Force, was sent to New Mexico after…
  • p. 7 …Adam's account was another of several such reports that have kept New Mexico and military…
  • p. 10 …Right on the edge of White Sands missile range on the wide open New Mexico desert…
  • p. 11 …rash of unidentified flying object sightings had New Mexico State Police, local law enforcement agencies and…
  • p. 13 # 'Flying Saucer Reports Spread In New Mexico SANTA FE (UPI) - New Mexico's perennial addiction to…
  • p. 16 …Right on the edge of White Sands Missile Range on the wide open New Mexico desert…
  • p. 17 …David Moody of the office already was in New Mexico and would assist Dr. Hynek in…
  • p. 18 April 25, 1964, when on the previous day at Socorro, New Mexico a policeman, Mr. Lonnie…
  • p. 19 Landing area at Socorro, New Mexico, taken April 25.
  • p. 20 MAY 6 1964 # New Sights Of Saucers ## Strange Objects Seen by Several Persons in New Mexico…
  • p. 21 …12 FEB 65 ## New Mexico APRIL 24, 1964, Socorro, New Mexico On April 24, 1964, a…
  • p. 22 …rash of unidentified flying object sightings had New Mexico State Police, local law enforcement agencies and…
  • p. 23 UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT REPORT SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO, 24 APRIL 1964 On April 24, 1964, a Socorro…
  • p. 25 …David Moody of the office already was in New Mexico and would assist Dr. Hynek in…
  • p. 26 …My husband and I had talked about the thing the people saw in New Mexico, but…
  • p. 27 …in from all over the state of New Mexico and other parts of the west. It…
  • p. 28 # El Defensor SOCORRO: Inhabited Since 1540 Home of the Famed New Mexico VOL. 98 NO.34…
  • p. 30 …reported concrete instance of a UFO in New Mexico. Policeman Zamora shifted from a routine task…
  • p. 34 # UFO Sighting, Socorro, New Mexico, 24 Apr 64 Hq USAF SAF0I PB (Mrs Gaiser) Wash D…
  • p. 45 …24 April 1964 Sgt Chavez of the New Mexico State Police accompanied by Agent Burns of…
  • p. 56 …Zamora observed on 24 April at Socorro, New Mexico. The object or vehicle displayed flight characteristics…
  • p. 72 …the April 24, 1964 sighting at Socorro, New Mexico, made by Lt. Zamora. I would very…
  • p. 73 …Bieberman 601 Pitch Avenue Socorro, New Mexico 87801
  • p. 77 ## NARRATIVE OF SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO SIGHTING, 24 APRIL 1964 Shortly after 5:30 pm on Friday…
  • p. 83 TDEW/UFO UFO Sighting Socorro, New Mexico 14 May 1964 Test Support Officer (Col K. Young…
  • p. 84 …835-9916 in Socorro New Mexico regarding the article appearing in the Socorro ElDefnnsor & Chieftan concerning…
  • p. 89 …about a hundred miles north of Socorro, New Mexico. Cloud Gap personnel did not have any…
  • p. 90 …reported subsequent to Socorro Sightings ## ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO AREA 25 Apr. Socorro Unidentified Observer. Rotating Navigation…
  • p. 92 …TO THE SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO SIGHTING: 1. 26,Apr 64, Grants,New Mexico sighting of a…
  • p. 102 …CONCLUSIONS 24 April 1964 Socorro, New Mexico □ Was Balloon □ Probably Balloon □ Possibly Balloon □ Was Aircraft □ Probably…
  • p. 104 …His theories as to why UFO's land in New Mexico lack, shall we say, a…
  • p. 105 …Ted Raynor, Editor, Socorro El Defensor Chieftan, Socorro, New Mexico, and he can send one of…
  • p. 123 # UFO REPORT Lonnie Zamora, 606 Resevoir Street, Socorro, New Mexico, 835-1134, Officer Socorro Police Force…
  • p. 130 ## REPORT ON SOCORRO NEW MEXICO TRIP On Tuesday, April 28, 1964, in response to a call…
  • p. 135 …SIGHTING AT SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO, 24 APRIL, CONTINUE TO BE RECEIVED FROM NEWS MEDIA, FROM THE…
  • p. 137 …while in Socorro, my old friend, Dr Jack Whothmen, President of the New Mexico School of…
  • p. 145 …Right on the ge of White Sands Mise Range on the wide en New Mexico desert…
  • p. 146 UFO Sighting, Socorro, New Mexico, 24 Apr 64 Hq USAF SAFOI PB (Mrs Gaiser) Wash 25…
  • p. 151 …The Sócorro report and another at La Madera in northern New Mexico were similar in that…
  • p. 152 …range, whose headquarters is near the central New Mexico town. ## Six Cars Derail; Rip Mile of…
  • p. 153 # ASTRONOMER TO NEW MEXICO # Flying Objects Area Probed SOCORRO, N.M.—(AP)—An astronomer from the…
  • p. 155 …landings in New Mexico in the past few days. "We are convinced the Socorro policeman saw…
  • p. 156 SOCORRO NEW MEXICO DATE: 24 APR 64 # Believes Intelligent Beings on UFOs Sighted in State TUCSON…
  • p. 158 …85 and New Mexico 180 and the object appeared to be about a quarter of a…
  • p. 159 …of Socorro. UFO experts from different parts of the country are in New Mexico to investigate…
  • p. 163 …Lincoln LaPaz of the University of New Mexico who has an international reputation in running down…
  • p. 164 …Hynek said he had not been told by the government whether sending him to New Mexico…
  • p. 166 …THE SOCORRO REPORT AND ANOTHER AT LA MADERA IN NORTHERN NEW MEXICO WERE SIMILAR IN THAT…
  • p. 167 # 'Flying Saucer Reports Spread In New Mexico SANTA FE (UPI) - New Mexico's perennial addiction to…

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

thoroughly tired of going into details. It is clear that he turned tail at this time and ran for cover, thinking the object was about to explode. He banged his leg against the rear fender of the car as he tried to round it, at which time his glasses, and his sunglasses fell off into the ground, but he did not stop to retrieve them. This is an indication of the state of panic he was in. He ran some distance behind the car, as indicated in photograph No 3, which shows him crouching down, but not as he had done that Friday evening. At that time, he had crouched quite close to the ground, covering his eyes with his arm. It was at this time that he saw the object rise to essentially the level of his car and proceed in the direction of the dynamite shack, shown in figure 4 which shows the small dynamite shack about 7 or 8 feet high, off to the right and shows Zamora's arms extended, his left arm pointing to the direction in which he had seen the object originally, its takeoff position, and the right arm pointing in the general direction in which the object had disappeared. A shadow cast by Zamora in this picture, which was taken approximately at 10 am, at which time the sun was in the south-east quatrin of the sky, indicates that Zamora is facing southwest, with the shack somewhat to southwest by west. The dynamite shack is also shown in figure five, which shows the car parked as it was on the evening of the sighting. Zamora was looking out of the left hand drivers' window at the object when he parked the car. Photograph No 6 shows the position from which Zamora first saw the object whose location was approximately under the X mark on the photograph. It was from this distance that he thought that the object looked like an overturned car. Photograph 7 is the position Zamora was in, looking at the object disappearing, said object having missed the dynamite shack by some 3 feet, according to Zamora. Photography No 8 is approximately the position Chaves and Zamora were in, on their way down from the rise toward the place where the object had been, when Chaves first saw the markings the object had left. Photograph No 9 is 180 degrees, approximately, from that of No 6. No 9 shows the town of Socorro in the distance, looking down longitudinally through the gulley toward the "road" along which Zamora was stationed when he first saw the object, looking inthe direction Socorro to the spot from which Photograph 9 was taken.

## Resume:

From all of the above and from my personal observations, I would conclude the following: That Zamora, although not overly bright or articulate, is basically sincere, honest, and reliable. He would not be capable of contriving a complex hoax, nor would his temperment indicate that he would have the slightest interest insuch. He was simply a copy on duty, relinquished one discharge of that duty (chasing a speeding car) for another which he thought was of more immediate importance. (Investigating the possible explosion of a dynamite shack). His fright was genuine,

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Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 167 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.