Documents / Official release
This Federal Bureau of Investigation Seattle field office file (100-18945) gathers flying saucer material from 1952 to 1960. It holds newspaper clippings, citizen complaint forms and agent memoranda about sightings over Pasco, Kennewick, Seattle, Richland and the Hanford reservation, Spokane and other Washington locations. The file records 1952 agreements with military intelligence on passing reports to OSI and the Air Force. One Hanford sighting from 1953 was attributed to a meteorological balloon. The FBI itself carried out no investigations.
From the source:Release of 2026-06-12 Incident: July 1952-1960, Washington State, United States. This file details an investigation of various sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) in Washington state between July 1952 and August 1960. This file includes memoranda and correspondence between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Air Force regarding UFO sightings.
“FBI file”15 pages
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
# DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE WASHINGTON 20D 06I 24-0 THE INSPECTOR GENERAL USAF 20th DISTRICT OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS McCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, McCHORD FIELD, WASHINGTON Mr. R. D. Auerbach Special Agent in Charge Federal Bureau of Investigation 1015 Second Avenue Seattle 4, Washington 10 June 1954 Dear Sir: Re: (Unclassified) Reporting of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOB) SPECIAL INQUIRY On 7 June 1954 at 0735 hours, the following information was transmitted by Special Agent PHILIP V. HOWELL, JR., this office, to the Duty Agent, Seattle Field Division, FBI. On 7 June 1954, Major EUGENE L. ZECHMEISTER, Director of Intelligence, 25th Air Division (Defense), McChord AFB, reported to this office that two unidentified flying objects had been sighted simultaneously by GALE PECK, Supervisor of local Ground Observer Corps Post, Pasco, Washington, telephone Pasco 6054. The objects were described as traveling together and were in the shape of half-moons, approximately six times larger than a half-moon and of a white color. The two objects formed into one large fireball and disappeared, after being observed for approximately 10 minutes. The time of the sighting was given as 2335 hours, 6 June 1954 and the geographical references were AB5517, Aeronautical Planning Chart 1 to 5,000,000. The altitude was estimated to be 1,000 feet, speed unknown, and the object was at a 5 degree angle to the horizon. Major ZECHMEISTER stated that the report of the sighting was not considered to be of sufficient substance to warrant investigation by the USAF. On 8 June 1954 at 2115 hours, Major COURTLAND D. SAWTELLE, Public Information Officer, 25th Air Division (Defense), advised this office that in response to inquiries by newspaper reporters with reference to this sighting, the PIO was making an official release that there had been no radar pickup of the UFOB in question. This information was telephonically transmitted to the Duty Agent, Seattle Field Division, FBI, at 2125 hours, 8 June 1954, by Special Agent HOWELL. 8 / 25 / 59 CES The above is for your information and no investigation of this matter is contemplated by this district office. 100-18945-53 cc: Dir OSI Sincerely, SPENCER W. RAYNOR Colonel, USAF District Commander
Not linked to a story yet.
Official release, from the pursue collection. 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. 55 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.