Documents / Official release
This section of the FBI's 1947 flying disc file (62-HQ-83894) collects correspondence between FBI field offices and Army Air Forces intelligence. It includes a Portland prospector's claim to have seen disc objects near Mount Adams on June 24, 1947, an Air Force report on the August 1 crash near Kelso, Washington that killed investigators Davidson and Brown, and the Maury Island claims of Dahl and Crisman. Other items are an MIT analysis of cast iron fragments from New Hampshire, the A. C. Urie Twin Falls sighting, and the Bureau's decision to stop its disc investigations.
From the source:Release of 2026-05-08 Incident: N/A, N/A. The FBI's 62-HQ-83894 case file includes investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, and public reports concerning Unidentified Flying Objects and flying discs documented between June 1947 and July 1968. The records include high-profile incident accounts, photographic evidence from sites like Oak Ridge, TN, and technical proposals regarding potential propulsion systems. Additional topics include convention programs, researcher accounts, and extensive media coverage from the period. This file is partially posted on FBI vault with more redactions and some pages missing. Included here is the complete case file with several newly declassified pages and only minor redactions.
' ' '. . August 19, 1947 S..!ITH and ARNOID went to the Tacoma Times Office where a reporter met them and took them to '!ORRELLO in the United Press Office. There they read the latest press releases and had a discussion with ~ORR.ELLO regarding the anony mous phone calls . In the course of this discussion 1iORRELI..O mentioned the name of ~fajor GEORGE 3ANDERS, Public Relations Officer at !.~cChord Field. as being one of the officers interested in the investigation. Following this discussion with VORRELLO, at which time S'.ITH states they still refused to divulge any further information, ~ ITH and ARNOID returned to the Hotel for the night . On Sunday morning, August 3, 1947, DAHL aupeared at the Hotel room and told them that he had received a letter from CRISMAN which said in effect, 11Take care of my business . 1 111 be out of town for three or four days. 11 DAHL had a letter with him but he did not show it to S..ITH or ARlJOLD. The three men then drove to DAHL 1 s secretary ' s house in South Tacoma and picked her up and the four of them then went to breakfast on the South Tacana highway. ,'lhile the four of them then went to breakfast SMITH excused himself and called 'fo.jor SANDERS at u!cChord Field and arranged an appointment to meet him at the Hotel lobby at 11:00 A. ~. They then took DAHL 1 s secretary to her home where DAHL picked up a typewriter and then drove Si.ITH and ARNOLD back to the Hotel. They asked him if he was going to take them to l~aury Island that day and he replied that he was not . He further stated that he was sick of the entire business and that if he was ever contacted by the Army or the authorities he was going to deny ever having seen anything and claim to be 11the biggest liar that ever lived" . Shortly after returning to the Hotel, S!.Tl'H met Hajor SANDERS in the lobby and they went in S: CTTH I s car to a coffee shop in South Tacoma ,,here s:.iITH proceeded to tell !!ajor S..-.!TI)ERS the entire story of the incidents which had occurred in Tacoma regarding the CRISl.:AN and DAHL story since Thursday afternoon. Following this, S!HTH took :fajor SA.'IDERS back to the Hotel and intro duced him to ARITOID and suggested to .~RNOI.D that he also tell Major SAI'!JERS the entire story of what had occurred. ARNOID did so. 'fajor SANDERS after looking at the fragJnents ,:hich were still in the room suggested that they drive out to the Smelter near Tacoma as he believed the slag at the Smelter would bear a distinct resemblance to these fra&nents . The three nen then drove to the ::melter and t'1e slag was noted to be definitely si j lar to the fragments ,1ri cl-J. CRISMAN and DAHL had left in the Hotel room. They then r~turned to the Hotel room and :!ajar SANDERS left them. After packing their bags, S''ITH took JdJJOID to Berry I s Airport where his plane was parked and then S:ITTH drove himself back to Seattle. About an hour after his arrival in Seattle, which was approximately 7:30 F'. 1'. , LANTZ of the Tacoma Times appeared at S::IT'T's home with the newspaper containing the \ssociated Press story which had originated in Boise, Idaho in the .ooise Statesman and which was written by JOHNSON following .::, ITH' s admission to him that fragments had been carried by Lieutenant BRC, ,1T and Captain DAVIDJON on the fatal B- 25 flight . o"TTH at this time continued to refuse to give any statements for the Press and told L.~.TZ that he had placed - 13 -
Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 190 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.