Lonnie Zamora sighting, Socorro, New Mexico
24 April 1964 · Socorro, New Mexico
Summary
Officer Lonnie Zamora of the Socorro Police Department reported an unknown object near Socorro on the evening of 24 April 1964. His statement to the FBI said he was chasing a speeding car at about 5:45 P.M. when he heard a roar and saw a flame to the southwest. He believed a dynamite shack had blown up. He then saw a shiny object about 150 to 200 yards away that looked like an overturned car, with two people in white coveralls beside it.
Zamora said he heard two or three loud thumps, then a roar and a flame under the object as it rose. He said it left toward the southwest and disappeared over a mountain. He told radio operator Nep Lopez that it looked like a balloon.
FBI Special Agent D. Arthur Byrnes Jr. was in Socorro that afternoon and went to the site. His report of 8 May 1964 described Zamora as sober, industrious and not given to fantasy. Byrnes recorded four rectangular depressions about sixteen by six inches, three burned patches of grass and three smooth circular marks. A teletype of 25 April gave the object as oval, possibly twenty feet long, with a red insignia.
The FBI did not investigate further. The Albuquerque office conducted no investigation and kept liaison with the military. A Bureau airtel of 28 April stated that FBI policy was to make sure the Air Force knew. Lt. Col. L. B. King of OSI at Kirtland Air Force Base could not explain Zamora's observations. Major William R. Conner and T/Sgt. D. N. Moody examined the site and noted no radioactivity. Conner learned that a local institute did blasting, but not in the area of the incident. The Albuquerque office also noted that no blast effects appeared at the scene.
The FBI also recorded a later report from La Madera, New Mexico, on 26 April. Conner thought a can of paint could have caught fire and exploded there. He also noted that the witness had an odor of alcohol about him. A military check found the Socorro and La Madera incidents were not part of a military exercise.
Where the files disagree
Two documents give different accounts of the same detail. Both are quoted as written; we don't say which is right.
Distance to the object when first seen
“Suddenly noted a shiny type object to south” page 11 →
“about 150 to 200 yards.” page 11 →
“NOTED IN DEPRESSION ABOUT EIGHT HUNDRED FEET AWAY WHITISH OBJECT” page 226 →
What the files say
“They noted no radio activity at the site.”
Page 233 →“An unusual observation made at the Socorro scene was that there appeared to be no "blast" effects.”
Page 235 →“MILITARY OFFICERS CONTACTED ADVISE THE TWO INCIDENTS REPORTED”
Page 224 →“Suddenly noted a shiny type object to south”
Page 11 →“It looks like a balloon.”
Page 15 →“There were three circular marks in the earth which were smooth, approximately four inches in diameter”
Page 3 →
Also discussed in
Explanations in the record
What the documents themselves say the event was, as recorded. Not our assessment.
- Zamora first thought the flame might be a dynamite shack that had exploded, and the object an overturned car. — FBI investigative reports on Socorro, New Mexico UFO (1964), page 9
- Zamora radioed that the object looked like a balloon. — FBI investigative reports on Socorro, New Mexico UFO (1964), page 15
- OSI at Kirtland AFB said the incident was not known to be connected with the military or Operation Cloud Gap, and military officers had no explanation. — FBI UFO case file, section 9 (1947-1968), page 221
- Major Conner said the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology does some blasting, but not in the area of the incident. — FBI UFO case file, section 9 (1947-1968), page 233
- For the separate La Madera report, Conner suggested a can of paint in rubbish at a possible dump caught fire and exploded. — FBI UFO case file, section 9 (1947-1968), page 235