65_HS1-101634279_100-DE-18221_Serial_844
- Date
- 17 Apr 1958
- Place
- Detroit, MI, United States
- Record
- Pentagon file
- Assessment
- Not assessed
- Evidence strength
What was reported
A one-page FBI Detroit office memo, dated 17 April 1958, records that a Detroit resident phoned in to report seeing a circular object with a crystal-type dome that reflected light, moving from southwest to north across the city. The informant tried and failed to reach Selfridge Field to alert the Air Force himself, so he called the FBI instead. The agent taking the call noted the informant's age (23), that he was a Detroit policeman's son and a former Civil Air Patrol member, and that he was not well versed in aircraft identification. The memo's only instruction is to advise the proper Air Force authorities; the Bureau conducted no investigation of its own.
What officials concluded
No conclusion stated
The file gives no official explanation.
- Agency
- FBI
- Released in
- 123456
Evidence profile
- Yes: Visual
- No: Infrared
- No: Radar
- No: Video
- No: Photo
- No: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- No: Other sensor
- Yes: Civilian
- No: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- No: Airline crew
- No: Sensor operator
- No: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- No: Light only
- Yes: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- No: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- No: Silent
Why this rating A single, non-sworn, self-reported phone tip with no sensor beyond one person's eyesight, no follow-up interview, and no FBI investigation; a lit or reflective circular shape crossing the sky does not exceed what conventional aircraft, balloons, or reflections could produce.
As described in the file
- Witnesses
- One civilian informant (surname read as WEAVER from garbled OCR), 23, phoned the report in himself; not interviewed in person, not sworn
- Sensors
- Visual
- Shape
- Circular object with a crystal-type dome
- Lights and colour
- Reflected light(s), no color specified
- Motion
- Passing overhead in a northern direction, crossed the city
Pentagon files
65_HS1-101634279_100-DE-18221_Serial_844
Open the original on war.gov
What the file claims
- Unverified
The informant told the FBI he had just seen a circular object with a crystal-type dome that reflected light crossing Detroit.
- Unverified
The FBI took no investigative action itself and instructed only that proper Air Force authorities be advised.
On the map
42.33° N, 83.05° W, plotted at the town or city
Show on the map