Heflin photographs, Santa Ana
- Date
- 3 Aug 1965
- Place
- Myford Road near the Santa Ana Freeway, Santa Ana, California, United States
- Record
- Curated case
- Assessment
- Contested
- Evidence strength
What was reported
Orange County highway traffic investigator Rex Heflin said his two-way radio cut out just before a metallic, hat-shaped disc crossed the road in front of his van at about 12:37 p.m.; he took three Polaroid photographs through the windshield and a fourth of a smoke ring left behind. The photographs drew attention from the Marine Corps, the Air Force and NICAP, and Heflin later said men claiming to be from NORAD collected the originals. The Condon study (Case 52) found the evidence inconclusive and internally inconsistent, citing cloud discrepancies in the fourth photo and the shifting accounts of the NORAD visitors, and noted the photographs contain nothing that fixes the object's size or distance; skeptics argue it was a small model thrown or hung near the van.
What officials concluded
Unresolved
Inconclusive (Condon Case 52)
Strongest ordinary reading
None established; a small nearby model is the leading skeptical explanation
Evidence profile
- Yes: Visual
- No: Infrared
- No: Radar
- No: Video
- Yes: Photo
- No: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- No: Other sensor
- No: Civilian
- No: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- No: Airline crew
- No: Sensor operator
- Yes: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- No: Light only
- No: Orb or sphere
- Yes: Disc
- No: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- Yes: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- No: Silent
Outside sources
On the map
33.70° N, 117.79° W, plotted at the town or city
Show on the map