Date:
April 24, 1964
Location: Socorro, New Mexico, United States
The
experience of Lonnie Zamora on April 24, 1964 stands as
one of the most profound ufo events in the modern history
of the phenomena. Lonnie Zamora saw a highly unusual device
of unknown origin, what can only be described as a "craft"
of some kind, and he reported seeing what he believes
were occupants.
Oil painting by Chris Lambright based on photographs taken
of the actual landing site. The
witness, Sgt. Lonnie Zamora, has seen this illustration
and stated that it is a good
representation of what he observed. (thanks to UFOs at
Close Sight for this info)
Sgt. Lonnie Zamora.
Sketch by Sgt. Lonnie Zamora.
The initial investigation. Left to right: Sgt. Lonnie
Zamora, Mr. Burns (FBI), Maj. H. Mitchell
(AFMDC), Coral Lorenzen of APRO, and Sgt. Castle of the
Military Police.
Photograph of one of the landing marks left by the object.
Rocks are piled around the
imprint to preserve it.
Source:
Chris Lambright
[go
to original source]
The
experience of Lonnie Zamora on April 24, 1964 stands as
one of the most profound ufo events in the modern history
of the phenomena. To this day it remains a case in which
all the facts involved support the witnesses claims and
it is this kind of case that makes the ufo phenomenon
such an enduring mystery. Lonnie Zamora saw a highly unusual
device of unknown origin, what can only be described as
a "craft" of some kind, and he reported
seeing what he believes were occupants. Despite the controversy
which often surrounds the subject of UFOs, the incident
at Socorro remains an example of what the UFO phenomenon
is, in fact, all about.
The
following information is based on facts I have gathered
from various sources including conversations in person
and by telephone with Mr. Lonnie Zamora. This is not intended
to be a complete report on Lonnie Zamora's experience,
but is intended to provide a source for some resh details
about the case and to clarify others. More than anything
else, I have made every effort to ensure that what is
here is the truth. I also owe a great deal of gratitude
to Mr. Ray Stanford, one of the most thorough and knowledgable
investigators I have met. He arrived in Socorro within
four days of the incident and authored the definitive
book on Zamora's experience and the subsequent investigation.
I recommend it to anyone seriously interested in this
case and in the subject of UFO's in general. "Socorro
Saucer" in a Pentagon Pantry" is available
in major libraries but can be obtained from the author.
Check HERE
for the address.
Socorro
is a small town located about an hours drive south of
Albuquerque, New Mexico . In April 1964, Lonnie Zamora
was a police officer with the town and late in the afternoon
on April, 24th, he had just dropped his pursuit of a speeding
car to go check on what he thought might have been an
explosion on the outskirts of town. Thinking that a small
shack containing dynamite might have exploded, he made
his way up a rough embankment and then moved slowly along
a narrow gravel road that wound beside a small arroyo
(a shallow dry gully). From this first more distant vantage
point, he saw what he thought might have been an overturned
car down in the arroyo and radioed back to his headquarters
that he was proceeding to check out this 'vehicle'. It
was from here that he saw what he described as possibly
two children or small adults, and he noted that one appeared
startled at his approach and seemed to "jump somewhat".
He
moved further along the gravel road and finally stopped
his car at the point where he believed he had previously
seen the vehicle in the arroyo. It was at this point that
he heard what he later could describe as several loud
"thumps" or "slams",
similar to metal hitting metal. As he left his patrol
car and proceeded towards the gulley, he had not gone
more than a few steps before he had a full view of an
elongated oval shaped object on "girder-like"
legs. In that instant a loud roar and bluish flame shot
out of the underside of the object and it began to rise.
Zamora did not hesitate...he hit the ground thinking it
was about to explode, then got up running and jumped down
on the other side of the gravel road. He heard a whirring
noise and watched the object rise up out of the arroyo,
the legs he saw moments before were no longer apparent.
He noted that the object had risen to perhaps 20 feet
above the bottom of the gulley when suddenly, the sound
stopped completely. There was no more flame visible and
he watched as the now-silent vehicle moved off parallel
to the terrain, picking up speed as it left the area.
He watched it move off into the distance and it eventually
disappeared from view.
Almost
immediately upon the object having left the area, State
Police Sargeant Sam Chavez arrived having overheard Zamora
who had radioed wildly to his dispatcher hoping that someone
else might be able to see the object. Together, they noted
the evidence left in the arroyo...a half burned bush,
four angular impressions in the sandy soil where the "legs"
had been, and several small footprints and other impressions.
From
an oil painting based on photographs taken of the actual
landing site [see first image at the top]. The image portrays
the
object just as it began to lift off and from a viewpoint
near where Mr. Zamora reportedly stood. Mr. Zamora has
seen
this illustration and stated that it is a good representation
of what he observed, though he felt that the "legs"
might
have been extended slightly further than is portrayed.
The dimensions presented however are taken from both the
witnesses description and the exact measurements provided
by investigators of the impressions in the soil.
Ever
since the first report that Zamora had seen some type
of symbol on the side of the craft, there had been some
confusion about just what that symbol was. He had drawn
and described this symbol to several people soon after
the incident, and what appeared to be discrepancies in
the description had arisen from various sources. There
does appear to be some support for believing that the
symbol that was widely circulated early on may have actually
been a variation of the actual one. The idea that a substitute
might have been circulated by the investigative personnel
from the Air Force or other governmental agencies as a
way to guard against copycat reports has some merit. Though
the actual shape may not be ultimately important to the
overall case, I did make an effort to try to obtain an
honest description of just what Zamora saw. In one of
our telephone conversations, he clarified to me that he
had never been told -not- to relate the actual shape and
he gave me a description which I realized was slightly
different from what I had heard and seen before. I was
curious about this and shortly afterward, I sent him several
pages of small sketches which covered various details
of his sighting. I included several variations of this
symbol including one that matched what I had seen in other
places and one that matched what I thought he had described
to me. I asked him to merely place a check mark by whichever
sketch matched his recollection. Below are several sections
of the sheets I sent him, and his check marks are visible.
But on the section showing the symbols, he was nice enough
to actually redraw what he had seen.
Of
all the evidence that could be presented to support the
contention that what Lonnie Zamora saw was something totally
unexplained, perhaps nothing is more compelling than this
brief article. It appeared in the formerly classified
CIA publication entitled "Studies in Intelligence"
from the fall of 1966. It was written by Hector Quintanilla,
Jr., the former head of the Air Force's Project Bluebook.
It
gives a history and methodology of the Air Force's investigation
of UFO's, and after presenting many of the prosaic explanations
that had been encountered, he concluded his article with
a synopsis of a "Policeman's Report"
in which he described the Socorro incident. One short
quote from this article in itself makes a profound statement
about the reality of some UFO reports.
"There
is no doubt that Lonnie Zamora saw an object which left
quite an impression on him. There is also no question
about Zamora"s reliability. He is a serious police
officer, a pillar of his church, and a man well versed
in recognizing airborne vehicles in his area. He is puzzled
by what he saw, and frankly, so are we. This is the best-documented
case on record, and still we have been unable, in spite
of thorough investigation, to find the vehicle or other
stimulus that scared Zamora to the point of panic."
This
document was approved for release on January, 2, 1981
and is available to anyone under the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act.
It
is my hope that this information is useful to anyone wanting
to know more about the subject of unidentified flying
objects. Even I find it easy to become disillusioned at
times when I find that almost all the readily available
information is made up of fantastic claims made by people
who offer no valid proof. However, anyone who looks closely
will be able to find that there are many cases, like the
Socorro incident, that clearly indicate something physically
real, and of a high degree of strangeness, is being seen
by honest, reliable witnesses.
Sources:
http://www.ufoevidence.org/cases/case90.htm
Socorro_New_Mexico_-_April_24_1964.html