3 July 1953
Reno, Nevada
Description.
At 1145 A.M. MST 3 June 1953 two civilians were sitting on a lawn at East 9th and Lake Streets, Reno, Nevada. One observer was looking up through some tree branches when she saw a pin-point of light at a very high altitude. She called her husband's attention to the object and he watched this object for 8 minutes, thinking it was a weather balloon. He thought that it was not likely to be a star, because the day was bright (hot) and cloudless. However, it neither moved nor changed its apparent size. The observer left his wife to watch the object while he reported it to the authorities. First he reported it to a policeman who referred him to the Police Station. They were not interested and told him to report it to the sheriff's office. The sheriff's office stated that this sighting was out of their jurisdiction and for him to call the FBI. The FBI took his name and address. The observer told the FBI that he couldn't locate the object unless he had this particular tree as a reference point. He then returned to the point of observation where his wife still had the object in view. After 20 minutes, being somewhat surprised that no one had appeared to verify the sighting and considering the possibility that a mistake had been made as to the reported location of the sighting, he again telephoned the FBI. He was told that the matter had been referred to Stead AF Base. The observer becoming aware that it was going to be difficult to get any official verification while the object was still in view obtained the name of the USAF colonel to which the report had been made. After some difficulty, the observer reached this colonel by telephone. This colonel referred the incident to another colonel who in turn referred him to a third colonel. From the last colonel that he talked to, he got the impression that someone would come to verify the sighting and returned to the scene where the object was still visible. While not appearing to move, it had shifted position slightly because it was necessary for him to move occasionally to prevent its being obscured by the tree branches. After waiting 30 minutes, the observer again called the Air Force colonel to ask him if he couldn't send someone to verify the sighting. The colonel requested that the observer stand by the telephone and he would call him back. This the colonel did 15 minutes later, requesting that the observer obtain a disinterested person to verify the sighting. Observer returned to site of observation and the object was still visible. He stopped a car and requested the driver to observe the object. The driver of the car was a professor at the University of Nevada and a very good observer. Observer again called the Air Force colonel and reported the verification. The colonel then stated that he would send 2 enlisted men to the observers' motel for a debriefing. Two sergeants visited the observers at their motel expressing appreciation for the observers' efforts and stating that the Air Force was very interested in such reports. Observer pointed out to the sergeants that the Air Force had been aware of the sighting for over an hour during which time the object could be seen but hadn't been interested enough to look at it.
T53-11156
