The Socorro Landing

1. Around 5:45 p.m. on April 24, 1964, police Sgt. Lonnie Zamora is chasing a speeding car when he hears a roar and sees a flame in the sky. He breaks off the chase to investigate.
2. He reports finding a shiny, egg-shaped object in a gully, with two figures in white coveralls standing beside it. Moments later, he says, it lifts off with a roar and a blue-orange flame.
3. Officers, including State Police Sgt. Sam Chavez, find smoldering brush and four shallow holes where Zamora says the craft’s legs touched down. Air Force consultant J. Allen Hynek visits and calls Zamora’s account solid, not a hoax.
4. Project Blue Book lists the case as ‘unknown’. Skeptics suggest a student prank (a theory backed by former New Mexico Tech president Stirling Colgate) or a secret lunar-lander test.

Key witnesses: Sgt. Lonnie Zamora (Socorro Police); Sgt. Sam Chavez (NM State Police) examined the site
Status: UNRESOLVED