On April 24, 1964, one of the best-documented and heavily investigated UFO sightings of all time occurred in Socorro, New Mexico. It would also prove to be one of the most debated with skeptics claiming the entire incident was a hoax.

Police officer Lonnie Zamora, alone in his patrol car was driving behind a speeding car when he heard a "roar" and saw a long, narrow, funnel-shaped, "bluish orange" flame in the sky. The weather that day was peaceful with few, if any clouds in the sky the the incident caught the police officer off guard. He wondered if it was some sort of lightening or atmospheric phenomenon. But then thought even more rationally, thinking it was a local dynamite shack that may have exploded.

But then came the mysterious sound.

Officer Zamora also heard a strange sound that went from a very high frequency to low frequency for about 10 seconds and then stopped altogether.

Officer Zamora abandoned the speeding car and decided to investigate the mysterious flame in the sky and the weird sound. He estimated that it was about 1/2 mile away and proceeded in its direction over a steep hill. Once he got closer to where he believed the light in the sky originated from he noted what he believed to be an overturned white vehicle.

Zamora drove closer towards the scene, radioing his dispatcher to say he would be out of his car "checking the car in the arroyo." He stopped his car, got out, and attended to the radio microphone, which he had dropped, then he started to approach the object.

It was according to the officer, a shiny object with two people standing close to it, one of whom seemed to notice him with some surprise and gave a start. The shiny object was "like aluminum — it was whitish against the mesa background, but not chrome", and shaped like a letter "O".

Zamora only caught a brief sight of the two people in white coveralls beside the object. He recalls nothing special about them other than they looked like small adults or large children.

"I don't recall noting any particular shape or possibly any hats, or headgear. These persons appeared normal in shape — but possibly they were small adults or large kids."

Pulling the patrol car over, he exited to offer assistance but was immediately startled.

He heard the roar and saw the flame again, but this time the flame was under the object, and the object slowly rose back into the sky and then zoomed off.

He radioed into the police station a more complete description of the object while he still had it in his sights:

"Oval in shape ... smooth - no windows or doors ... Noted red lettering of some type ... aluminum-white."

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