Artwork Copyright©2000, James Neff. Reproduction prohibited. All Rights Reserved.
 April 24, 1964 at roughly 5:45, Lonnie
Zamora, then 31 and a policeman in the city of Socorro, New Mexico found
himself in a high speed chase with another vehicle on the outskirts of town.
During the pursuit Zamora was suddenly deviated from the chase by the bizarre
sight of a cone of blue flame in the distance, rising more than 2,000 feet.
Thinking perhaps an explosion had just taken place, the officer ended the
pursuit of the speeding vehicle and moved toward the direction of the flames.
Hampered by rough, desert road, Zamora moved slowly toward what appeared
to be an overturned car with two people near by. He radioed the station
to report the accident, but just then, after cresting a small hill, realized
he was not seeing an overturned car at all. There, just off the side of the
road some 600 feet from when Zamora stood, was a strange, white, egg-shaped
object apparently made of brightly polished metal, standing on 4 legs. Beside
the craft stood two men in white cover-alls, appearing to be inspecting
the vehicle. One noticed Zamora, and seemed to react with shock. Only moments
later, the officer heard the slamming of thick metallic doors and the onset
of a low frequency roar which slowly rose in pitch and becoming painfully
loud. A bright blue and orange flame appeared below the craft as it began
to rise slowly into the air. Fearing that at any moment the whole thing
might explode, Zamora took cover behind his squad car. The craft rose higher
into the air on its roaring jet flame and then rapidly moved across the
desert out of sight. As it climbed, Zamora got his best view of the craft.
He described it as being bright aluminum-white metal with a peculiar red
insignia, which he later rendered in a drawing. No windows or portholes,
though he did hear what sounded like slamming doors just before it took
off.Zamora's account was validated by inspection, both by Project Blue Book (which classified the event as a true "unknown"), including the esteemed J. Allen Hynek (who left project Blue Book after this incident as Hynek's true views were being gagged by Air Force officials) and the USAF. One physicist on site noted that the impressions left by the landing gear would have required a vehicle weighing at least 8 tons. The blast mark and scorched earth was also analyzed, but as typical with Blue Book and Air Force analysis, no conclusions were made. The case has remained one of the most mysterious and evidential in the chronicles of contemporary UFO sightings and close encounters. |