Date: April 24, 1964
Video: YouTube - Pat Uskert/UFO Hunters Interview with Lonnie Zamora at Landing Site/2008 (Runtime 10:27)

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.

"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." - Project Blue Book Official Statement (FOIA)

The case has remained one of the most mysterious and evidential in the chronicles of contemporary UFO sightings and close encounters.

Recently, a woman watching The Sci-Fi Channel's program "Sightings" saw the Lonnie Zamora story and remembered having been there as a child, along with her father while vacationing. She went through her attic looking for a roll of 8mm movie film and found color footage taken by her father of the landing site, documenting the scorched brush and landing pod depressions. The footage was aired on the program and represents another solid piece of evidence supporting the Zamora UFO encounter.

Lonnie's original sketch of what he saw

Lonnie Zamora died November 2, 2009 of heart failure at age 76. Lonnie never embellished his story, never sought the attention of media and remains one of the bedrock UFO experiencers of merit.

Additional Resources:
Original Project Blue Book Report & Zamora's Statements

More Photos/Slide Show:

Credit: Sightings.com