Project 10073 Record: Incident 399 - Alexandria, Louisiana

This document is a formal Report of Investigation regarding an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon sighting that occurred on July 5, 1949, in Alexandria, Louisiana. The witness, a housewife and former school teacher, reported observing a single, round, luminous object with a bright yellow center while sitting in her front yard at approximately 2100 hours. She estimated the object's size to be comparable to an automobile wheel and its altitude at approximately 2,000 feet. The object moved in a horizontal, floating manner at an estimated speed of 100 MPH in a northeasterly direction for approximately three minutes before disappearing behind trees and a building. The investigation was conducted by the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) under the auspices of Project SIGN. The investigating officer, Major Edward R. Ford, interviewed the witness and a neighbor, concluding that the witness was a person of excellent character and intelligence who was not seeking publicity. The official conclusion reached by the investigation was that the object was a balloon. The report includes various administrative forms, including a Project 10073 record, a guide to investigation, and correspondence between the Fourth Army, the 5th District OSI, and the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The document confirms that no physical evidence was recovered, no radar contact was made, and no photographs were taken. The investigation was officially closed by the 9th OSI District in September 1949.