Mystery Object Seen Over Strait

On the afternoon of December 10, 1949, a large number of observers in the vicinity of Victoria, British Columbia, reported sighting a mysterious aircraft. The object was described as silver-white and pencil-shaped, appearing to be wingless. It was observed traveling in an eastward direction over the Strait of Juan de Fuca at a high altitude and significant speed between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m. Witnesses provided varying interpretations of the phenomenon; Frank Le Feuvre compared the object to a meteor, while W. I. Love suggested it was a comet. Another unnamed observer initially mistook the object for a jet's vapor trail, but upon closer inspection, identified it as a solid object, noting that it moved too quickly to be a dirigible. Estimates regarding the object's altitude placed it above 15,000 feet. Despite the widespread nature of the sighting, official inquiries with the Patricia Bay airport and the United States Coast Guard at Port Angeles yielded no reports of any such craft. Speculation among observers included the possibility that the object was a guided missile or a classified aircraft originating from a field in Washington State.