Project 10073 Record Card and OSI Report — River Forest, Illinois, January 1958

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and supporting correspondence from the 24th District Office of Special Investigation (OSI) regarding an unidentified flying object sighting in River Forest, Illinois. The witness, a woman whose name is redacted, contacted the OSI on April 10, 1958, claiming to possess 8mm movie film of an object she observed in early January 1958. She was interviewed by Special Agent Douglas W. Alexander on April 11, 1958, and provided a 200-foot reel of film. The witness stated that she was in the rear of her residence at 1226 Lathrop, River Forest, Illinois, filming the moon when she first noticed the object. She observed it through binoculars for approximately five minutes, describing it as initially appearing to be an unusually large star that moved toward her, increased in size, and then turned at a right angle to proceed north. She noted there was no sound. The film was examined at the 24th District OSI office using a standard 8mm projector. The portion of the film containing the object was approximately six inches in length. The object appeared red-orange in color, but no other identifying features could be discerned due to the short duration of the footage. The record card notes that the sighting occurred during a period of heavy air traffic and suggests that attempting to observe objects at night through handheld binoculars can produce 'weird effects.' The film was returned to the witness, who expressed a willingness to provide it for further evaluation if required. The document includes formal routing from the 24th District OSI to the Air Defense Command and subsequently to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.