Project 10073 Record Card — Beebeetown, Iowa, 12 August 1958

This document details an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sighting that occurred near Beebeetown, Iowa, in the early morning hours of 12 August 1958. The primary witness, a civilian woman, reported being awakened by a light on her bedroom wall, which she compared to the headlights of an automobile. Upon looking outside, she observed a round, white light, which she described as being comparable in size to the rising sun at a distance of approximately one-quarter mile. Three other individuals in the same area also reported seeing a bluish-white to green object. The object was observed moving horizontally at a low altitude on a northeast to southwest course before disappearing behind terrain. The duration of the sighting was reported as less than one minute.

Following the report, the 544th Reconnaissance Technical Group (RTG) initiated an investigation. Major Herbert W. Robson received the initial report, and subsequent follow-up was conducted by M/Sgt Jerrol R. Clark of the 1006th Air Intelligence Service Squadron (AISS). The investigation included interviews with the witness and her daughter, as well as inquiries with local residents and the police in Missouri Valley, Iowa. None of the local contacts had knowledge of the sighting. The investigators noted that the witness was considered a reliable and level-headed individual, though they expressed skepticism regarding the reported size of the object, noting that such a significant event would likely have been witnessed by many others in the surrounding area. The official conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the probability of the object being a meteor existed. The document includes weather data from Offutt Air Force Base, which indicated clear skies with some ground fog and smoke at the time of the incident. The report also references a newspaper clipping from the Omaha World Herald, which featured reports from other individuals in the Lincoln and Omaha areas who observed similar phenomena, including a 'glowing green object' and a 'blue flame'.