Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting near Worden, Oregon, April 4, 1960

On April 4, 1960, at 1920Z, a civilian witness, identified as a farm housewife near Worden, Oregon, reported observing an unidentified aerial object. The witness described the object as a round, silver-white item, approximately five inches in diameter, which followed a straight, descending flight path. During the observation, which lasted approximately thirty seconds, the witness reported that the object changed color to red and exploded in a small puff of smoke. The report notes that a formation of four F-101 aircraft crossed in front of the witness from the direction of Kingsley Field at the time of the sighting, though the object was observed crossing the flight path below and behind the aircraft. Following the report, an investigation was conducted by the Assistant Director of Operations, Captain F. J. D'Entremont. A helicopter search of the area where the object was reported to have disappeared was conducted with negative results for any anomalous material. However, the search team discovered a large white Emperor snow goose that had been recently killed in a field immediately south of the location indicated by the observer. The investigators concluded that the goose had been shot by a poacher. They theorized that the appearance of blood accounted for the reported color change to red, and the resulting cloud of white feathers from the impact was mistaken by the observer for an explosion and a puff of smoke. The official conclusion of the report is that the sighting was explained by the death of the bird.