Disc Over Okanagan Lake

This correspondence, dated March 27, 1967, from the University of Arizona's Institute of Atmospheric Physics, details an investigation into a UFO sighting in Kelowna, British Columbia. The author, identified as Dr. James E. McDonald, recounts his efforts to locate and interview a witness named Cole, who works for the C.N. Barge & Ferry Service. After initial difficulty in finding the witness, McDonald successfully interviewed him at his home. The witness reported that in 1966, at approximately 23:00, he observed a disc-shaped object, estimated to be 20-30 feet in diameter, hovering about 60 feet above Lake Okanagan. The object featured 35-40 white lights around its rim and emitted a low drone. During the 10-15 minute hover, the object opened clamshell doors on its underside and deployed a smaller, 2-3 foot disc-shaped object onto the surface of the lake. This smaller object remained on the water for 4-5 minutes without submerging before being retrieved by the larger craft. Following the retrieval, the main object produced a 'screaming whine' and departed vertically at high speed. McDonald notes that while the witness mentioned two other confirmatory reports from the area, he could not provide names. McDonald characterizes the witness as a 'Vermonter type'—taciturn and terse—and expresses confidence in his reliability as a witness. The author concludes that because the event did not involve the object emerging from the water, it was not directly relevant to his current research for the Office of Naval Research (ONR).