Project 10073 Record — Sighting Report, Ladd, Illinois, 8 July 1966

On July 8, 1966, at approximately 0115Z, a civilian witness in Ladd, Illinois, observed an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The witness, an English and social studies teacher, described the object as a 180-degree arc that appeared high in the sky and traveled in a north-south direction. The object was described as having a pale or dull gold color, speckled like stardust, and was estimated to be one to one-and-a-half inches wide at arm's length. The observation lasted less than one second, after which the object disappeared completely without leaving a trail. The witness noted that the object did not resemble any meteors or shooting stars they had previously seen. The witness later learned through a conversation in a restaurant in DePue, Illinois, that other individuals in the vicinity of Princeton, Illinois, had also witnessed a similar phenomenon around the same time. The witness reported the event to the Air Force, and the case was processed under Project 10073 of Project Blue Book. Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr., Chief of Project Blue Book, concluded that the sighting was consistent with a meteor, noting that the duration of the observation was insufficient to determine a definite shape.