Project 10073 Record: UFO Sighting at Bear Mountain State Park, 18 December 1966

This document details the investigation of a UFO sighting reported on 18 December 1966 at Lake Tiorati, Bear Mountain State Park, New York. A civilian witness, a 23-year-old labor foreman, reported observing a long, goldish-silver to brown object with a hump on its back for approximately five to seven seconds. The object appeared to wobble before disappearing behind a fire tower on a 1320-foot hill. The witness provided two photographs and a negative, which were analyzed by the Foreign Technology Division (FTD). The initial FTD report (No. 67-10) concluded the photos were genuine but could not identify the object, describing it as circular in planform with a domed superstructure and a diameter of two to three feet. Despite the initial FTD assessment, the case was initially labeled a 'hoax' in the Project 10073 record. Dr. J. Allen Hynek of Northwestern University subsequently reviewed the case and strongly disagreed with the hoax classification, arguing that the photo analysis provided no basis for such a claim and that the witness was considered reliable. Hynek recommended changing the evaluation to 'unidentified.' The file includes correspondence between Air Force officials, including Major H. Quintanilla, Jr., and Dr. Hynek, regarding the handling of the evidence and the final classification of the sighting.