Project 10073 Record: UFO Observation, Aiken, South Carolina, 29 December 1967

This document details a UFO sighting reported by Sergeant Max A. Meek of the Aiken, South Carolina Police Department, which occurred on the night of December 29, 1967. Sgt. Meek, accompanied by Officer D. T. Marchant, observed a bright, red-orange, round object in the sky over the Crosland Park residential area between 10:00 P.M. and 11:30 P.M. The observers described the object as self-luminous with fuzzy edges, noting that it appeared much larger than a star, pulsated, and eventually ascended straight up without making any noise. The police officers attempted to pursue the object, but it moved away from them. The Air Force's Aerial Phenomena Office, under the direction of Lt. Col. Hector Quintanilla, initiated an investigation into the incident. Despite multiple requests sent to Sgt. Meek and other officers in the Aiken Police Department, the Air Force struggled to obtain the necessary documentation, specifically the AF Form 117 and the photographs or film that Sgt. Meek claimed to have taken of the object. Internal notes from the investigation indicate that the observer failed to respond to these requests. The Air Force also consulted the 861st Radar Squadron at Aiken Air Force Station, which reported no known air traffic or balloons in the area at the time of the sighting. The final assessment by the Aerial Phenomena Office concluded that there was insufficient data to determine the nature of the object, suggesting that while hot air balloons were a possible explanation, the lack of cooperation and evidence made a definitive conclusion impossible.