Project 10073 Record — South Zanesville, Ohio, 11 July 1968

This document contains a Project Blue Book record regarding a sighting reported by a 13-year-old boy in South Zanesville, Ohio, on July 11, 1968. The witness and a friend were camping in a tent approximately 200 feet from the nearest house. While outside the tent, they reported hearing a 'loud shrilling kind of noise' and observing a dim beam of light on the ground in front of them. They initially suspected a neighbor with a flashlight, but upon checking, they realized no one was there. The witness later observed a similar beam of light in a tree approximately 20 feet in the air. When the witness shined their own flashlight at the tree, they saw nothing. The witness's friend, Steve, also reported seeing a beam of light in a clearing through a bunch of trees. The Air Force requested that the witness complete an AF Form 117 to provide further details, but the record indicates that as of October 18, 1968, the form had not been returned. The official conclusion recorded by the Aerial Phenomena Office was that the phenomenon was 'Possible, Other: (LIGHTNING BUGS)'. The file includes correspondence from Major James H. Aikman of the Civil Branch, Community Relations Division, and Lt. Colonel Hector Quintanilla, Jr., Chief of the Aerial Phenomena Office, requesting the witness's cooperation in the investigation.