Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Balloon Sighting Near Hazelton, BC
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AI-Generated Summary
A 1980 magazine article recounts a 1896 sighting of a 'skycraft' near Hazelton, BC, noting that such reports were often misidentified as a Swedish balloon expedition that did not launch until 1897.
This document, an excerpt from William Retoff's 'UFOs in History: The Great Canadian Starship Invasion' published in Ideal's UFO Magazine in August 1980, discusses a sighting near Hazelton, British Columbia, on July 3, 1896. The text provides context regarding a Swedish balloon expedition intended for the North Pole, which was announced in May 1896 but delayed until 1897, ultimately failing shortly after launch. The author suggests that many sightings reported in Canada and the USA during 1896 were incorrectly associated with this Swedish project. Regarding the specific Hazelton incident, the report describes two observations: an Indian boy spotting a 'balloon' during the day, and a band of prospectors seeing a 'flashing celestial light' that evening. These reports were forwarded to the superintendent of Indian Affairs for British Columbia. The press at the time showed little interest, with the Portland Oregonian speculating that the object was the same one seen over Winnipeg on July 1, while acknowledging its origin remained a mystery.
"The balloon is evidently the same that passed over Winnipeg on July 1,'' the Portland Oregonian cautiously offered, "but whose it is and whence it came is yet an unfathomed mystery."
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Official Assessment
The document notes that sightings in 1896 were often erroneously attributed to a Swedish balloon expedition that did not actually launch until 1897.
Witnesses
Key Persons
- superintendent of Indian Affairs for British ColumbiaRecipient of observation reports