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The Socorro Incident | What Did Lonnie Zamora Actually See? (Video)

Last updated on February 23, 2024

Sightings that leave behind physical evidence and independent corroborating witnesses like this one set the bar for credible reports.

The Socorro Incident | What Did Lonnie Zamora Actually See? (Video)

A police sergeant by the name of Lonnie Zamora witnessed and unknown craft land and take off near Socorro, New Mexico. What did he see? The Socorro incident took place in 1964 and is one of many unexplained sightings by highly credible witnesses.

It Started with a Police Chase

Lonnie Zamora was on duty and chasing a speeding car at around 5:45 PM on April 24, 1964 when he heard a loud roar and saw a flame in the sky.

The nature of the sound and flame were significant enough that he broke off the chase to investigate.

The Socorro Incident Sighting

According to his eyewitness report, Zamora claimed to see what he initially described as an ‘overturned white car’. He observed 2 people standing close to it.

As he drove closer, the object began to rise straight up with a flame beneath it. At this point, he realized it wasn’t a car. The object appeared to be more of an oval or egg-shaped craft.

His sighting was featured on the Science Channel show, NASA’s Unexplained Files. The clip is below:

Other Witnesses

I always find great interest in sightings that have more than a single witness. This may have been the case in the Socorro incident.

Paul Kies and Larry Kratzer were tourists who were driving towards Socorro at the same time. They also witnessed the object.

There also many other unnamed witnesses to the event.

Physical Evidence

Another reason this sighting makes it onto Alien UFO Blog is the presence of actual physical evidence. While I’d like to have a crisp video or photo, physical evidence carries significant weight.

The landing area of the craft contained fused sand, the kind you would expect if the sand had been heated to a very high temperature. These areas were even investigated by the FBI.

Possible Explanations

While the identification of the object Lonnie Zamora encountered remains a mystery, it’s generally accepted that his sighting was not a hoax. Even well-known skeptics such as Philip Klass admit the Socorro incident wasn’t a hoax.

This doesn’t however, confirm an alien spaceship landed. In fact, the noise and jet-like flame described by witnesses seems to imply something man-made. Interstellar space ships aren’t likely to use rockets or flames, and most UFO sightings are silent.

That being said, unknown means unknown.

The Socorro incident may be one of a handful of UFO sightings we may never have a real answer to. Lonnie Zamora died in 2009.


Sources & additional reading:

Wikipedia: Lonnie Zamora Incident

Skeptoid: Lonnie Zamora and the Socorro UFO

Visit Socorro: Socorro Landing: A UFO Story

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4 thoughts on “The Socorro Incident | What Did Lonnie Zamora Actually See? (Video)”

  1. I’d be willing to bet that Zamora saw a military test vehicle of some type. The air force investigators confirmed that they believed an actual craft of some kind was present. If this was a hoax it was an excellent job. considering the tech available in the 1960’s Zamora never ‘cashed in” on the sighting as far I’ve read.

    1. I don’t doubt that was a possible motive. It’s possible he was losing the chase and made up the story to cover his butt. Though that doesn’t explain the additional witnesses.

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