Pentagon Releases New UFO Files Detailing Sightings Near California Island
Newly declassified documents include accounts of mysterious aerial objects observed near Catalina Island, an area previously linked to speculation about underwater alien bases.
The Pentagon has released its seventh batch of Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) files, which include witness accounts of unusual sightings near Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California. The documents feature reports detailing mysterious objects observed in the skies and waters surrounding the island, an area that has also been the subject of speculation regarding potential hidden underwater alien bases.
One account, documented in an Air Intelligence Information Report dated August 28, 1952, describes an encounter by three Boy Scouts on a mountain hike on Catalina Island. On June 25, 1952, under clear skies, the Scouts reported observing a silent, silver object moving at a speed estimated to be faster than a conventional jet. According to the report, the object appeared to execute a climbing turn before seemingly disintegrating.
The report, prepared at March Air Force Base, noted the Scouts were attending summer camp at Camp Fox when they witnessed the sighting. The object was described as silver and making no sound. The Scouts, however, lacked instruments to measure the object's movements, and the report acknowledged the difficulty in assessing the reliability of the observers, stating their experience was "probably meager at best."
Another file contains a handwritten letter dated May 1, 1949, from an Avalon resident detailing multiple sightings of unidentified objects. The letter describes six objects passing individually over Avalon on the evening of April 28, 1949, followed minutes later by four more traveling in the same direction. The author, identified as Percy E Mackey, wrote to Kenneth Arnold, offering to provide more details about the "flying disks, saucers etc."
The military's summary of Mackey's report recorded only six objects, noting each flew past individually. The record concluded there was "insufficient data for evaluation," and neither photographs nor physical evidence were mentioned in the released documents. The original letter and accompanying sketches were not included in this release.
Catalina Island, located approximately 22 miles south-southwest of the Los Angeles mainland, has been a focal point for theories about underwater UFO bases. Some enthusiasts suggest Sycamore Knoll, an underwater formation off Malibu, could be the site of such a base.
Other reports within the newly released files include a November 1953 account from San Pedro of a purplish-white light observed over Catalina Island for about 10 minutes, which investigators identified as the planet Jupiter. A separate incident from March 15, 1955, described a civilian in Avalon witnessing a bright orange, circular object falling straight down for approximately two seconds. This sighting was classified as a probable meteor due to its brief duration and trajectory.
These newly declassified documents add to the ongoing public interest in UFO phenomena and the U.S. government's efforts to provide transparency on the subject.