White House Declassifies Catalina Island UFO Encounters

Newly released White House documents have shed light on a series of alleged unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) sightings on Catalina Island, California, dating back to the late 1940s and early 1950s. The disclosures, part of the Trump administration's initiative to declassify UAP-related records, include accounts of aerial objects observed by Boy Scouts and residents.

One report details an incident on August 25, 1952, involving three Boy Scouts hiking near Camp Fox on Catalina Island. The scouts observed an "object silver in color" that moved at a speed exceeding that of a conventional jet. The Air Force intelligence report noted that the scouts were unable to estimate the object's altitude, speed, or distance, and that weather conditions were clear at the time. A significant detail within this report is the apparent absence of a sketch of the object, which was reportedly drawn on the back of the original document but has not been located in government archives.

Another account, dated May 1, 1947, comes from a handwritten letter detailing a sighting on the evening of April 28 of the same year. The letter writer, Percy E. Mackey, stated that his wife and a school teacher saw six objects in the sky, not in formation, but individually. Shortly after, while at his daughter's home, she, along with her daughter and grandson, reportedly saw four more objects, all traveling in the same direction. Mackey offered to provide more details about "flying disks, saucers etc." if still interested. This report was ultimately concluded to have "insufficient data for evaluation."

Further historical accounts suggest other encounters around the same period. In July 1947, three visiting Army Air Force veterans reportedly saw six "flying discs" traveling in formation over Avalon, disappearing over East Peak. One witness, Alvio Russo, estimated their speed at 850 mph. A photograph, purportedly taken by aerial photographer Bob Jung and published by the Los Angeles Examiner, is said to depict a UFO over Catalina Island. However, the image appears to show a nighttime sky, creating a discrepancy with the reported daytime sighting.

The Catalina Island sightings are among several UAP-related documents released by the administration. This disclosure marks the seventh batch of records under the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters initiative, with more files anticipated.