Skip to content
ARCHIVE ONLINE · PUBLIC TLS1,632 RECORDS · 1561–2026PRIMARY SOURCES INDEXEDREAD-ONLY38 MS
COUNTDOWN//DISCLOSURE
MENU
TOP SECRET // SCI // NOFORNPUBLIC ARCHIVE · COMPILED REFERENCE
/index/1966-04-17-portage-county-police-ufo-chase-portage-county-ohio-usaCIVILIAN

Portage County Police UFO Chase

DATE17 Apr 1966
LOCAL TIME5:00 AM
LOCATIONPortage County, Ohio, USA, United States
COORDINATES41.09°N, 81.30°W

Deputy sheriffs chased a luminous, structured object for 85 miles across the Pennsylvania border at over 100 mph, with police from other jurisdictions joining the pursuit. The object appeared to respond intelligently to the chase. This case inspired the UFO chase in Spielberg's 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind.'

[ PRIMARY CITATION // COMPILED REFERENCE · CTD-0154 ]

SENSORS & EVIDENCE

Witness sighting statement