Maury Island Incident
Reported 1947 UFO/debris hoax in Washington state
| Maury Island Incident | |
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| Date | June 21, 1947 |
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| Location | Puget Sound, Washington, U.S. |
| Type | Hoax |
| Status | Debunked |
Harold Dahl claimed to have witnessed six doughnut-shaped objects over Puget Sound, one of which allegedly ejected debris and hot slag that damaged his boat and injured his son and dog; the case briefly drew the attention of investigating officers who died in a plane crash en route to report on it.
Assessment
Dahl later admitted to Kenneth Arnold, who had been asked to investigate, and to the FBI, that the story was fabricated, motivated in part by a dispute with his employer; the case is universally regarded by researchers, including many otherwise sympathetic to the extraterrestrial hypothesis, as a hoax, notwithstanding the tragic and unrelated deaths of the investigating officers in a subsequent aircraft accident.
[1]See also
References
- ^ FBI file on the Maury Island Incident (declassified); Arnold, K.; Palmer, R. (1952). The Coming of the Saucers.