FBI Field Office UFO Files (1949–1974) – PURSUE Files

FBI Newark and Washington State UFO files from the 1950s and 1960s, a 1949 Hoover letter exchange, and 1967–1974 correspondence

⚠ Note on validity: These files mainly show the FBI receiving reports and passing them to the Air Force. By 1974 the FBI was telling inquirers it did not collect UFO information at all.

FBI field office files
Agency	FBI (Newark and Seattle field offices, headquarters)
Dates covered	1949 – 1974
Places	New Jersey; Washington State; Cascade Mountains
Released	Release 03 (June 12, 2026); Release 04 (July 10, 2026)
Files	4 (PDF)
Previously public?	Partly — some FBI field-office UFO material has appeared on the FBI Vault; these specific files appear newly public
Official releaseHistorical

These four records show how FBI field offices handled UFO reports after the Bureau stepped back from investigating them in late 1947. They include a 1949 exchange between Director J. Edgar Hoover and Rev. Charles Barnes, who reported four beams of light “converging in the Cascade Mountains”; the Newark Field Office’s special inquiry into New Jersey sightings from August 1952 to January 1967; a Washington State file from 1952 to 1960; and later correspondence, including 1974 letters with researcher Larry Bryant about an alleged 1954 sighting of an occupied UFO.^[1]

The records

FBI-UAP-D011, D/FBI Correspondence Referral, 1949

Open FBI-UAP-D011 (PDF) on war.gov →

This collection of documents contains correspondence between the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J. Edgar Hoover, and Rev. Charles Barnes concerning Barnes’ account of an incident potentially involving unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). Rev. Barnes described observing four beams of light “converging in the Cascade Mountains,” at an altitude of approximately 10,000 feet, with a “great explosion” visible at the convergence point of those beams for at least ten minutes. Director Hoover replied to Rev. Barnes thanking him for his letter and informing him that he had forwarded it to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Director Hoover conveyed to the AEC that Rev. Barnes believed that the event may relate to a military or scientific experiment within the commission’s purview.
— Official PURSUE description

FBI-UAP-D012, Newark Field Office, 1952-1967

Open FBI-UAP-D012 (PDF) on war.gov →

This file details a special inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Newark Field Office of various reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in and near New Jersey between August 1952 and January 1967. These files include memoranda and correspondence between the FBI and the U.S. Air Force regarding UFO sightings, as well as public correspondence concerning various UFO-focused groups.
— Official PURSUE description

FBI-UAP-D013, Washington State ‘UFO’ Investigation, 1952-1960

Open FBI-UAP-D013 (PDF) on war.gov →

This file details an investigation of various sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) in Washington state between July 1952 and August 1960. This file includes memoranda and correspondence between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Air Force regarding UFO sightings.
— Official PURSUE description

FBI-UAP-D014, Correspondence Relating to UFO Sightings, 1967, 1974

Open FBI-UAP-D014 (PDF) on war.gov →

This file contains two pieces of correspondence. The first, dated 9/22/1967, relays a description of an incident provided by an eleven-year-old child in which they heard a “weird” noise and saw a “flash of light.” The second, dated 9/30/1974 and 10/10/1974, is an exchange of letters between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Mr. Larry Bryant regarding an “alleged April 8, 1954 sighting of an occupied unidentified flying object (UFO).” The FBI’s response to Mr. Bryant’s inquiry indicated that it maintained no record of such an event, and that, circa 1974, the Bureau does not collect information regarding UFO sightings.
— Official PURSUE description

Analysis

What they show. The Newark and Washington files are mostly memos and correspondence between the FBI and the Air Force, confirming that reports were routinely forwarded to Project Blue Book. In 1974 the FBI told Bryant it had no record of the alleged April 1954 event and did not collect UFO information. Bryant, who later led Citizens Against UFO Secrecy, used such replies in legal challenges seeking government UFO records.^[1]

Known explanations. The individual sightings are not resolved in these files. The 1952 start date of both field files coincides with the national UFO wave of summer 1952, which also produced the Washington, D.C. flap.

New or previously released? Mostly new as complete files.

Released files

PURSUE ID	Title	Type
FBI-UAP-D011	D/FBI Correspondence Referral, 1949	PDF
FBI-UAP-D012	Newark Field Office, 1952-1967	PDF
FBI-UAP-D013	Washington State ‘UFO’ Investigation, 1952-1960	PDF
FBI-UAP-D014	Correspondence Relating to UFO Sightings, 1967, 1974	PDF

References

^ U.S. Department of War (2026). PURSUE Release 03 (June 12, 2026), Release 04 (July 10, 2026): FBI-UAP-D011, FBI-UAP-D012, FBI-UAP-D013, FBI-UAP-D014, with official descriptions. war.gov/ufo.

Source: U.S. Department of War, PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters), war.gov/ufo. Official records are U.S. government works in the public domain; summaries and analysis on this page are by UFO UAP Wiki.