Evidence · Incident 88: the Hackensack disc, 3 August 1947
The witnesses first took it for a balloon, and it moved like one
Truex's first remark was that a child had lost its balloon; all three describe a small round object moving silently in a steady straight line with no exhaust, and Teterboro reported a light steady south-westerly and a clear sky.
What it means
Key questionWhat did the three witnesses see over Hackensack on the evening of 3 August 1947?
3 answers, none ahead yet
Openunchanged
Answer this evidence bears onA small balloon carried on the evening's light south-westerly wind
Supports1 for, none against
Still possiblewas No evidence yet
What it implies
- Nothing in the interviews is beyond what a drifting balloon would show; only the witnesses' judgement of its speed counts against it.For the key question: What did the three witnesses see over Hackensack on the evening of 3 August 1947?
Next steps 2
1
Read The Bergen Evening Record for 4-5 August 1947
Adds evidenceFair odds~2 h
15score
Details
Look for the police report, other callers, or a balloon release that evening (a fair, party or advertising balloons).
2
Bergen Evening Record, 4-5 Aug 1947
Adds evidenceFair odds~2 h
15score
Details
Read the Hackensack paper for the police report, other callers or a balloon release that evening.
Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes
Sources 2
SRC
SAC Newark to Director, FBI: Flying disc reported at Hackensack, New Jersey, August 3, 1947 – Miscellaneous (FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 2)
SRCFederal Bureau of Investigation 1947
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). The witnesses first took it for a balloon, and it moved like one [Evidence EVD0DFY8Y68Q3JQ]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFY8Y68Q3JQ
@misc{mysteriesdept_evd0dfy8y68q3jq,
title = {The witnesses first took it for a balloon, and it moved like one},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Evidence, catalog key EVD0DFY8Y68Q3JQ},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFY8Y68Q3JQ}
}