# 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…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/incident-88/evidence/EVD0DFY8Y68Q3JQ/the-witnesses-first-took-it-for-a-balloon-and-it-moved-like  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Incident 88: the Hackensack disc, 3 August 1947](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/incident-88)Evidence

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.

Suggestive0

## What it means

Key question[What did the three witnesses see over Hackensack on the evening of 3 August 1947?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/incident-88/questions/QST0DFY739G80E5/what-did-the-three-witnesses-see-over-hackensack-on-the)

3 answers, none ahead yet

**Open** unchanged

Answer this evidence bears on[A small balloon carried on the evening's light south-westerly wind](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/incident-88/answers/ANS0DFY7GAY22GM/a-small-balloon-carried-on-the-evenings-light-south-westerly)

Supports1 for, none against

**Still possible** was No evidence yet

What it implies
1.

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

[On: What did the three witnesses see over Hackensack on the evening of 3 August 1947?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/incident-88/questions/QST0DFY739G80E5/what-did-the-three-witnesses-see-over-hackensack-on-the)

**15** score

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

[On: What did the three witnesses see over Hackensack on the evening of 3 August 1947?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/incident-88/questions/QST0DFY739G80E5/what-did-the-three-witnesses-see-over-hackensack-on-the)

**15** score

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

[Global Hourly – Integrated Surface Database: Teterboro Airport, NJ (station 99999994741), 1947](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DFY3XPMYC8H/global-hourly-integrated-surface-database-teterboro-airport)

Information 1947

SRC

[SAC Newark to Director, FBI: Flying disc reported at Hackensack, New Jersey, August 3, 1947 – Miscellaneous (FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 2)](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DFY3NXV9HJ2/sac-newark-to-director-fbi-flying-disc-reported-at)

Federal Bureau of Investigation 1947

SRC

## 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
```

Key

**EVD** 0DFY8Y68Q3JQ

Kind

Evidence

Tier

Suggestive

Found in

[Session 1](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/incident-88/sessions/SES0DFY9WVPW4NG/session-1-incident-88-opened-the-three-files-untangled-and) · 3 Nov 2026

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