The Incident
On May 29, 1971, at 9 p.m., two outdoor enthusiasts traveling down the Colorado River in California encountered an unusual light. As they moved along, a few dozen feet from the riverbank, they noticed a brown light illuminating the water from right to left, about 300 yards away. At first, they thought it was headlights, but they soon realized that cars couldn’t reach the area.
Using split tree trunks and branches to stay on course, the pair eventually reached a section of the river’s mouth and saw an incandescent sphere hanging about three feet above the ground. They estimated it was between three and 16 feet across. The orb was green-blue, with an opaque, dense, cloud-shaped core about four feet in diameter and two feet high. A thin, almost transparent halo surrounded it, and its light was intense and steady.
The orb remained in place for about six minutes. All the sounds of nature—the calls of animals and the rush of water—fell silent. Suddenly, before the pair had decided to leave the boat, the orb moved several feet up and back, then shot into the dark sky. A glowing green line appeared where it had vanished, traveling from right to left at an angle of 15 to 20 degrees before disappearing within seconds.
After the initial event, the witnesses reported another phenomenon: a bright triangular opening in the sky in the 11-to-12-o’clock direction, which later became a ring-shaped cloud of light. A few minutes later, they heard helicopters and saw elongated gray shapes on both sides of the river, with no prominent markings or bright lights.
A Possible Explanation
The report was documented many years ago. No missile launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base aimed at the Pacific Ocean were recorded on that date. Still, the sighting of the orb and the gray craft prompted speculation that the pair had witnessed a test missile launch, although the appearance and effects of the light do not precisely match those of a typical launch.
Why It’s Interesting
The incident combines several rare elements: a large orb of light, a surrounding halo, the sudden silence of nearby sounds, an abrupt movement, and further waves of light, along with the appearance of unidentified helicopters. Together, these details suggest an unexplained phenomenon that recalls both atmospheric events such as blue jets and the possibility of a classified military test.
Summary
The report remains unverified: there is no additional record of the event from the opposite bank, and the account rests on just two witnesses. Still, it offers a detailed description of an experience that evokes the complexity of unexplained phenomena in 1970s America.
