Harold Dahl

Harold Dahl was an American harbor patrolman who reported a significant UFO sighting in the Pacific Northwest during the early days of the modern UFO era. On June 21, 1947, while patrolling near Maury Island in Puget Sound, Washington with his son, two crewmen, and the family dog, Dahl reported observing six doughnut-shaped objects overhead. One of the objects appeared distressed and ejected debris onto his boat, which injured his son and killed his dog. Dahl collected samples of the debris and reported the incident to his supervisor, Fred Crissman.

The sighting occurred during a pivotal moment in UFO history and generated significant controversy, happening three days before Kenneth Arnold's famous sighting near Mount Rainier on June 24, 1947. The case was investigated by Air Force intelligence officers and UFO researcher Kenneth Arnold, though two officers investigating the incident died in a B-25 bomber crash while transporting alleged debris samples. The FBI investigated and initially concluded the incident was a hoax motivated by profit, and Dahl later claimed the sighting was a hoax, though FBI documents suggest this recantation may itself have been fabricated to avoid public ridicule.

The Maury Island incident remains contested among researchers and has influenced UFO mythology, though the case is widely regarded as a hoax, even by UFO believers. Debris analysis indicated ordinary igneous rocks or possibly meteor fragments. The incident helped popularize the term "flying saucer" and spawned persistent rumors of "men in black" and government cover-ups, while some researchers note unexplained elements in the case and others dismiss it entirely as fabrication.