Laverne Wertz

Laverne Wertz was an FAA Flight Service Specialist at Redmond Airport in Oregon during the late 1950s. He played a key role as a witness in the notable Redmond UFO case of September 1959. On September 23, Redmond police officer Robert Dickerson spotted a low-hovering, mushroom-shaped object during a night patrol and alerted Wertz, who confirmed the sighting using binoculars. Wertz observed the UFO project 'long tongues' of light and remain steady before jets were scrambled. The next morning, he and Dickerson checked the skies again. Per Seattle FAA orders, Wertz and pilot Ben Jacques flew a radioactivity survey southeast of Corvallis, finding nothing anomalous. His account contributed to NICAP investigations by Donald Keyhoe and James McDonald, featured in UFO Evidence and CIA-documented reports.