Lonnie Zamora

Lonnie Zamora (1933–2009) was a police officer in Socorro, New Mexico, and the witness of one of the best-documented close-encounter cases in UFO history. On 24 April 1964, during a pursuit south of Socorro, he observed a landed egg-shaped craft with two small humanoid figures in white coveralls standing next to it. The object took off with a roaring flame and left burned vegetation and impressions in the ground.

• Police officer in Socorro, New Mexico
• Observation on 24 April 1964 south of Socorro during a pursuit
• Landed egg-shaped craft with two small humanoid figures in white coveralls beside it
• Lift-off of the craft accompanied by a roaring flame
• Physical traces: burned vegetation and landing-pad impressions in the soil
• Case investigated by the U.S. Air Force, FBI and Project Blue Book
• J. Allen Hynek personally visited the landing site

Zamora's significance lies in the combination of credible single-witness testimony (a police officer on duty), physical ground evidence and independent investigations by the military, the FBI and one of Project Blue Book's most prominent civilian consultants. None of those bodies found a conventional explanation — which is why the Socorro incident is still considered one of the best-documented close-encounter cases in UFO history.