Prospector's Flying Discs Near Mt. Adams, 1947
F. M. Johnson reported oval objects with clock-hand tails banking into clouds.
May 8, 2026
Pending
PURSUE Program

AI Disclosure Brief
AI assistedReported Object Read
Prospector F. M. Johnson observed multiple round objects about 30 feet in diameter, oval-shaped tapering to a point, with bright top surface and a tail feature resembling a shifting clock hand, passing low overhead silently at high speed before banking on edge into a cloud.
Notable Characteristics
- Color: bright top surface
- Luminosity: bright
- Size: 30 foot diameter
Reported Motion
- high speed, banking on edge into cloud
Evidence Notes
- Eyewitness account via letter
- Viewed through telescope
- Corroborated timing with Kenneth Arnold sighting
Declassified FBI file captures early flying disc report from prospector claiming detailed observation matching Arnold's timeframe, forwarded by Air Force intelligence for interview; no follow-up results in this section.
Disc
visual, telescope
85%
Prosaic Leads
- Possible influence from Arnold newspaper stories, as noted by Col. Springer
- Unfamiliar aircraft or atmospheric phenomenon misidentified
Anomalous Indicators
- Detailed unique features: clock-hand tail mechanism
- Silent high-speed flight at low altitude
- Telescope observation corroborating solidity
Evidence Gaps
- No FBI interview results from Portland as requested
- No enclosed original Johnson letter image
- Lack of independent corroboration
Evidence Quotes // source statements
Open archive"they were Round about 30 foot in dimater tapering sharply to a point in the head end in an oval shape. with a bright top surface. I did not hear any noise as you would from a plane. But there was an object in the tail end looked like a big hand of a clock shifting from side to side like a big magenet. There speed as far as i know seemed to be greater than anything I ever saw. Last veiw I got of the objects they were standing on edge Banking in a Cloud."
F. M. Johnson, Prospector
Letter to Lt. Col. Donald L. Springer dated August 20, 1947
"Similarity between Arnold's early report and this gentleman's report."
Lt. Col. Donald L. Springer, AC of S, A-2 Intelligence / Fourth Air Force, Hamilton Field
Memo forwarding Johnson's letter, August 25, 1947
Pattern Mesh // linked sightings
No mesh nodes yet. As more vault dumps land, this graph teeth out.
Chronology Trace // before & after
No dated sibling signals are available yet.
Official Files // source material
1 linked65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_3
Declassification authority derived from FBI Automatic Declassification Guide, issued May 24, 2007. 396 (5:31-56) 0062 83894 Class / Case # HO HEADQUARTERS FBI - CENTRAL RECORDS CENTER t of Justice FROM OR ADDED TO THIS FILE) RRP003IXHO 8/11/1274194 3 Vol. 101 Serial # BUREAU FOR OPA JAN 19 1979 BY INVESTIGATION DO NOT DESTROY COPIED FOR FOIPA # 389136 a IPA SERIALS 101-136 R348 PICKETT STREET DO NOT USE CARE IN HANDLING THDESTROY FOIPA # 993087 MAR 1 1978 BY Transfer-Call 421 **** **** 18-1823 *62-HQ-83894-3* SERIALS 101-130 62- HQ-83894 + SECTION 3 SECTION 3 MAY 13 1977 I 130 FOR PA R334 1 Sub + STANDARD FORM NO. 64 Office Memorandum . UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO : Director, FBI HMK II * FROM : SAC, San Francisco SUBJECT: REPORTS OF FLYING DISCS DATE: September 4, 1947 AIRMAIL SPECIAL DEL