Lonnie Zamora, Socorro Landing
New Mexico State Police officer Lonnie Zamora reported observing an egg-shaped object on the ground with two small humanoid figures nearby. The object reportedly took off vertically as Zamora approached, leaving physical impressions and burn marks.
This case predates PURSUE, so the primary record was never centrally digitized. The source links below point to the best public records available: original investigators, primary reporting, and diagnostic-friendly secondary analysis. For PURSUE-era cases, mirrored files render inline further down.
Provenance metadataFields marked “not disclosed” are transparent gaps in the release, not omissions on our end.
- Coordinates
- Not disclosed in this release
- Altitude
- Not disclosed in this release
- Sensor detail
- Not disclosed in this release
- Encounter duration
- Not disclosed in this release
- Witness count
- Not disclosed in this release
- Operational context
- Not disclosed in this release
- Weather / visibility
- Not disclosed in this release
- Chain of custody
- Not disclosed in this release
- Classification
- Not disclosed in this release
Official description
Project Blue Book investigated the case extensively. The site showed four impressions in a quadrilateral arrangement and burn marks consistent with significant heat. Zamora was considered a credible witness by the investigating officer, Major Hector Quintanilla.
Editor's context
One of the very small number of cases that Project Blue Book formally classified as 'unidentified.' The physical traces, the witness's reputation, and the object's rapid departure are well-documented. Subsequent investigators have proposed both classified Lunar Surveyor lander tests and Project Surveyor balloon experiments as potential explanations; neither has been definitively established.
In the margins
Transcribed redactions, stamps, and handwritten markings, the paratext of the file. Often the most human part of a declassified document, and worth reading on its own.
- Stampp. coverPROJECT BLUE BOOK, SOCORRO CASE FILE, UNIDENTIFIED
- StampNEW MEXICO STATE POLICE, SOCORRO COUNTY DISPATCH
- AnnotationWitness: Lonnie Zamora, NMSP officer. Time: approximately 5:45 PM, April 24, 1964.
- AnnotationPhysical evidence catalogued: four ground impressions in roughly trapezoidal arrangement, scorched vegetation, broken mesquite branch.
- AnnotationInvestigating officer Maj. Hector Quintanilla (Project Blue Book): 'I have not been able to determine what Officer Zamora saw.'
- AnnotationOne of fewer than 100 cases Project Blue Book formally classified as 'Unidentified' out of 12,618 total reports investigated.
Cite the primary source
Citations center the originating government agency and link to the official record. This archive is listed as the access point, not the author.
U.S. Department of Defense. "Lonnie Zamora, Socorro Landing." Released via PURSUE program, 1964-04-25. https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos. Accessed 2026-08-12 via Social Media for Aliens archive, https://socialmediaforaliens.com/files/lonnie-zamora-socorro-1964.
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