FBIUnknown

Truman Bethurum — Nevada desert flying saucer contact claim — FBI inquiry

~Jun 1954Nevada desert (approx.)

⟳ Deeper read pending. This record is from the FBI 62-HQ-83894 flying-disc file, whose cursive, clippings and faint scans are under-read by automated OCR. It is flagged for a vision-transcription pass and likely undercounts what the source contains — see the documents collection note.

Analysis — our summary

The FBI Cincinnati office investigated the activities of Truman Bethurum, a truck driver from Redondo Beach, California, who claimed to have been aboard flying saucers on eleven occasions and made presentations about his alleged encounters with a spacecraft crew supervised by a 'ravishing woman commandant' in the Nevada desert. An informant, Thomas Eickhoff, brought the matter to the FBI's attention to determine whether Bethurum was committing fraud. The FBI forwarded information to Air Force OSI. Air Force Lt. Col. John O'Mara denied the existence of flying saucers and characterized UFO researcher Donald Keyhoe as a fraud.

As reported — verbatim from the document

“"Truman Bethurum allegedly was aboard flying saucers on eleven occasions"; "an encounter which Truman Bethurum had with a crew of assumed space explorers under the supervision of a ravishing woman commandant in the Nevada desert"”

Analyst notes — caveats & confidence

This is an FBI investigative file on a claimed contactee, not a primary sighting report. Bethurum's claims are extraordinary and unverified. The FBI's interest was primarily the potential fraud angle. No physical evidence described. OCR is moderate quality; some text is partially legible.

Provenance

Source document65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_6.pdf

Document typecorrespondence collection

Reporting agencyFBI

Source pages271

DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)

Held classified~72 years (≥, to this release)

Extraction confidence LowHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.