FBI-UAP-D011, D/FBI Correspondence Referral, 1949
Official description
This collection of documents contains correspondence between the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J. Edgar Hoover, and Rev. Charles Barnes concerning Barnes’ account of an incident potentially involving unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). Rev. Barnes described observing four beams of light “converging in the Cascade Mountains,” at an altitude of approximately 10,000 feet, with a “great explosion” visible at the convergence point of those beams for at least ten minutes. Director Hoover replied to Rev. Barnes thanking him for his letter and informing him that he had forwarded it to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Director Hoover conveyed to the AEC that Rev. Barnes believed that the event may relate to a military or scientific experiment within the commission’s purview.
✦ AI summary
FBI-UAP-D011 is a 4-page piece of FBI correspondence from 1949 (declassified under a 2007 classification guide reference visible on page 1). It centers on a letter dated January 31, 1949, from Rev. Charles C. Barnes, Pastor of a Presbyterian Church (Box 891, likely Roseburg, Oregon), addressed to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Barnes described an observation from the previous May: one afternoon he saw four narrow beams of light in the sky traveling from the northwest to the southeast and converging over the Cascade Mountains; within the four beams, small clouds appeared to form, and where the beams met -- apparently against the mountains -- a "great explosion effect" was visible, lasting at least ten minutes or longer, with the explosion effect occurring at a height of about ten thousand feet. Barnes speculated the sight might relate to pre-war European radio-beam experiments intended to induce rainfall (which he recalled reading about in Science Digest), possibly connected to the Columbia River flood of the prior summer and unusual winter precipitation, and felt the observation should be reported in the interest of national security. He noted personal stakes -- one son in the Air Corps and another working with the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) at Hanford -- and, as a minister, said he had refrained from raising ideas that might incite "warlike attitudes." Pages 3-4 contain a reply letter (heavily degraded by OCR/scan quality) acknowledging receipt of Barnes's letter. This document is less a classic UFO sighting than a citizen report of an unusual atmospheric/light phenomenon interpreted through the lens of contemporary weather-modification experiments.
Generated with AI from the official file — may contain errors.
▸Transcript(4 of 4 pages legible)
[PAGE 1] [Declassification guide reference], issued [date] 2007. Page 1 [PAGE 2] [Header notes: "on information" and "May I add ... seemed to rise to" -- fragmentary] REV. CHARLES C. BARNES, PASTOR Box 391 [sic, likely 891] January 31, 1949 Mr. J. Edgar Hoover Washington D.C. Dear Mr. Hoover: Here is a bit of information which may be of great significance, or may be merely an observation of a scientific experiment. It may be known by military authorities and the A.E.C., or only a few may have seen it and none reported it to the right place. Here it is. Can you pass it to the right persons. Last May one afternoon I saw four beams in the sky passing from the northwest to the southeast and converging in the Cascade mountains. In those four narrow beams small clouds were forming. And where the beams met, apparently against the mountains, a great explosion effect was to be seen. I would say that they were visible for at least 10 minutes or longer. The sight brought to mind an article read before the war about experiments carried on in Europe with various types of radio beams to effect rainfall. I would guess that I had seen the article in the Science Digest. The Columbia River flood of last summer and the unusual precipitation this winter have forced me to feel that this observation of mine should be sent somewhere in the interest of national security. I have one son in the Air Corps and another working with the A.E.C. at Hanford, which causes me to pray for peace, as well as the fact that as a minister I deplore the waste and tragedy of war. That is one reason that I have refrained from passing ideas that might incite warlike attitudes. [Marginal note: these words to paragraph two. The explosion effect a height of about ten thousand feet.] Sincerely, [signature] [PAGE 3] Reverend Charles C. Barnes, [First] Presbyterian Church, Box 891, [Roseburg], Oregon. Dear Mr. Barnes, I have received your letter of Jan[uary] [illegible - heavy OCR noise/reply text largely unrecoverable] [PAGE 4] [illegible - heavy OCR noise, page largely unrecoverable] Page 4
Generated with AI from the official file — may contain errors.
Source: U.S. Department of War / AARO — public domain · war.gov/ufo
