◆ SpookStack

PD 62-1531 Chief of Police LEON V. JENKINS advised that he was travelling south on N, Williams Avenue near Russell St., when he and Officer H. S. RANEY, his driver, received a call on the police radio requesting District 14 to attempt to observe an unknown object in the sky reported by officers in District 18. JENKINS observed what appeared to be a round silver object, about 10,000 feet high, travelling northeast to southwest. It was directly to JENKIN's left when observed first. He thought it was a weather balloon. Further observation con- vinced him that it could not be a balloon because of its speed which was extreme- ly great. As JENKINS watched, it turned gradually until it was travelling due south, and as it did so, its shape seemed to change until it appeared to be egg-shaped. It disappeared in about 30 seconds. Patrolman H. S. RANEY stated that when he first observed the object it was straight ahead of him and travelling straight away from his car. RANEY was driving south on N. Williams Avenue. To RANEY it appeared to be just a glare of sun on some object, and he was unable therefore to tell its shape. It appeared to be very high and travelling extremely fast. It was out of sight after he had travelled 4 or 5 city blocks at a speed of about 25 mph. RANEY stated that he has never seen an object at such an extreme height before and that if the sun had not reflected from it he could not have seen it at all. He believes it could possibly have been a reflection from a large airplane at great altitude. ROBERT W. SHAYLOR, 4810 N. Fessenden St., Portland stated that he was on duty in District 14 with Officer DONALD W. COWLING on September 11, 1947 and received the call to watch for the object flying over the city. SHAYLOR and COWLING immediately scanned the sky from a vantage point in open territory where they could see the entire sky. They saw nothing in the sky at that time, SHAYLOR stating that they did not even see any airplanes. A short article in "The Oregonian", Portland daily newspaper, for September 12, 1947, describes the object as seen by Chief of Police JENKINS and also states that "The Oregonian" received several calls from other persons reporting the object. FRED M. WHITE, Assistant City Editor, advised that the paver hes no record of the identities of the people making the calls. 62-1531 LHK:tkw