Socorro UFO Incident — Additional Witnesses

Socorro UFO Incident — Additional Witnesses

Overview

While Lonnie Zamora is the primary witness in the Socorro case, his account is supported by several additional witnesses who independently reported anomalous aerial observations consistent with the departure of the Socorro craft. These additional accounts — from unconnected individuals who had no knowledge of Zamora's experience when they made their reports — constitute an important corroborating layer of evidence.

The Gas Station Tourists

The most significant additional witness report came from tourists who had stopped at the Whiting Bros. gas station north of Socorro on U.S. Highway 85 around the time of the incident. The gas station attendant reported that these tourists:

• Told him they had watched a low-flying object pass over their car as they drove south toward Socorro
• Described the object as moving at high speed and low altitude toward the southwest
• Were confused by what they had seen and asked if anything unusual had happened in the area

The direction (southwest), altitude (low), and timing of this report are consistent with the departing Socorro craft. These witnesses had no knowledge of Zamora's experience and made their report spontaneously to the gas station attendant, who later mentioned it to investigators.

The Opal Grinder Report

Opal Grinder, the proprietor of the Whiting Bros. gas station, specifically told investigators that a visitor at his station around the time of the incident had mentioned seeing an unusual aircraft flying low in the area. Grinder recalled being told the object flew low over the vehicle and was not a conventional aircraft.

This report was included in the Project Blue Book file on the Socorro case and was considered a significant corroborating element.

Dispatch Operator Nep Lopez

Socorro Police dispatcher Nep Lopez received Zamora's radio call during the incident and attempted to follow Zamora's request to look out the window to see if the departing object was visible. Lopez reported he could not see it from the police station but confirmed the clearly agitated and distressed tone of Zamora's radio transmissions — which he described as entirely inconsistent with Zamora's normal professional demeanor.

Sergeant Chavez as Functional Witness

While Chavez did not see the craft itself, his prompt arrival at the scene and his independent confirmation of all physical evidence makes him, functionally, a witness to the immediate physical aftermath of the event. His corroboration of the ground impressions and burned vegetation within minutes of the craft's departure establishes that these were not subsequently created or modified by Zamora.

The Holloman AFB Report

Approximately six days after the Socorro incident — on April 30, 1964 — personnel at Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico reported observing an object similar in appearance to Zamora's description hovering near the base. This report was included in Project Blue Book's files and was noted by investigators as consistent with the Socorro craft — or a similar object — operating in the same general region of New Mexico in the days following April 24.