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FBI file: Kenneth Arnold

Internet Archive (FBI) · 24 pages · text by OCR

This FBI file, a report from the Seattle field office to the FBI Director dated August 1947, covers the Maury Island flying disc story told by Fred Crisman and Harold Dahl. It says Kenneth Arnold looked into the story for Ray Palmer, and that Army Intelligence officers Davidson and Brown died when their B-25 crashed at Kelso carrying the supposed fragments. The FBI found no sign of sabotage. Crisman and Dahl admitted the material had no connection to discs, and the report names Crisman as the most likely anonymous caller.

  • p. 1 …DAHL which subsequently resulted in news stories by the Tacoma Times, the Boise Statesman and the…
  • p. 2 …and 12:00 noon, August 1, 1947 by the Tacoma Times reporter in which the caller…
  • p. 3 …VOGEL stated that since that time he had received repeated requests from the Boise Statesman requesting…
  • p. 4 …He further stated that he advised the Boise Statesman shortly before, or at the time KENNETH…
  • p. 5 …He stated that the Boise Statesman then contacted him, at which time he admitted he had…
  • p. 6 …At this time the caller stated that the B-25 which crashed at Kelso, Washington was…
  • p. 7 …At this time CRISMAN asked if the Seattle Office was investigation the crash of the B…
  • p. 8 …The plane at the time of the crash was carrying Captain DAVIDSON, Lieutenant BROWN, the hitch…
  • p. 9 …By this time SMITH states he had learned from ARNOLD that CRISMAN and DAHL were the…
  • p. 10 …At this time CRISMAN related that he also saw one of the flying discs hovering over…
  • p. 11 …The group then proceeded to the front of the Hotel at which time CRISMAN brought his…
  • p. 12 …SMITH further relates that while the four men were in the room at this time, an…
  • p. 13 …The voice also informed MORRELLO at this time that one of the two persons who had…
  • p. 14 ## August 19, 1947 SMITH and ARNOLD went to the Tacoma Times Office where a reporter met…
  • p. 20 …in Seattle for a very brief time and the second time in Boise, Idaho when I…
  • p. 21 …At this time the object that appeared to be in trouble seemed to throw a lot…
  • p. 22 …At this time I made the statement to Mr. Crismon that I should like to pick…
  • p. 23 …The boat was unserviceable at the time so we went back to the hotel. Mr. Crismon…
  • p. 24 …the conversations that he had had with this anonymous caller. But no opinions at this time…
Mr. Lantz called up and said if I would call him at 8:30 that evening, he would have some additional information for me. I called Mr. Lantz at 8:30 that evening. He told me that this anonymous caller had again called a Mr. Marillo of the United Press and said that one of the parties that Mr. Arnold and I had come down to see was flown to Alaska. Also he made the statement Mr. Smith would be called to Wright Field Tuesday. This anonymous caller made the statement to Mr. Marillo that this B-25 was shot down. Mr. Marillo asked this person calling what his interest was. This anonymous caller made a statement - "Don't think I am doing it for the newspapers. All I am interested in is seeing that this information gets back to New Jersey."

After I finished the conversation with Mr. Lantz, I went over to the United Press and talked with Mr. Marillo and had him read back to me the conversations that he had had with this anonymous caller. But no opinions at this time were voiced either by me or Mr. Marillo.

Sunday morning I called a Major Sander of S-2 McChord Field and asked him to meet me at the Winthrop Hotel at 11 o'clock. I met this Major Sander at 11 o'clock and we drove to a small coffee shop on the Tacoma Highway where this complete story was related to him by me. We then drove back to the Winthrop Hotel where Major Sander was introduced to Mr. Arnold by me and again listened to Mr. Arnold's story. Mr. Arnold and I departed from the Winthrop Hotel Sunday afternoon at approximately 4:30.

This is to certify that the foregoing statement was taken before me, a notary public; that prior to making said statement, the witness was first sworn to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth; that the statement was then reduced to writing and signed by me on the ___ day of August, 1947.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and official seal the day and year last above written.

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Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. The text was read from the page images by an OCR model; expect the odd misread word. 24 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.