On the afternoon of April 24, 1964, New Mexico State Police Officer Lonnie Zamora was in pursuit of a speeding vehicle on the southern edge of Socorro when he observed what he initially thought was a car accident in a ravine. He broke off the chase and drove toward the site. As he approached, he saw an egg-shaped or oval metallic object resting on the ground in the arroyo, and two small figures in white coveralls standing near it. When he drove closer, the figures appeared to react to his presence and retreated toward the craft. Zamora radioed his position and continued approaching. The object then rose with a loud roar, became silent, and departed rapidly to the southwest. Zamora arrived at the site and observed scorched vegetation and four distinct landing pad impressions pressed into the soil. He also noticed a red insignia on the side of the craft - a shape he drew and reported immediately. New Mexico State Police Sergeant Sam Chavez arrived within minutes and corroborated the physical evidence. Project Blue Book Chief Major Hector Quintanilla and J. Allen Hynek arrived to investigate, as did FBI Agent Arthur Byrnes. Hynek, the Air Force's scientific consultant, described the Socorro case as one of the most perplexing cases Blue Book had ever investigated. Despite extensive investigation, Project Blue Book left the case officially classified as 'Unidentified' - one of the relatively few cases to retain that designation. Zamora was described by all investigators as a credible witness with no history of exaggeration or unusual claims.