U.S. Air Force issues final report on Roswell aliens on June 24, 1997

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - On June 24, 1997, the United States Air Force released its final report on claims that an alien spacecraft crashed near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.

“The Roswell Report: Case Closed” was 231 pages, and the second such report. The first had been issued in 1994. They were both in response to the growing popularity of a theory that aliens had crashed a spaceship outside of Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.

The first 1,000 page report concluded that the U.S. Army Air Force had recovered debris from their balloon research project named MOGUL. It was a top-secret high-altitude project launched from a nearby missile test-site that was designed to detect Soviet nuclear tests.

The 1997 report stated there was no evidence in the Pentagon that alien life had been found in the Roswell area. Sightings of “bodies” were actually weighted dummies used in parachute tests.

While the two reports were supposed to put the conspiracy theories to rest, speculation is still alive on the internet. Roswell continues to play up the UFO image to attract tourists to the region.