Press Release
1969 UFO sighting at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant just reported to MUFON
Missouri MUFON received a report from a witness who saw a
large UFO over Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in 1969. The witness, who was told to keep quiet about
the event, recently decided to come forward in order to let the public know
that an unidentified object hovered and moved about the plant for two hours in
the middle of the night and was witnessed by at least 13 people.
June 6, 2014 Independence, Missouri
Raymond Griggs, age 22 at the time, was living in
Independence, Missouri and working as a civilian contractor at Lake City. Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a
3,935-acre U.L. government owned, contractor-operated facility located in
eastern Independence near 7 Highway and 28 Highway. The plant manufactures
ammunition for the military for the U.S. Army. In addition, Lake City performs
small caliber ammunition stockpile reliability testing and has ammunition and
weapon testing responsibilities as the NATO National and Regional Test Center.
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| Lake City Army Ammo Plant in Independence, MO |
Raymond worked the night shift from midnight to eight
O’Clock A.M. in the printing shop. On a hot August night in 1969 the
electricity for the entire plant and all buildings suddenly went out, so the
crew of seven in his department went outside to cool down. That is when they
noticed a UFO.
A bright chrome spherical object hovered just over a
building four buildings away from the men’s position. The object then slowly
moved over another building across the road and hovered, then continued to zig-zag
back and forth across the road from building to building for approximately two hours.
The seven men on the crew with Mr. Griggs talked amongst themselves while
watching the UFO. At the same time,
several jeeps with MP’s were driving to and from the area very quickly, which
is something the men had never witnessed before.
The unidentified object then left the area by shooting up
into the sky at a 30 degree angle at an incredible speed. Raymond said that it
was gone in ½ of a second, and that solidified the fact that the men were
looking at a real UFO and not a military craft of any type. Just as the UFO
exited, the electricity came back on.
The next morning, two men arrived at the office that no one
had seen before. One was dressed in a gray suit and the other in black. One of
the men said to everyone “Remember that you have all signed a security
clearance and you did not see anything.” The men then turned and left. They did
not introduce themselves or show any identification. The message was clear, and
Raymond Griggs kept his mouth shut for 45 years. But after seeing an episode of
Hangar 1 in which Missouri was featured as a UFO Hot Spot he decided to come
forward with the story.
Missouri MUFON would like for anyone else present at the
time of the event or family members who heard a witness talk about it to contact
Margie Kay at 816-833-1602 or momufon@missourimufon.org. She will keep witness information
confidential if desired.
Assistant State Director for Missouri MUFON
1134 S Pearl Street
Independence, MO 64050
816-833-1602 (Office M-F 9 - 5 CST, Sat 10 - 3)
816-365-9492 (Cell)
Missouri MUFON
