FBI FILES: THE STRANGE CASE OF TRUMAN BETHURUM AND THE FLYING SAUCER STORY

Declassified documents reveal how the FBI monitored a 1950s UFO contactee

A UFO Story That Reached the FBI

Declassified documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reveal that agents once examined the claims of a man who said he had encountered beings from flying saucers.

The subject of the file was Truman Bethurum, a truck driver from Redondo Beach, California. In the early 1950s he became widely known in UFO circles after claiming that he had met extraterrestrial visitors and boarded their spacecraft multiple times.

Bethurum’s story circulated through newspapers, UFO magazines, and public lectures. Eventually, reports about his activities reached the FBI through concerned citizens and local contacts.

The Informant Who Alerted Authorities

One key source in the FBI file was Thomas Eickhoff, a Cincinnati resident interested in the subject of flying saucers.

According to the documents, Eickhoff contacted authorities in 1954 after learning about a planned public lecture by Bethurum at Taft Auditorium in Cincinnati. The event advertised a presentation about “the real flying saucer story,” with tickets priced at $2.00.

Eickhoff became suspicious and wanted to determine whether the claims were genuine or part of a public fraud.

He told investigators:

• If Bethurum’s story was true, the information should be widely shared with the public.

• If the story was false, then the event might be an attempt to deceive people for money.

The planned event, he estimated, could draw around 2,000 attendees, generating as much as $4,000 in revenue.

The Alleged Encounter with Space Visitors

The FBI documents reference articles describing Bethurum’s alleged experiences.

According to a magazine called Valor, Bethurum claimed he had encountered a crew of space travelers led by a beautiful female commander while in the Nevada desert.

The article suggested that:

• Bethurum had boarded flying saucers at least eleven times

• The spacecraft visitors were more advanced than humans

• Their mission involved guiding humanity spiritually

Bethurum even reportedly wrote on a magazine page:

“This is a true story, a factual experience.”

UFO Literature and the Growing Movement

The FBI file shows that the UFO debate in the 1950s was already widespread.

Eickhoff told investigators that he had read several books about flying saucers, including:

• Flying Saucers from Outer Space by Donald E. Kehoe

• Flying Saucers Have Landed by George Adamski

Radio commentators such as Walter Winchell and Frank Edwards also discussed UFO sightings, further fueling public interest.

Despite these reports, the U.S. Air Force consistently denied the existence of flying saucers.

A Network of UFO Enthusiasts

The documents also mention several figures connected to the case:

• George Hunt Williamson, an archaeologist and writer

• Frank Manspeaker, linked to the magazine Valor

• Leonard H. Stringfield, associated with a group studying unidentified flying objects

Some UFO researchers believed that flying saucers were interplanetary craft visiting Earth, a theory that circulated among early civilian UFO research groups.

FBI Interest — But No Evidence of Espionage

The FBI reviewed the information primarily to determine whether the activities might involve fraud, espionage, or national security concerns.

However, the documents indicate that investigators treated the case largely as public reports and citizen concerns rather than a confirmed threat.

The file eventually recorded that Bethurum returned to California and that the planned Cincinnati meeting did not develop into a major national event.

A Snapshot of the Early UFO Era

Today, the Bethurum documents provide a fascinating glimpse into the early days of UFO culture in the United States.

During the 1950s:

• Flying saucer sightings were widely reported

• Contactee stories attracted large audiences

• Government agencies quietly monitored unusual claims

While the FBI file does not confirm the existence of extraterrestrial visitors, it reveals how seriously authorities documented the phenomenon during the early Cold War era.

For historians and UFO researchers, the case of Truman Bethurum remains one of many strange episodes preserved in the declassified archives of the U.S. government.