On October 26, 1958 at 10:30 PM, near the Loch Raven Dam, north of Baltimore, Maryland, two men were traveling in a car. As they approached a bridge, they saw what appeared to be a flattened out, egg-shaped object hovering approximately 100-150 feet from the top of the bridge.
Slowing their vehicle to get a better look, they approached to about 75 foot from the bridge. Suddenly, their car went completely dead. The two men stated that it was like they just cut the key off. Nothing electrical worked. The driver attempted to restart the engine, but to no avail.
The object and the malfunction of their vehicle frightened the men to the point that they hid behind their car. They were able to closely watch the UFO for 30-45 seconds. All at once, the object flashed a white light, causing the two witnesses to feel heat on their faces. The flash was accompanied by a loud sound, like thunder.
The UFO now began to slowly rise straight up. It was extremely bright as it did, causing the edge of the object to be fuzzy. Within 5-10 seconds the object was out of sight. The men were then able to restart their car, and rush to the nearest phone to report their sighting. The Ground Observor Corp was contacted first, but did not respond. The men then talked to the Towson Police Department, which sent two patrolmen to the scene.
The two men soon began to experience a burning sensation on their skin, and went to St. Joseph's Hospital in Baltimore for treatment. They were examined, and each man returned to his own home.
Follow-up investigation would reveal some more details of the incident. The bridge was double-arched, about 40 foot tall, and 500 feet long. The distance from the witnesses to the object was estimated at about 3/4 of a mile. Also, there was no unusual atmospheric conditions at the time, and the skies were clear.
Project Blue Book investigated the case, but found no absolute cause for the appearance of the object. The case remains unidentified, although the Air Force did state that the object constituted no security threat to the United States.
The two witnesses would subsequently be identified as Phillip Small and Alvin Cohen.
B J Booth
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