The article below was published in the newspaper Santa Fe New Mexican, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, page 1, on July 9, 1947.
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Fort worth, Tex., July 9 (AP) -- An examination by the army revealed last night that mysterious object found on a lonely New Mexico ranch was a harmless high-altitude weather balloon - not a ground flying disc.
Excitement was high until Brig. Gen. Roger Ramey, commander of the Eighth air force with headquarters here cleared up the mystery.
The bundle of tinfoil, broken wood beams and rubber remnants of a balloon were sent here yesterday by Army Air transport in the wake of reports that it was a flying disc.
But the general said the objects were the crushed remains of a ray wind [sic Rawin] target used to determine the direction and the velocity of winds at high altitude.
Warrant officer Irving Newton, forecaster at the Army air forces weather station here, said "we use them because they go much higher than the eye can see."
The weather balloon was found several days ago near the center of New Mexico by a rancher, W. W. Brazel. He said he didn't think much about it until he went into Corona, N. M., last Saturday and heard the flying discs reports.
He returned to his ranch, 85 miles northwest of Roswell, and recovered the wreckage of the balloon, which he had placed under some brush.
Then Brazel hurried back to Roswell, where he reported his find to the sheriff's office.
The sheriff called the Roswell Air Field and Maj. Jesse A. Marcel, 509th bomb group intelligence officer, was assigned to the case.
Col. William H. Blanchard, commanding officer of the bomb group, reported the find to General Ramey and the object was flown immediately to the army air field here.
Ramey went on to the air here last night to announce the New Mexico discovery was not a flying disc.
