UFO Sightings in Idaho
Declassified UAP files, famous historical sightings, and primary-source documentation for Idaho.
Idaho appears in the Pentagon's PURSUE Release 01 catalog through a 1950 FBI regional office memorandum (DOC-014, PURSUE-010) in which the Idaho FBI office expressed formal concern that unexplained UFO sightings could cause "hysteria, or panic" among the public. The memo is one of the earliest known instances of the FBI formally acknowledging UFO reports as a public-safety consideration rather than a fringe topic. Idaho's broader UAP record is shaped by its proximity to the Mountain Home Air Force Base, the Idaho National Laboratory (formerly the Idaho Engineering Lab — a nuclear research facility with a long history of unexplained sightings), and the open desert ranges of the Snake River Plain. Multiple PURSUE "Western US (undisclosed)" entries from 2023-2025 plausibly include Idaho locations.
“Hysteria, or panic.”
PURSUE Release 01 entries from Idaho
- Idaho — c.1950 (PURSUE-010 · CORROBORATED · Federal Bureau of Investigation)FBI regional office concerned unexplained sightings could cause 'hysteria, or panic'.
Famous historical sightings in Idaho
Idaho FBI memo (1950)
Idaho regional FBI office memo expressed concern that unexplained sightings could cause "hysteria, or panic" among the population. Released with redactions in PURSUE Release 01 as DOC-014.
Idaho National Laboratory anomalies (various)
Multiple unconfirmed UAP reports near the Idaho National Laboratory and the Snake River Plain test ranges. None individually in PURSUE, but referenced in broader AARO documentation.