The McMinnville UFO Incident Photos (1950)
The McMinnville UFO Photos refer to a series of photographs taken by Paul and Evelyn Trent on their farm in McMinnville, Oregon, on May 11, 1950. The photos are considered some of the most compelling and credible evidence of UFO sightings to date, and have been the subject of numerous investigations, debates, and conspiracy theories.
The incident began when Paul Trent, a farmer, noticed a strange metallic object hovering in the sky above his farm. He called out to his wife, Evelyn, who also saw the object and suggested they take photographs. The Trents took two photos of the object before it disappeared from view. The photographs show a silver, disc-shaped object with a raised center and a dark spot in the center of the raised portion. The object appears to be hovering in the sky, with no visible means of propulsion.
The Trents later took the photographs to the local newspaper, the McMinnville Telephone-Register, where they were published on the front page of the May 12, 1950, edition. The photographs quickly gained national attention and were picked up by other newspapers and magazines. The incident became known as the “McMinnville UFO sighting” and is considered one of the most well-documented and convincing cases of a UFO sighting.
The photographs have been analyzed by numerous experts over the years, and the overwhelming majority of analysts have concluded that they are authentic. The photos have been subject to intense scrutiny, including analysis of the physical properties of the film and the size and distance of the object in the photos. Despite this scrutiny, the photos remain unexplained, and the object in the photos remains a mystery.
Numerous books and articles have been written about the McMinnville UFO Photos over the years. One of the most well-known is “The UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence” by Peter Sturrock, which includes an analysis of the McMinnville photos. In the book, Sturrock concludes that the photos are “genuine and unexplainable.”
Another book, “The Oregon UFO Display: A Chronology of Extraterrestrial Activity in the Pacific Northwest” by Michael D. Swords, includes a detailed analysis of the McMinnville sighting and its place in the history of UFO sightings in the Pacific Northwest. Swords concludes that the photographs are “one of the best photographic cases on record.”
One unique detail about the incident is that the Trents did not seek publicity or financial gain from the photographs. They did not sell the rights to the photographs and did not participate in any media interviews. Instead, they simply wanted to document what they saw and share the photographs with the local newspaper.
