McMinnville Trent UFO Photographs

On the evening of May 11, 1950, around 7:30–7:45 p.m., Evelyn Trent was feeding animals on their farm near McMinnville when she spotted a bright, metallic, disc-shaped object moving slowly across the sky. She alerted her husband Paul, who retrieved his Kodak camera from the house. Paul took two photographs in quick succession as the object hovered and then moved away. The images show a bright, silvery, disc-like craft with a dome or turret against the background of their farm, telephone wires, and barn. The next day the Trents showed the photos to a local banker, who took them to the newspaper. The story went national via the AP and was featured in LIFE magazine. Extensive photographic analysis by researchers including William Hartmann for the Condon Committee concluded the images were consistent with a large, distant, metallic object and difficult to fake with 1950 technology. The Trents passed polygraph tests and maintained their account without seeking financial gain. The case remains one of the most scrutinized and credible photographic UFO records.