CIA Unable to Locate Requested UFO Research Document

The CIA's response highlights the difficulties in obtaining full text versions of UFO-related documents, emphasizing the reliance on existing copies in the Electronic Reading Room.

Published

September 16, 2026

Declassified

Date not listed

Source agency

The Black Vault (FOIA archive)

ciaufofoiaunablelocateresearch

CIA Fails to Locate Full UFO Research Text

The Central Review that began with a request submitted on 24 January 2019 under Executive Order 13526. The requester sought a full text copy of a document identified in the request as DCD Case (Deleted) — UFO Research (Deleted), Document Number (FOIA) IESDN (CREST): 0000015235. The Agency's answer, dated 13 January 2022 and signed by Information and Privacy Coordinator Mark Lilly, states that a thorough and diligent search was conducted in an effort to locate a full text version of the document but was unsuccessful.

The practical result is that no complete text was produced. According to the letter, the best copy available is the one the requester had already located on the Electronic Reading Room. The Agency further advised that although its searches were reasonably calculated to locate the relevant document, and that it is highly unlikely that repeating those searches would change the result, the requester nevertheless retains…

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Based on the official release at https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/cia-loses-1976-document-detailing-physical-evidence-relating-to-ufo-phenomena/

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