West of Tucson, May 11, 1975 — A derby-hat-shaped object with blending multicolored lights and two blue disc satellites, observed by the Martinez and Robbins families over a 75-minute pursuit extending 30 miles to Sandario. APRO Bulletin Vol. 23 No. 7.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTING REPORT
On the evening of May 11, 1975, members of two neighboring families in south Tucson observed a multicolored, derby-hat-shaped object accompanied by two smaller blue disc-shaped satellites performing complex aerial maneuvers southwest of the city. A soldier home on leave from Fort Huachuca reported the sighting to Davis-Monthan AFB, which acknowledged the call and dispatched a jet interceptor. The witnesses pursued the formation by car for over thirty miles westward through Ryan Field and Three Points before losing sight of it near Sandario. The total observation lasted seventy-five minutes. The case was published in the APRO Bulletin, Vol. 23 No. 7, with APRO headquartered in Tucson at the time.
Date: May 11, 1975
Sighting Time: 8:15 p.m. MST
Day/Night: Night (sunset on this date in Tucson was approximately 7:10 p.m.; civil twilight ended approximately 7:38 p.m.)
Location: South Tucson, Arizona, with observation extending westward along Valencia Street, Mission Road, Ryan Field, Three Points, and Sandario Road (Pima County)
Urban or Rural: Suburban to rural (observation began in a residential neighborhood and moved into open desert)
No. of Entity(‘s): None observed
Entity Type: Not Applicable
Entity Description: Not Applicable
Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light) — observation began after civil twilight; structural detail observed only through binoculars at distance
Duration: Approximately 1 hour 15 minutes
No. of Object(s): 3 (one primary object plus two smaller satellite objects)
Description of the Object(s): Primary object: derby-hat or dome-shaped, with multicolored lights (red, white, green, yellow, blue, violet) scattered across the curved dome surface, blending from one color to another in random sequence rather than blinking. A thin haze or halo encircled the dome at mid-height, standing off from the surface without touching it. Two satellite objects: flat disc-shaped, dim blue in color, positioned below and to the left of the primary object
Shape of Object(s): Derby-hat / dome shape (primary); flat disc (satellites)
Size of Object(s): Primary object measured approximately 5/8 inch at arm’s length through binoculars (APRO editor noted this measurement was likely through the binoculars rather than unaided, given that binoculars were needed to see detail)
Color of Object(s): Primary: multicolored lights blending in random sequence across the dome. Satellites: dim blue
Distance to Object(s): Initially estimated at 3,000–4,500 feet altitude; apparent distance decreased as witnesses drove toward the object, closing to an estimated half mile at one point before the formation withdrew
Height & Speed: Estimated 3,000–4,500 feet above ground initially. Object moved westward at estimated 80+ mph during withdrawal, outpacing the witnesses’ vehicle. Performed vertical diamond patterns and vertical zigzag maneuvers while maintaining overall westward movement
Number of Witnesses: Multiple — at minimum: Donna and Jim Robbins, Marty Martinez (described as a qualified observer), Ricky Martinez (U.S. Army, Fort Huachuca), Lupita Martinez, two Forren teenage daughters, and additional neighbors at the Forren residence near Ryan Field
Special Features/Characteristics: Multicolored lights blended continuously rather than blinking on and off. A thin haze or halo surrounded the dome at mid-height, maintaining a fixed offset from the surface. The formation performed repeated vertical diamond and zigzag patterns while moving westward. A jet interceptor was dispatched and passed northeast of the object. The object’s lights went out momentarily as the jet approached, then came back on. One satellite object rose past the primary to a position above it; the other rose closer but remained below. The APRO Bulletin noted that this area had been a “hot bed” of UFO reports and that a separate landed-object report with claimed communication occurred just a few miles away and four hours later
Case Status: Unexplained
Source: APRO Bulletin, Vol. 23 No. 7 (May 1975), Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, Tucson, Arizona
Summary/Description: On the evening of May 11, 1975, Marty Martinez and his son Ricky observed a strange multicolored light in the sky to the southwest of their south Tucson neighborhood and called their neighbors, the Robbins family, to observe it. The light displayed continuously blending colors and was estimated at 3,000–4,500 feet altitude. Ricky Martinez, a soldier stationed at Fort Huachuca, called Davis-Monthan AFB to report the sighting; the base acknowledged the report and told him to continue observing. Mrs. Donna Robbins then drove with Martinez and his daughter Lupita along Valencia Street, Mission Road, and westward toward Ryan Field, closing to within an estimated half mile of the object, which resolved through binoculars as a derby-hat-shaped craft with a dome covered in blending colored lights and a detached halo around its midsection. Two smaller blue disc-shaped objects appeared below the primary. A jet interceptor passed northeast of the object, which briefly extinguished its lights. The formation performed repeated vertical diamond and zigzag patterns while withdrawing westward at over 80 mph. The witnesses pursued by car through Three Points, approximately thirty miles west of the starting point, before losing sight of the formation near Sandario. Total observation time was seventy-five minutes.
Related Cases: 1962 Tucson Westmoreland Sighting (APRO) | 1952 Davis-Monthan AFB B-36 Incident
Detailed Report
The observation began at approximately 8:15 p.m. on May 11, 1975, when Marty Martinez and his son Ricky — a soldier home on leave from Fort Huachuca — noticed a strange light in the sky to the southwest of their south Tucson neighborhood. Martinez, described in the APRO report as a qualified observer (the nature of this qualification is not specified), estimated the object’s altitude at 3,000 to 4,500 feet above the ground. The light was flashing through a sequence of colors — red, white, green, yellow, blue, and violet — in no fixed pattern and with no regular interval, the colors blending from one to the next rather than switching on and off.
Martinez called his neighbors, Donna and Jim Robbins, who lived approximately five doors away, and suggested they observe the light. Ricky Martinez went inside and called Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to report the sighting. The base told him to continue watching and report back. They also told him not to try to chase the object, as the roads would be blocked — though when the witnesses later drove toward the object, they found no road blockages.
Mrs. Robbins, determined to get a closer look, picked up Marty Martinez and his daughter Lupita in her car and drove south on Interstate 19 to Valencia Street, then west on Valencia to Mission Road. From their initial position, the object had appeared stationary; now, approximately two miles from their starting point, it seemed to be only about half a mile away. They noticed it had begun to move slowly westward.
They continued driving, turning from Valencia onto Mark Road and pulling in to Mossman to use a telephone. Martinez, observing through binoculars, could now see the object clearly and described it as bright and derby-hat-shaped with a dome covered in the blending multicolored lights. The dome was encircled at approximately mid-height by a thin haze or halo that stood off from the surface without touching it, maintaining its position relative to the craft throughout the observation.
At this point Martinez noticed a smaller point of light below the bright object, and a second one to the left and higher than the first. Both satellite objects were flat disc-shapes of a dim blue color. The APRO Bulletin editor noted that Martinez’s measurement of the primary object at 5/8 inch at arm’s length was likely taken through the binoculars rather than with the naked eye, given that binoculars were required to see structural detail.
The primary object then began executing a series of maneuvers: first tracing a vertical diamond pattern, then a vertical zigzag pattern moving westward, retracing the same zigzag eastward, performing the diamond pattern again, and repeating the sequence. Throughout these maneuvers the entire formation continued moving westward at what the witnesses estimated was over 80 miles per hour, gradually pulling away from their vehicle.
A jet interceptor aircraft appeared and passed northeast of the object. As the jet approached, the object’s lights went out momentarily, then came back on and the object began moving westward more rapidly. The witnesses continued driving west on Valencia toward Ryan Field. During this phase, one of the satellite objects rose past the primary to a position above it, while the second rose closer to the primary but remained below.
The party stopped at the home of Mrs. Dolly Forren near Ryan Field to recruit additional witnesses. The Forrens were not home, but their two teenage daughters and a couple of neighbors came out to observe the formation, which was still visible and performing the same maneuver patterns. The witnesses then continued west in their car, pursuing the object through Three Points — approximately 12 to 13 miles beyond Ryan Field — and maintaining visual contact for another 8 to 9 minutes as the formation withdrew westward. They finally lost sight of it near Sandario.
The total viewing time was one hour and fifteen minutes. The observation covered a driving distance of roughly thirty miles from south Tucson to Sandario Road, across terrain that the APRO Bulletin described as having been a longstanding concentration area for UFO reports. The APRO report noted that a separate sighting of a landed object, observed by several people over approximately three hours with claimed communication between a witness and the object, occurred just a few miles from the location where the witnesses lost sight of the formation and began just four hours later. The connection between the two events, if any, was not established in the published report.
Researcher’s Notes
The Martinez-Robbins Sighting — Tucson 1975 and the APRO Backyard
- Source Chain and Investigative Context: This case was published in the APRO Bulletin, Vol. 23 No. 7 (May 1975), while APRO was headquartered in Tucson — making this another case investigated on APRO’s home turf, as with the 1962 Westmoreland sighting thirteen years earlier. The report is detailed, names multiple witnesses across two families plus additional neighbors, and includes specific geographic references (Valencia Street, Mission Road, Mark Road, Mossman, Ryan Field, Three Points, Sandario) that are verifiable against Tucson-area geography. The APRO editor’s inline correction of the angular-size measurement demonstrates active editorial review rather than passive transcription. The credited source is the APRO Bulletin directly — this is not a secondhand retelling.
- Hynek Reclassification: The original page classified this as DD (Daylight Disc). On May 11, 1975, sunset in Tucson occurred at approximately 7:10 p.m. and civil twilight ended at approximately 7:38 p.m. The sighting began at 8:15 p.m. — thirty-seven minutes after the end of civil twilight. This was a nighttime observation by any standard definition. The correct classification is NL (Nocturnal Light). The structural detail observed through binoculars (dome shape, halo, satellite objects) is noteworthy but does not change the classification, which is based on ambient lighting conditions.
- Military Response: Two military installations figure in this report. Ricky Martinez, a soldier on leave from Fort Huachuca (approximately 70 miles southeast of Tucson), called Davis-Monthan AFB to report the sighting. Davis-Monthan acknowledged the report, instructed Martinez to continue observing and report back, and reportedly told him the roads would be blocked — though the witnesses found no road blockages when they drove toward the object. A jet interceptor was observed passing northeast of the object. The object’s lights extinguished briefly as the jet approached, then resumed. These details suggest the report was taken seriously enough to generate some level of military response, though the extent of that response beyond a single jet pass is not documented in the APRO report.
- The Formation Behavior and Mundane Candidates: The reported maneuver pattern — repeated vertical diamond and zigzag sequences while maintaining consistent westward movement — is not consistent with any single conventional source. A high-altitude aircraft or helicopter would not produce blending multicolored lights across a dome surface, nor would it perform the described oscillation patterns. Advertising aircraft (skywriting, banner towing) do not operate at night with the described characteristics. The two satellite objects, flat disc-shaped and dim blue, appearing and repositioning independently of the primary, further complicate any single-source explanation. The estimated speed of over 80 mph during withdrawal is well within conventional aircraft capability, but the formation’s behavior during the earlier stationary and maneuvering phases does not match fixed-wing or rotary-wing flight profiles. The seventy-five-minute duration across multiple witness groups and a thirty-mile pursuit corridor substantially strengthens the observation. This case remains unexplained.
The Martinez-Robbins sighting joins the 1962 Westmoreland case in the small inventory of extended, multi-witness Tucson-area observations investigated directly by APRO on their home ground. The named witnesses, the military notification, the jet intercept, and the geographic specificity of the pursuit route place this case on firm evidentiary footing. The formation withdrew westward toward the Baboquivari range and was last tracked near Sandario — and the archive notes that the sky over this same stretch of desert had more to show, just four hours later.
