Los Molles creek objects, Durazno
In 2012 two campers by the Los Molles creek in Durazno, central Uruguay, filmed and photographed objects in the sky and rejected the Air Force commission's explanation.
2012 CE · -33.05, -56.30 · status: disputed
The account
The Uruguayan Air Force's UFO commission CRIDOVNI examined the material and consulted military radar, which reportedly showed returns that did not match any scheduled or official flight. The witnesses insisted they had not seen aircraft. At the time CRIDOVNI said it had investigated more than 1,200 reports in three decades, of which about 3 per cent stayed unresolved.
The sceptical view
CRIDOVNI's own assessment did not support an anomalous explanation, and unidentified radar returns are common in uncontrolled airspace.
The researched reading
Photos and an unmatched radar return, with the witnesses disputing the official reading. Most likely ordinary objects and routine radar clutter, with a little room left open.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 50% | Objects caught in photos from a campsite are often birds, insects or aircraft not noticed at the time. The Air Force commission investigated and did not support an anomalous origin. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 10% | Radar returns that match no flight are common from birds, weather and anomalous propagation in uncontrolled airspace. They may not be linked to what was filmed. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 10% | CRIDOVNI keeps about 3% of its cases unresolved. Photos plus a radar return give modest room, but the link between them is unproven. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 8% | The witnesses’ certainty that no aircraft were present is a memory claim, and people often miss objects that later appear in photos. |
| Undetermined | 7% | The share the reading had given to fabrication on doubt rather than evidence: the record does not settle it either way. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 5% | There is no evidence of fabrication, but the material was never independently analysed. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 5% | Possible but nothing specific suggests it. |
| Secret human technology | 5% | Unscheduled military or private flights would match unexplained radar returns. |
Official position: Uruguay’s Air Force UFO commission, CRIDOVNI, did not support an anomalous explanation.