Alien autopsy exhibit at UFO museum, Roswell, New Mexico, USA. US mortician Glenn Dennis (1925-2015) viewing a museum replica of an alien body. Dennis was on duty the night of the Roswell incident of 2 July 1947 when UFO sightings were reported during a thunderstorm. Next morning a rancher, Mac Brazel, discovered strange wreckage in a field. When the impact site was located, a UFO craft and alien bodies were allegedly found. On 8 July 1947, the Roswell Daily Record announced the capture of a flying saucer. The official statement was that a weather balloon had crashed. Conspiracy theorists believe that the true events were kept secret. There is now a tourist industry in Roswell, which includes an annual UFO festival and the International UFO Museum and Research Center, founded by Dennis. Photographed in 1997.