Australia loses UFO documents

CANBERRA, Australia, June 9 (UPI) -- The Australian Department of Defense said most of its files related to unidentified flying objects appear to have been destroyed or lost.

Natalie Carpenter, assistant director of the department's freedom of information office, said in response to a freedom of information request from Fairfax media that officials were only able to locate one UFO file, "Report on UFOs/Strange Occurrences and Phenomena in Woomera," the Canberra Times reported Thursday.

Carpenter said it appears all of the other files have been destroyed, except for one that officials have been unable to find.

"In an effort to retrieve this file, our office conducted searches of the Defense Record Management System, National Archives Australia (Canberra), National Archives Australia (Chester Hill), Defense Archives Queanbeyan and Headquarters Air Command, RAAF Base Glenbrook," Carpenter said. "Despite searching these locations, the files could not be located and Headquarters Air Command formally advised that this file is deemed lost."

Bill Chalker, a UFO researcher previously given access to the files, told the Sydney Morning Herald he last viewed the files at the National Archives only a few months ago.