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Case File

Las Vegas Backyard Encounter (2023, Nevada)

Las Vegas Backyard Encounter (2023, Nevada)
A bright object crossed the Las Vegas sky and was recorded on police bodycam the same night

Overview

Late night April 30–May 1, 2023, a Las Vegas Metro PD (LVMPD) officer’s bodycam caught a bright green object streaking overhead. ~40 minutes later, a nearby family called 911, reporting a crash and “8–10 foot, not human” beings in their backyard. Officers responded, searched the property, and later placed temporary cameras—then closed the case as unfounded after finding no evidence. National outlets amplified the story; a year later, a forensic video examiner claimed the family’s backyard clip is “authentic” (i.e., not edited), which keeps debate alive without proving what it shows. New York Post+3ABC7 Los Angeles+3Spokesman-Review+3

Timeline

  • 11:50 p.m., Apr 30, 2023 — LVMPD bodycam records a bright object streaking across the sky over Las Vegas; 20+ public reports to the American Meteor Society were logged across the region that night. Spokesman-Review+1
  • ~12:29 a.m., May 1 — Family calls 911: they felt an impact, saw “a big object” and two beings “100% not human.” Officers respond and canvass the yard; nothing conclusive found. ABC7 Los Angeles
  • Mid-June 2023 — LVMPD confirms cameras were temporarily installed at the property following the report; later removed. Case remains closed as unfounded. ABC11 Raleigh-Durham
  • May 2024 — Evidence examiner Scott Roder says the backyard clip shows “real-world” motion consistent with two beings and is not digitally altered; critics note the claim doesn’t identify the subject or rule out mundane causes. New York Post

Primary sources

  • Bodycam + 911 audio coverage showing the streak and dispatch: ABC7/LA Times syndication. ABC7 Los Angeles
  • Bodycam streak segment (KLAS/8 News Now package). YouTube
  • Follow-up: police camera placement & removal (ABC11/KABC). ABC11 Raleigh-Durham
  • Expert “authenticity” claim (article summarizing Roder’s analysis). New York Post

Claims and counterclaims

Claim: A craft (seen as a green fireball) crashed, and very tall beings entered the yard.
Counter: Police found no physical trace; case closed “unfounded.” Many reports match a meteor/bolide timeline; the 911 call followed the streak by ~40 minutes, which weakens a direct “crash” link. Spokesman-Review+1

Claim: Forensic review shows the backyard video is “authentic.”
Counter: “Authentic video” ≠ exotic content. Not being edited doesn’t tell you what is in frame. Without controlled lighting, geometry, or multi-camera sync, pareidolia and compression artifacts remain live issues. New York Post

Claim: Police installing cameras implies a serious, non-hoax event.
Counter: It shows LVMPD took the report seriously in real time; it does not validate the presence of beings. The department later removed equipment and closed the case. ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

Credibility meter (1–5)

  • Witnesses: 3 — Numerous public reports of the streak; one family for the “beings.” Spokesman-Review
  • Physical evidence: 1 — No debris, prints, or verified trace on-site; case closed unfounded. ABC7 Los Angeles
  • Documentation: 4 — Bodycam, 911 audio, police statements, and extensive media coverage. ABC7 Los Angeles+1
  • Expert review: 2–3 — One forensic “authenticity” claim vs. strong mundane alternatives (meteor + misperception). New York Post

Overall: ~2.7 (high documentation, low corroboration for “beings”)

Red flags

  • Time gap between sky streak and yard encounter. Spokesman-Review
  • Single-location, single-camera context for the “creature” visuals; no multi-angle confirmation. New York Post

What we know

  • A bright object crossed the Las Vegas sky and was recorded on police bodycam.
  • A family reported “non-human” beings; police found nothing and closed the case as unfounded; cameras were briefly deployed then removed. Spokesman-Review+2ABC7 Los Angeles+2

Unknowns

  • Whether the backyard clip shows an actual subject or artifacts/lighting illusions.
  • If the sky event and the yard report are causally related or just coincident in time. Spokesman-Review

What If…?

Non-human visitation hypotheses (clearly speculative):

  • Probe drop-in: A small, low-signature probe accompanied a bolide passage (or used it as cover), briefly occupying the yard before evading. Predicts coherent motion against stationary references across frames.
  • Active camouflage entity: A field-based camouflage could distort edge contrast and produce “there/not there” silhouettes on low-bit-rate video. Predicts non-specular motion boundaries rather than flashlight-style glare.
  • Behavioral test: Slow approach, minimal interaction, and a quick exit—designed to study human response without leaving hard trace. Predicts zero thermal residue, no prints, and clean RF environment.

These ideas are not supported by released police evidence; they’re prompts for falsifiable checks (multi-angle replication, light/perspective tests).

Where to dig next

  • Geometry + lighting replication: Recreate the yard scene (same camera model/focal length) to test whether flashlight glints, lens smudges, or compression artifacts can mimic the observed shapes.
  • Time-sync the night: Align bodycam timestamp, meteor reports, 911 call, and neighbor cams (if any) to check causal linkage. Spokesman-Review
  • Open peer review: Publish frame-accurate overlays of the claimed “head”/“shoulder” features and solicit independent analyses from VFX, forensics, and photogrammetry folks. New York Post

Receipts

💡
Bottom line- A dramatic meteor/bolide was real; the “beings” remain uncorroborated. This is a modern, media-native case: great documentation of the sky event, thin receipts for the yard encounter. Treat it as a testbed for video-forensics best practices.

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