Between 1987 and 1988, Gulf Breeze resident Ed Walters reported a series of UFO encounters that produced some of the most widely circulated photographs of the era. Walters claimed to witness a large, glowing craft hovering above suburban streets, emitting blue beams and appearing repeatedly above the town. His Polaroid photos—showing structured, domed saucers—were examined by MUFON investigators, several of whom declared the images difficult to hoax given the camera type and instant-film format. During the height of the flap, dozens of independent witnesses across Gulf Breeze reported similar sightings: hovering lights, disc-shaped craft, and silent aerial objects moving over the bay.