Police find metal wreckage at the bottom of a cliff but are unable to determine its origin. Lab reports verify that the metal is from a Camaro. Also found are human bone fragments, but not enough to make an identification. DNA samples remain on file to this day.

Although most of the wreckage is found on the ground, the impact seems to have occurred well above the wreckage. Investigators find a crater in the wall of a cliff 150 feet above the roadway.

State police, the county sheriff, and the U.S. Air Force pool investigative resources to solve this strange event. Here’s what they believe happened:

The Camaro driver has somehow obtained a JATO package. JATO stands for "Jet Assisted Take-Off." That’s a rocket used to boost heavy transport planes during take-off on short runways.

The Camaro driver clamps the JATO package to the rear of his car. Out in the Southwestern desert, on a long, flat stretch of road, he drives until the Camero reaches speeds in the seventies. That’s when the driver ignites his JATO package.

The Air Force knows the exact point of JATO ignition because of the scorched spot on the roadway. Within a few seconds the Camaro is running in excess of 200 miles-per-hour. During the next few seconds the tires and the brake linings melt and the Camaro goes airborne.

"At lift-off the Camaro is probably moving at greater than 325 miles-per-hour," authorities say, "but it continues to gain speed until the JATO became exhausted during the next 30 seconds of flight. We are reasonably certain the Camaro achieved an altitude of 150 feet, based on the point of impact on the side of the cliff. The Camero’s speed at the point of contact is estimated to be in excess of 400 miles-per-hour."

None of the fragments contained the vehicle’s identification number. "All we know about the driver," says the sheriff, "is that he was a world-class, speed-freak."