The
Falcon Lake Incident occurred on May 20, 1967,
when Stefan Michalak claimed that he encountered a unidentified flying object (UFO)
near Falcon Lake,
Manitoba
, Canada
. He
claimed to have been burned by the craft's exhaust vent, which was
in an ovular grid pattern.
Before The Incident
Michalak
was a resident of Winnipeg, Canada
, but had taken a short vacation in the Whiteshell
Provincial Park
. He was quite familiar with the area, having
prospected there on a number of occasions. He had been told that
there were veins of quartz to be found near Falcon Lake. He was up
early on May 19, leaving the hotel at 5:30 am. Around 9:00 am he
had found a vein of the precious material, around 11:00 am he
stopped for a lunch break, and then he soon resumed his
digging.
The Incident
Shortly after 12:00 noon Michalak’s concentration was disturbed by
a noise similar to
geese’s grunts. When he
looked up, he spotted two cigar-shaped objects, which were red and
brilliant as fire. They were descending at 45 degrees, as
calculated by the witness. He also noticed that the closer they
came the more oval they became.
One of the objects stopped in the air, while the other landed on a
big rock 160 feet away from Michalak. After some moments, the
object floating above Michalak changed its colour to grey, and then
flew directly west, disappearing through the clouds. The landed
object also changed to grey, and then to a colour similar to
incandescent stainless steel.
From the interior opening of the object, some violet light rays
were emitted. As Michalek was using special glasses to examine the
quartz, the rays didn’t affect him. The object had a sulfurous
smell, and a humming noise.
Half an hour passed, and Michalak still was observing the unknown
craft. Suddenly, a door opened and he could see that the interior
of the UFO was very illuminated. He approached some meters and
heard some voices coming from inside the ship.
Believing that the object was an experimental flying object, he
tried to make contact in
English.
As no answers were given, he tried other languages in vain.
Nervous, he walked to the open door, and saw a panel and some
lights inside the ship.
He did not see anybody, so he waited. Suddenly, the door closed.
Despite the surprise, he discovered a colourful glass around the
UFO. It was very well-conserved, with no cracks. He attempted to
touch it, but his glove simply melted, the heat hurting his hand
through the glove's protection.
Quietly, a metallic box full of holes got off the UFO, what seemed
to be a grid-like exhaust vent. A steamy explosion occurred, and
some kind of gas was expelled in his direction. Immediately, his
clothes started to burn. As the object flew after the other one,
Michalak was left behind desperately trying to extinguish the
fire.
After the incident
Once the fire was extinguished, Michalak felt pain and sickness and
noticed a metallic odour from the inside of his body, like the
smell of something electric that is burning. He tried to go to the
motel, but he stopped several times, feeling sick. He was later
treated upon arrival at a
hospital. He
initially claimed the burns were caused by airplane exhaust.
Michalak's family
physician, R.D. Otaway,
reported that Michalak was confused and dazed, but rational. Otaway
further reported hair loss, and a series of raised oval-shaped
sores on Michalak's chest and abdomen in a grid-like pattern,
similar to a
first-degree burn. The
nature of these burns remained difficult to explain.
Health problems plagued Michalak for several months, including lack
of appetite, weight loss, swelling, and fainting spells.
A Mayo Clinic
psychiatrist stated
Michalak was free of "significant mental or emotional
illness."
Michalak died in
1999, age 83.
Investigation of the encounter
By late
June 1967, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) had taken an interest in Michalak's
claims. They could not identify the site on their own, and
on June 1 they brought Michalak with them. However, Michalak could
not locate the site, which raised further doubts regarding his
claim. The RCMP also confirmed that Michalak had consumed multiple
bottles of beer the night before the sighting.
By June 26, Michalak had located the site and recovered personal
belongings he had left there. The RCMP obtained
soil sample from the location, which they
tested for
radioactivity. The tests
were negative.
On July 28, Michalek and RCMP officers together identified a
semicircle on the rock face at the scene, 15 feet in diameter,
where the moss had been somehow removed. There were traces of
radiation in a fault in the rock across
the center of the landing spot. No trace of radiation was found
around the outer perimeter of the circle or in the moss or grass
below the raised portion of the rock.
The radioactive material found in the rock fault was
radium 226, a naturally occurring
isotope in wide commercial use and also found in
nuclear reactor waste. They
concluded that the level of radiation posed no danger to humans in
the area.
The
Canadian Government
identifies the Falcon Lake case as unsolved.
See also
References
- Rutkowski, Chris. Chapter 12: Falcon Lake Incident. The
Canadian UFO Report: The Best Cases Revealed. Dundurn Press
Ltd, 2006. ISBN 1550026216. P.72-93
- Pepall, Graham Edwin. It's about You. Lulu, 2008. ISBN
1847995004. P.50
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