Investigations of Pre-1960 Sightings (Last Update=5/25/06)
Investigations of 1960's Sightings (Last Update=5/25/06)
Investigations of 1970's Sightings (Last Update=5/25/06)
Investigations of 1980's Sightings (Last Update=5/25/06)
Investigations of 1990-1994 Sightings (Last Update=5/25/06)
Investigations of Pre-1960 Sightings
Radar/visual from the NICAP files: Wisconsin/Minnesota Radar Visual July 28, 1952
This Intelligence Report had come from an Air Defense Command unit near
Osceola, Wisconsin. It was dated July 28, 1952.
About 2:30 A.M., GCI radar had picked up several UFO's. As in the
Washington Airport sightings, the first tracked speeds contrasted strangely
with the later maneuvers. Most of the UFOs were idling along at 60 m.p.h.
until jet interceptors took off. Shortly after this, one object's speed
jumped to more than 600 miles an hour.
When the nearest pilot reached 25,000 feet, he spied several rapidly moving
lights east of St. Paul, Minnesota. The UFOs coincided with the track which
GCI had given him. At the same time they were also sighted by a plane
spotter of the Ground Observer Corps.
At Osceola some one had tentatively suggested a meteor shower, obviously
without knowing of the tracked speeds. But an astronomer at the Washington
Naval Observatory later reported this was impossible. Even the 600
mile-an-hour speed recorded would be entirely too slow for a meteor, and
the original reports of 60 made it ridiculous. The sighting remained
unsolved.
***
Investigations of 1960's Sightings
MA1/CE1: Distant approaching object with maneuver within 1000 feet
Investigator: Craig R. Lang, FI Coord., and Fran Sullivan, FI
Date/Time of Sighting: TBD Date in August of 1965 [Note: may have been 1966]
duration: (approx) 6 min total
Place of Sighting: Wadena, MN
Local Evaluation: MA1/CE1, Unexplained.
Sighting Background
The witness contacted MN MUFON by e-mail to report the indicated sighting. We
(CL and FS) then contacted and interviewed him regarding this sighting. At that time,
he described this, and several other sightings. Other sightings will be described in
possible future reports.
Witness Descriptions:
The witness is a 47 year old (at the time of the interview) male. The witness is an
electrical engineer, partially retired, and working as an independent consultant. At the
time of the sighting, his vision was good, and he did not wear glasses [he has
occasionally worn glasses since approximately age 12/13]. He does not have
colorblindness. He indicates that his health and hearing are good. He has had at least
one additional UFO sighting in addition to the one in this report, but has experienced
no other paranormal or close encounter activity to the best of our knowledge.
Sighting Account
At approximately 5PM, shortly before their mother was to leave for work, the witness
(age 9 at the time) and his sister (age 7) were in the back yard of their family’s home.
The witness looked to the ENE, as his attention was caught by a metallic reflection
in the distance. He observed a silvery object, about 15 degrees above the horizon,
which he initially thought was an airplane. He observed that it was traveling in a
direction which would approximately approach their location. As he/they watched,
the object approached to about ½ of its original distance. At that point he observed
that it was actually a silver colored disk. [He indicates that there was no mistaking
the shape]. He also observed that the object seemed to move more slowly than
would an airplane.
He estimates that the distance at its closest point was about 500 feet, with an
elevation of 500 feet, and thus an angle of elevation of 45 degrees. He noted that
it was close enough for both of them to see it in detail. He estimates that the object
was moving at about 35 miles per hour. He yelled to his mother that there was a
“flying saucer outside”. She looked out the window, but did not see the object [CL
Note: we subsequently learned that she was in the bathroom preparing to go to work,
She attempted to see the object but her glasses had fogged and she was unable to
get a good look until too late. At that time, she was unable to see it in the trees.]
Object Description:
The object was described as being a lenticular disk of reflective metallic color.
There appeared to be no features on the surface of the object – no visible marks,
windows, etc. [Note: His sister indicated to him that she thought it had had a
possible white/fluorescent glow to it.]
Figure 1: witness sketch of object as seen at closest approach
Object Motion: The motion of the object was described as a smooth – not erratic –
arc over a nearby pasture and swamp.
Figure 2: Diagram of local area showing path of UFO at closest approach
The motion of the object was described as being from the NNE, arcing to the south.
It subsequently changed directions to an east-to-west motion, where it passed to
their north at closest approach. The object then moved off to the west as a steady
pace, disappearing behind a nearby railroad bed which was somewhat elevated
above the witness’s location, and which was approximately one mile away.
Figure 3: Regional map showing probable path of object.
The witness estimates that they observed the object for two minutes during the
approach, and about four minutes as it passed by them and receded.
Additional Witnesses:
The two people to witness the object were the primary/reporting witness and his
sister. The primary witness indicates that he has discussed the event with her, but
that her reaction to it is somewhat hostile, possibly one of fear. The witness
requested that we not contact her.
Additional Note: The witness indicated that he subsequently learned from a friend
that another person had observed a landed disk approximately one mile from the
sighting location. However, no details were available, so no followup was possible
on this “rumor”. [This note is included so that subsequent investigation may be
able to locate this or other possible witnesses.]
Weather Conditions:
Partly cloudy, warm, mild breeze. Wind from west (approx) - object was thus
moving against the wind. Note: exact date is not known. Thus no weather details
are available from WX service.
Natural and Artificial Phenomena Check:
No known natural phenomenon would account for the described sighting. It is
possible that the distant portion of the sighting could be accounted for by an aircraft.
However the object description during the closer portion of the sighting would not
be explainable in this way. Thus, this object appears to be an unknown.
Other Possibilities and Considerations:
The prospect must be seriously considered that this was a genuine anomaly. In
addition, if the possibility of a landed object being seen at approximately that time
can be tracked down and corroborated, this could become part of a larger multiple
witness/event sighting.
It should also be noted that this sighting occurred when the witnesses were quite
young. Thus their memories of the event may have become less accurate over the
extended period of time from the sighting until this report.
Sighting Evaluation: MA1/CE1 – unexplained.
Sighting Report: 1965 Wadena MA1
***
April 22, 1966 UFO/ET Initial UFO Report from Bagley, Minnesota
References in the UFO Literature (Websites):
"Apr. 22, 1966 Bagley (Minnesota). Several people were said to have
observed an object fly at low altitude and land outside
Bagley. Four dwarfs seemed to make repairs, then the
craft flew away." (Ray Palmer, Flying Saucers, Mar., 67)
http://www.ufoinfo.com/magonia/part9.shtml
"Apr. 22, 1966 - An orange sphere was seen flying over the coast at Figueira
da Foz, Portugal at nine p.m. local time. At 3:30 p.m. CDT--within an hour
of the sighting in Portugal--a flying saucer flew down the main street of
Bagley, Minnesota at a low altitude, jumped over a school bus and landed on
the outskirts of town. Four beings of small stature got out of the UFO,
seemed to do some work on it, got back in and then took off. (Sources:
Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos case investigation files; David F. Webb & Ted
Bloecher, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports, case 1966-18; Ray Palmer,
Flying Saucers, March 1967, p. 24; Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database
1966)." http://www.ufocat.com/on_this_day/April22.html
A man we will call "Rocky" has provided Minnesota MUFON with some additional
information on this case. Rocky provided a written account as well as a verbal
account, which are summarized below:
Rocky said that on April 22, 1966 he was brought aboard the craft and, after a trip
to Russia, he was flying the craft described above, at the time it flew down the main
street of Bagley. Bagley was his hometown. He was 15 years old at the time. His
memory of his part in this event was triggered by reading an account of the Bagley
sighting years later.
He does not remember how the craft arrived, what he was doing at the time, or
how he went aboard the craft. Since April 22, 1966 was a Friday, he presumably
should have had school that day. He believes he would have stayed home sick
that day, and would like to check his school records.
When he boarded the craft, he was directed to lie down in a small compartment
and place his head beneath some coils. Suddenly, he was one with the ship, and
could control it with his mind. He could see 360 degrees in all directions. He had
to concentrate his attention in one direction at a time.
Rocky wrote: "There was no pilot seat, buttons, or any visible controls, or portals
to see out. The center of the craft was an empty space allowing access to
horizontal receptacles (inside the wall of the ship), which are the only life
support on the ship. Once inside, the ship telepathically connects to your
mind, your body becomes the ship, and the ship becomes an extension of your
mind. Visually everything 360 degrees around the ship is part of your
vision, you have to focus your mind up, down, forward to see in one
direction. You can reach out with your arms to feel anything outside the
craft (you can reach out to planets and feel them). To move you only have
to think it, in any direction. I also remember learning to land from space
on a planet."
First he was flown to Russia, where it was night. The craft stopped above an
unoccupied section of a large city; looking at the atlas after the fact he believes it
most likely was Moscow. He does not think the craft landed. Instead he thinks he
was beamed down and later back up in a light beam. In Russia, he writes, "A
person like me showed me how to end the nightmares I had from age 3."
Then he was given complete control of the craft to fly back to Bagley. He
recognized the Great Lakes as he flew over them. He flew the craft, at only a
few feet of altitude, down the main street of Bagley, and jumped it over the bus,
which he recalls was stopped at a railroad track, because he wanted someone
to see the craft; he knew he would forget the experience otherwise. He then
landed the craft on the outskirts of town. He slipped out into the grass while the
grays pretended to do repairs and got away without being seen.
He wrote, "This is the day I started a forest fire. [The purpose of the
forest fire was to provide a memory to which he could tie the contact
experience, so that he wouldn't forget. -WIM] The fire did no real damage, a
crew of forest [fire] fighters just happened by."
The craft was seen by a large number of citizens. Rocky writes: "I have
checked Bagleys' paper for 2 weeks after, nothing. But my wife is from Fosston,
Minnesota near Bagley and she does remember hearing something about it.
Next time I am up there I will check the Fosston paper."Rocky states: "The ship
had no time to make me forget, but did come back to finish its job. It may not
have come back for a few days; whatever was done to me in Russia to end my
nightmares did not happen the first night, it was at least 3 nights [later]. I know
the exact step I took when I forgot, the ship was not visible to me. I was getting
the cows."
"The strange part of flying their craft was I knew how to without them telling me,
I just had to overcome my fear of doing it." The grays onboard were all drones,
he wrote, controlled by the ship. here are chambers on the ship to make
"clones" of the ETs. The ship is intelligent. The ETs are the ship's servants.
William I. McNeff
MUFON Field Investigator
***
Date of Sighting: September, 1968
Place of Sighting: Duluth, MN
Type of Report: MA1
Date of Report: 13 Oct, 1997
Investigator: Craig Lang - Field Investigator, MN MUFON
Local Evaluation: MA1, unexplained, normal significance
Sighting Background
On August 10 of 1997, I was interviewed on the radio talk show "The Eclipse"
on the radio station WEBC in Duluth, MN. About a week after the show, the
witness called me at work to tell me that he had heard me on the air. He
had gotten in contact with the field investigator in Duluth, who took his
sighting report and directed him to me. I interviewed him over the phone
and then mailed him a MUFON form1. He filled it out and returned it to me.
I have not conducted an on-site investigation at this time. However, Steve
Hero, the MUFON field investigator in Duluth, MN may wish to follow up on
this case if he feels the situation warrants.
Witness Description
The witness is a 38 year old male. He worked in security and surveillance
at a casino in the Duluth area. He has had two years of college with a
major in criminal justice, and has had special training in military police
and medic skills. He describes his vision as 20/20 and is not colorblind.
He does not require eyeglasses. He indicates that his health and hearing
are both good. At the time of the sighting the witness's age was 10 years.
His health, vision and hearing at the time of the sighting were all good
and were apparently unaffected in any way by the sighting.
Sighting Account
As a child, the witness and his family lived on the hills over Duluth, MN
(Note: His address at the time of the sighting was 525 E. 3rd St. in
Duluth. The house is no longer there). The location looked south over the
south end of Lake Superior and St. Louis Bay. At about 10:00 AM CDT, his
father called his attention to the object. The witnesses watched the object
from the second floor of the house, observing it through binoculars for
part of the time.
To the naked eye, the object was very bright, and looked like a welding
light as seen from a distance. Through binoculars, the witnesses could
see that the object (see sketch of object) was brownish orange in color,
with a bright halo [not sure of color] surrounding it. The witness
indicated that the light from the object did not vary.
Drawing of object.
The object was in the south-southeastern sky, about two hand-widths (not
very far) above the skyline. (Note, the skyline is wooded, the southern
shore Lake Superior and St. Louis bay (see skyline sketch).
It moved slightly to the south and west, but with frequent erratic direction
changes (course described as "triangular"). Between direction changes, the
path appeared to be smooth. The object did not appear traverse much of the
sky, but appeared to be travelling generally away from the witnesses. Both
witnesses watched the object for approximately 1/2 hour until eventually
losing sight of it (for reasons he can no longer remember).
Sketch of object & skyline.
Additional Witnesses:
No other witnesses are known. The witness's father, who also saw the object,
is now no longer living.
Weather Conditions:
The witness stated that the weather was sunny. Due to the inexact date of the
report, the actual weather conditions are not known.
Natural Phenomena Check:
No known natural phenomenon would explain this sighting.
Manmade Phenomena Check:
The typical "null" hypothesis would be that the object was an airplane. However,
the witness stated that the object had a very erratic pattern, uncharacteristic
of aircraft.
Sighting Evaluation:
Type: MA1
Evaluation: Unexplained
Significance: Ordinary
***
Date of Sighting: July 4, 1969
Time of Sighting: 10:30PM CDT +/- 30 Min
Duration: about 2 to 3 Seconds (maximum)
Investigator: Craig R. Lang, Field Investigator, MN MUFON
Place of Sighting: Eau Claire, WI, "Automemories" Speedway [Note: no longer
in business],
Type of Report: CE3
Local Evaluation: Unexplained - Moderate Significance
Sighting Account:
The witness was accompanying her father to a stock car race on July 4th, 1969.
At the moment (about 10:30PM), she was sitting by herself on the top bench of
the bleachers and got the feeling that something or somebody was watching
her. Looking to her right, she observed the object depicted below:
Witness sketch [annotated by CL] showing object and entities as seen by her.
She felt that the object was about 1000 feet away, at an elevation of about
100 feet. It had a diameter of about 30 feet. She observed the object
momentarily. She indicates that there were several entities in the window,
but was unable to see how many, or note any details in her short glimpse of
the object. She felt the impression that they were not specifically observing
her, but that they were watching the crowd in general (perhaps, she felt, with
"amusement"). The entities were only visible as brief silhouettes.
The following is a sketch map of the sighting area, indicating the witness'
location and direction to the object:
Witness sketch [Annotated by CL] showing map of sighting area.
She indicates that after seeing the object, she looked away in disbelief.
When she looked back [in a couple of seconds], the object was gone. She
indicates that she did not inform anyone of this sighting. There were no
observed discontinuities in events. Thus the witness does not feel that
there was any missing time.
Additional Witnesses:
The witness indicates that, although the park was crowded, apparently no
additional people sighted the object. CL Note: This is noteable, in that a
large anomalous object was apparently visible to the witness, while the rest
of those present do not observe it. However, the short duration of the
apparent event suggests that probably no other people saw the object. If
this phenomenon occurred objectively as described, it's manner of appearance
and disappearance greatly increases the "strangeness" level of the event.
Natural and Manmade Phenomena Check:
A helicopter or other manmade hovering craft could be considered as a
possibility. However the momentary sighting and disappearance would not be
characteristic of such a manmade craft. In summary, I can think of no
phenomena, either natural or manmade would appear to be able to account for
this event. Due to time elapsed since the event, it is now difficult to
evaluate possible explanations. However, we are continuing to investigate
possible alternatives.
Other Possibilities:
The witness indicates that she was checked for epilepsy as part of psychiatric
treatment, later on in her life. She indicates that the result of this check
was negative. Thus some form of epileptic event would be ruled out as the
cause of this anomaly.
Sighting Evaluation:
Type: CE3 - Possible high strangeness level due to proximity/behavior of
object and possible interaction with witness.
Evaluation: Unexplained
Significance: Moderate. Note: If other witnesses to this event could be
found, the significance would become high.
Return to Witness' Main Report
***
Sighting Report: Itasca State Park Bright Disk Shaped Object
Landed - July, 1969
Field Investigator: Casey Holt - MN MUFON
Date of Sighting: July 1969, Estimated day - Sunday
Time of Sighting: 2:30 AM
Location of Sighting: A rented cabin just outside and across
the street from the Northern edge of Itasca State Park, Itasca
County, Minnesota, USA
Date of Sighting Report: November 7, 1997
Witness Description:
The Witness is Doris Blixreed, a 71 year old high school graduate
with good vision, good hearing, and good health. She also has a
good memory of the sighting account. She is married and has a
daughter.
Sighting Background:
The sighting was brought to my attention by the witness's daughter
Kathy during a MUFON meeting in early 1997. I gave her a MUFON
Form 1 to have her mother fill out which she did on May 3rd, 1997.
I called Doris and her husband John on November 7th, 1997 to get
additional information. I also called Kathy the same day to see
what she remembered.
Sighting Account:
The witness was on vacation with her husband, her 10 year old
daughter, her daughter's friend and a cousin. There were 5 or
6 people staying in the cabin they rented. They picked up the
cousin on the way there. The cabin was located just outside the
Northern edge of Itasca State Park and had a swimming pool. There
was a house nearby with a telephone pole in the yard where the
object was seen.
The witness was coming back from the bathroom about 2:30 AM when
everybody else was sleeping. She saw something bright out the
window. It was sitting down on the ground by the telephone pole
near the house next door about a block away. She thought it was
about a little smaller than a small car, maybe 4 feet high and 8
to 10 feet wide. She saw it for about 10 seconds and described
it as bright, bright, bright. She saw what looked like windows
and thought there must be a door to allow the occupants to get
in and out. She was somewhat frightened and said to her husband,
"I see something out there that looks real bright". Her husband
turned over and went to sleep like he didn't believe her.
The next day the witness remembers packing up and leaving. She
was hesitant to go out by the landing site because she thought
the occupants might still be around.
Additional Witnesses:
When I talked to Kathy who is the daughter of the witness she
faintly remembered her mother and father talking to the manager
outside the next day. She thought they were talking about her
mother's sighting during the previous night and checking around
the yard. She said that she was sleeping during the night when
the sighting occurred.
When I talked to John, the husband of the witness he verified
that the location of the cabin was on the Northern edge of Itasca
State Park. He did not remember anything of the sighting because
he was apparently sleeping at the time.
Another possible witness would be anybody present at the house
next door at the time of the sighting or afterwards who may have
noticed possible landing traces near the telephone pole outside.
As yet no attempt to locate such a person was made by the
investigator.
Natural and Man-Made Object Check:
The object described as being very brightly lit does not sound
like any naturally occuring phenomena like a fire or burning meteor.
The description of the windows and disk shape would indicate an
object artificially constructed but not like an airplane, helicopter,
or some kind of motor vehicle. The object seen was apparently of
unknown origin and not explainable as a conventional type of craft.
This could represent some significant form of technology.
***
Investigations of 1970's Sightings
Sighting Report: Possible NL/MA1 -- Observed June, 1976
Type of Report: Maneuver of the 1st kind (MA1), Nocturnal Light (NL)
Date of Report: 15 April 1996
Date of Sighting: (Date unknown but approx 15/June/1976)
Place of Sighting: Clark Lake, Door County, WI, USA
From: Craig R. Lang, Field Investigator Trainee
Sighting Background
The witness is a co-worker of mine (a computer engineer). During casual
conversation, I mentioned that I was associated with MUFON, and was
involved in investigating UFO sightings. The witness immediately informed
me that he had observed a UFO 20 years ago. He then volunteered a brief
description of the event detailed in this report. I gave him a copy of
MUFON form 1 and asked him to fill it out with the details of his
sighting. The next day, he returned the largely competed form.
After reviewing the form, I asked followup questions and filled in the
remaining details.
Sighting Account
It was an absolutely clear June Night, at approximate time of 22:00
CDT. The witness (age 15 at the time of the sighting) was reclining on
the dock of a cabin on Clark lake, in Door County, WI. He was
stargazing, with his head facing to the north, when he noticed a moving
starlike light travelling approximately from North to South. The object
was approximately 35 degrees north of the zenith when he noticed it.
It caught his attention due to its motion being somewhat too fast for a
satellite. Its magnitude was approximately equal to that of the star Polaris.
The object passed approximately 10 degrees to the east of the zenith,
remaining approximately constant in brightness. At about this point, it
abruptly turned approximately 110 degrees and "shot" off to the
east-north-east. The turn was described as being "instantaneous". On
its departure phase, the object was described by the witness as
appearing somewhat like a shooting star, disappearing rapidly from view.
The initial leg of its path lasted about 4 to 5 seconds, and the
departure phase lasted approximately 1 second or less. The witness was
not clear how far across the sky it had travelled as it disappeared froview.
When asked, the witness was absolutely sure that the object on both leg
of the apparent flight path was the same.
Additional Witnesses: None
Natural and Manmade Phenomena Check:
The initial north-south leg of the objects path suggests that it might
have been a military satellite. The departing leg suggests that of a
meteor. Thus, it is possible (but unlikely) that this object could have
been a coincidental sequence of a military satellite on a north-south
transit. In this scenario, the apparent turn could have been the result
of a shooting star occurring at the time, and beginning at the same
location, in which the satellite was crossing the terminator.
Other Possibilities:
The object was some form of high altitude maneuver of conventional
aircraft. While the witness describes the turn as sharp, there could be
enough inaccuracy over 20 years of memory, and due to verbal
description, that the turn could have been executed by some high
performance aircraft. The witness insists however, that the turn was
"sharp" and that this explanation is not correct.
Sighting Evaluation:
NL/MA1 - Unexplained.
While a possible explanation is given above, it is deemed unlikely by
both the witness and myself. Thus the sighting must be classified as
unexplained.
***
Large initially-landed object, ascending maneuvers and flyby at approximately 1000ft
Investigator: Craig R. Lang, CHt - Field Investigator, MN MFUON
Date of Sighting: Sometime during late summer, 1978
Time of Sighting: Approximately 2:00 AM CDT, for unknown duration (est: 45 minutes)
Place of Sighting: North of Minot, ND - about 10 miles SSE of Minot AFB
Local Evaluation: CE1, unexplained
Date of Report: 12/11/1999
Sighting Background:
The witness contacted MN MUFON via the webpage, indicating that he had seen a UFO many
years ago, that he had been previously unable to tell anyone about (He felt that no one would
believe him). Since the witness indicated that he was willing to undergo hypnosis, the
Minnesota MUFON webmaster forwarded the e-mail to me for followup. I then contacted him
and interviewed him.
Witness Description:
The witness is a 41 year old male (was age 19 at the time of the sighting). He indicates
that at the time of the sighting his health was good, his vision was 20/20, and his hearing
was excellent. He indicates that his health was not apparently affected by the sighting.
He has a high school education, plus three years of college. He is currently studying for
his certificate in computer networking. He indicates that he has had no other well defined
sightings, but has had one or more other possible events which may be UFO or paranormal
related.
Sighting Account:
The witness was bicycling from Minot, ND, to his residence near Glenburn, ND, approx.
20 miles north of Minot, near Minot AFB. He was travelling northbound on a side road,
parallel to, and one mile east of, US Hwy 83.
Figure 1: Regional map showing sighting location approx 10 mi SSW of Minot AFB.
At a location less than 10 SSE of the air base, he stopped to rest. At that time, he noticed
a light in a farm field to the east of his location (Facing east, it would have been in the
11:00 position).
Figure 2: Witness sketch (North is to the left) showing location and flight path of object.
The witness indicated that he initially thought the object resembled a yard light. For some
reason the light captured and held his attention. He stared at it, mesmerized, for many
minutes (CL Note: not sure of exact duration), until he noted that the object was apparently
rising. This further aroused his curiosity. As it clearly began to rise, the object
suddenly was surrounded a ring of about 10 dim yellow lights which appeared to be on an
apparent "rim". The object arose slowly to a (witness estimated) elevation of 1000 feet.
The object then moved slowly to the WNW at a speed which the witness estimated to be
that of a slow motor vehicle but that he felt he could not have kept up with on his bicycle.
(CL Note: estimated speed would thus be about 15 to 20 MPH). It passed to his north, then
doubled back, in a banking turn northward, which continued into a 180+ degree turn moving
back toward the witness (see witness sketch map above). It continued to move toward the
witness for an undetermined amount of time, but at about the same speed. It had not yet
reached the witness when it then made another banking turn to the north, of approximately
180 degrees, doubling back to its original northeasterly directionof travel. It then rapidly
accelerated out of sight, ascending at approximately 45 degrees to the NW (in the direction
of Minot AFB) and out of sight "in an instant".
As the object passed closest to the witness, he observed it to have an angular diameter
approximately 1.5 times that of the length of his hand when held at arms length. The angle of
elevation was about 45 degrees, and the direction wasnearly due north. At this point, the
witness indicates that his "hair stood on end". At this point, also, a pair of bright white
"headlights" came on, which remained pointed continuously in the direction of travel (see sketch).
The witness noted that the object maintained the same elevation at all times, with the
possible exception of when it was in the process of banking. All motions were smooth.
The object did not appear to rotate or wobble, and seemed to maintain a steady, level flight.
Figure 3: Witness sketch of object showing ring of lights (top sketch), and headlights
(bottom sketch). Top sketch indicates witness bottom angular view to object, affording
limited view of possible upper structure.
The object had a non-rotating rim, containing approximately 10 dim yellow lights, plus the
two bright "headlights". He was able to notice a possible darker structure associated with
the lights, including a possible dome on the top of the object.
The witness also noted that there was absolutely no sound from the craft at any time. He
could not remember, however, if the normal background sounds were present (CL Note:
checking for "Oz factor"). He also did not note any other sensations or impressions from
the object, save for the initial feeling of mesmerization when he initially saw it.
He did not note the time, so it is not known if any time gap occurred during the sighting.
However, the witness has indicated the suspicion that additional events may have occurred
during the sighting, which he does not remember. Thus he has offered to undergo hypnotic
regression to help explore this possibility.
Additional Witnesses:
None are known.
Note: The object might have been visible from US Hwy 83, and from Grand Forks AFB during
its departure. These are areas of possible investigation by local/regional investigators.
Weather Conditions:
Unknown - Witness described it as a hot still summer night. Witness sky described as clear
and cloudless.
Natural Phenomena Check:
No known natural events would appear to explain the events the witness described.
Manmade Phenomena Check:
The possibility must be considered of some type military aircraft. However, the described
behavior does not seem to be compatible with any known aircraft.
Analysis:
Based upon the witness estimate of distance at its closest approach, and the angular
elevation, we can estimate the size of the object as follows:
The witness angular estimate of 45 degrees at closest approach, coupled with his estimate
of 1000 feet in elevation gives a distance of approximately 1000 feet as well. For purposes of
this analysis, we will take the radial distance to approximately 1400 feet.
Object Size:
The witness indicated that his outstretched hand at arm's length would cover approximately
2/3 of the object. Thus the object would be 1.5 hand lengths long. Taking a hand length to
be approximately 5 inches, and an arm's length to be approximately 25 inches we can
calculate a diameter to distance ratio as follows: 1.5 (5 inches / 25 inches) = 0.3.
Thus, if the object was 1400 feet away, it would have had a diameter of 1400 ft X 0.3 =
approximately 420 feet (CL Note: a very large object).
Other Possibilities:
The witness described an initial "captivation" as he first noticed the "yard light", and a
sense that there might be more to the event. Thus the possibility that additional events
might have taken place is suggested, but not clearly established. He has indicated
interest in undergoing a hypnotic regression to explore this possibility.
Sighting Evaluation:
Classification: CE1
Evaluation: Unexplained
Note: Since the sighting is 21 years old, very little investigative followup work can be done.
However, due to the proximity of this sighting to Minot AFB, this report might well be brought
to the attention of UFO researchers specializing in the study UFO events associated with
military bases.
***
Date of Sighting: Sept. 15 , 1978
Time of Sighting: Dusk, approximately 7:30 to 8:30 PM CDT
Place of Sighting: Spring Lake Park, MN
Local Evaluation: Unexplained, multiple witness - investigation ongoing
Type of Report: CE1 - large object at treetop level
Date of Report: 14 March, 1998
Investigators: Casey Holt and Craig Lang, Field Investigators, MN MUFON
Sighting Background:
Casey Holt and Craig Lang had been investigating several sighting events which
have occurred in the fall of 1978 and/or 1979. In the process of this series of
investigations, Casey was put in contact with the primary witness, who is a
acquaintance of MN MUFON field investigator Robert Engberg. Casey then contacted
the principal witness by phone and took a report, filling out a preliminary Form 1.
Casey and Craig then arranged to interview the primary witness, who provided a
detailed description of the sighting and the names of many of the other witnesses.
Craig then contacted those remaining witnesses who were willing to make a detailed
report, and obtained form1 reports from some of them.
This report is based upon the personal interviews with three of the witnesses (a
total of two form1's), plus the telephone interviews of two additional witnesses
who did not feel that they remembered enough to make a full report. This report
should be considered preliminary. We are continuing to seek additional witnesses
to this event, and we believe it may be related to other CE1 reports from
approximately that time frame. Any further information will be included in a
subsequent report.
Witness Description:
This object was seen by a minimum of approximately 10 other people, of which we have
located and interviewed five, and have obtained form1 reports from three. The
object was seen by the primary witness, several of his children, and friends of
theirs, at the witness's home. Several other neighbors also watched the object
for an extended period of time. We are currently attempting to talk with several
of these other neighbors. In addition, a mother and son driving on nearby 85th Ave.
NE, in Spring Lake Park, MN also saw the object.
The primary witness is a retired sign painter. At the time of the sighting he was
46 years of age. His children ranged in age from approximate ages of 4 to 12 at the
time of the sighting. The two sons who filled out a form1 are a painter and a cabinet
maker, both working for the same company. All witnesses describe their health as good.
The primary witness describes his vision as correctable to 20/20 with glasses, and
the sons described their vision as 20/20. The hearing of all witnesses whom we
talked to was indicated as good to excellent. The primary witness indicates that he
has had other sightings in the past (in the 1950's), and is interested in the UFO
phenomenon. None of the other witnesses, interviewed to date, have indicated that
they had other sightings.
Sighting Account:
The primary witness and at least one of his sons were in the house watching a boxing
match (note: the date and time of the sighting were established by finding the
specific match). While they were watching the match, the primary witness's daughter
ran in the front door, saying that there was "a flying saucer over the house". The
primary witness and his son went outside to see it - observing that this was indeed
what she had seen. [In addition, several other neighbors were standing outside
watching the object.]
The object was described as a large (approximately 40 ft) silver/gray lenticular
shaped disk, with dome. (see sketch). There were a large number of lights or
"windows" on the edge [CL Note: The witnesses disagreed as to whether the lights
were on the rim, or the base of the dome]. It travelled at an extremely slow pace
(a maximum of "walking speed") from west to east, roughly in parallel with County
Rd. J. All witnesses indicated that they immediately knew "it was a flying saucer".
When first seen, and brought to the attention of the primary witness, the object
was over the house. As the witnesses watched, the object moved slowly to the east,
passing over the tree tops across the street.
The following are sketches by the primary witness and two of his sons, who made full
reports of the sighting:
Drawing of object, sketched by father [annotations by CL]
Drawing of object, by one son, and corroborated by another [annotations by CL]
All witnesses observed that the object rotated counterclockwise (as viewed from
the top). The two sons indicated that they heard a faint humming sound. The father
indicates that he also heard a mechanical "rolling" and metallic "clunk" sound, which
occurred once each rotation of the object.
During this time (probably late into the sighting) a mother and son, who were friends
of the primary witness family, were driving eastbound on 85th Ave. NE (also called
County Rd. J), within two blocks of the witness' house. The mother and son both
noticed the object [CL Note: It is not clear who first saw it ]. They initially
observed the object in the southeast corner of 85th Ave. NE and Westwood Rd. At first
they thought that it might be a blimp, but as they looked again, the son felt that
this was not the case, that it's round shape did not resemble a blimp at all. The
son described the object to be round or oval, with 8 to 12 yellow lights visible on
the rim, rotating from right to left. He felt that it was about twice the size of
his hand at arm's length.
They pulled the car onto the right shoulder of 85th Ave. NE to observe it, watching
it about 100 yards away, slightly to the south of due East. The son felt that it
was about three to four times its height above the tree line, or approximately 100
feet above the ground. He had to look up at a high angle to see the object through
the windshield. He described the motion as smooth, slow and stable. He noticed
no sound or any other unusual effects. They watched it briefly (for a few minutes),
and then continued on toward home, a couple of blocks away. [CL Note: Neither of
these witnesses felt that they could remember enough detail to file a full report.
Thus, no Form 1 was obtained from them.]
The following figure shows the probable location and path of the object, as
reconstructed from the witness descriptions of its motion.
Map of area showing probable location and path of object. [Annotations by CL]
Additional Witnesses:
There are five known witnesses, of which three, the primary witness and his two
sons, gave written (Form1) reports. In addition, two more were contacted by
telephone, but did not feel that they remembered the incident well enough to
give full reports. The total number of witnesses is estimated to be about 10.
We are currently attempting to locate and interview some of these remaining people.
Weather Conditions:
Unknown. Several witnesses indicated that it was clear and cool that day.
The sighting occurred at dusk, thus the light levels were diminishing at the time
of the sighting.
Natural Phenomena Check:
No known natural phenomena would account for these observations.
Manmade Phenomena Check:
The possibility that the object was a blimp must be considered. However, several
of the witnesses described the object as being distinctly lenticular-disk shape,
with a rotation rate of somewhat less than once per second. This configuration
does not match any known blimp. Furthermore, the witness descriptions of the
size, elevation, and motion suggest that it was at most one block away from the
witnesses in the car on 85th St, and that it passed directly overhead of the
primary witness family. The sound of blimp steering engines are relatively loud,
and would not correspond to the witness' descriptions of at most a faint humming
sound (or a periodic metallic "clank"). Thus, the apparent close proximity of the
object argues against an explanation of the sighting as the misidentification of
a blimp.
Other Possibilities:
This sighting event may correlate with one or more additional CE1 events which
occurred in the late 1970's, in the approximately the same location. These include
the "Silver Lake Rd. CE1" (Log#971129cC), which probably occurred in Autumn of
1978, in which a woman followed a similarly described object in her car, as it
travelled North parallel to I35W and Silver Lake Rd. In addition, the "Freeway
MA1" case (Log# 971129hC) may have occurred in approximately that time frame [CL
Note: The date was originally estimated to be Fall of 1979, with a high degree
of uncertainty], in which an object was observed to hover and maneuver in the
Southeast quadrant of the I35W/I694 interchange. We are currently seeking other
witnesses to any/all of these events.
Sighting Evaluation:
Classification- CE1
Local Evaluation- Unexplained
Significance- Intermediate to High, due to the large number of witnesses.
Significance will be high if we can correlate this sighting to any of the other
events which may have occurred in that time frame.
***
ENCOUNTER WITH STRANGE BEINGS NEAR DULUTH, MN, AUG. 7, 1979
William I. McNeff
The witness was referred to me by her cousin, a former missionary, who is a friend of mine and
of my wife. Our friend vouched for the honesty of the witness. Our friend and her husband told
me that the details of her account never varied over the years. I can confirm the consistency
between my interview of the witness and her journal account of 1979. The witness is retired.
At the time of the encounter, the witness ("Liz") was about 50 years old and employed by a well-
known company. A group of her coworkers were planning to hold an evening bridal shower for
another coworker at their manager's home at Caribou Lake. The witness' house had needed
painting so she and her husband had taken a week of vacation time to work on the project. The
weather during the day was "perfect" and after hours of work she picked up a coworker "Ruth"
and they drove to the shower at Caribou Lake. Liz recorded the details in a journal the next day.
She wrote "…the shower was very nice. Sue (the bride to be) was so cute and excited. I love
coffee but because it was a warm summer night most of us drank lemon aid."
Liz and Ruth left the party at about 9:10 PM. She continues: "It was dark enough by this time
that I drove with the lights on from the lake to the black top Munger Shaw road, stopped at the
crossroad by the Caribou Lake school. We both noticed three figures zig-zagging over the center
line straight ahead – in my judgement maybe ½ mile. Ruth said, "What in the world is going on
down there?" I said "It looks like three little ones on bikes but they'd better move cause here I
come." Stepping on the gas I switched the low to high beams and they did not get off the road.
As we came upon them, one [and then apparently the other] just zoomed (did not walk) off to the
left – across the ditch and as I switched to the low beam I had one dead center with the right
front headlight. We both kept saying "My God what is it?" A huge head, no hair, no ears, huge
eyes set in deep hollows, wrinkles or folds but no protruding nose, a small slit for a mouth."
(When interviewed, the witness said, "They looked so odd, almost a luminous grey. I could not
see clothes. They had arms; I didn't notice the fingers. The arms were in proportion to the rest
of the body.…He had a huge head at least 18 to 20 inches across, with huge eyes 2-1/2 to 3
inches.") The dash lights went out as soon as I stopped and with no streetlights (being out in the
country) our eyes were glued on the colorless clay-looking creature with black like eyes larger
than a chicken egg. Ruth was scrambling to find the door lock in the dark, with both of us
babbling in fear. We knew we could not hit the "being" and the thought of backing up never
occurred to us. After about 8 to 10 minutes, I decided to put the car in gear and cramp the
wheels to the left and see if the movement would alert "it" into moving. This was to no avail.
All I could think of was hopefully another car would come from either direction, no luck. At this
point I told my friend we should very slowly move ahead & try to clear it. She said, "Yes, lets
get out of here!"
"We managed to bypass it but in doing so, it naturally stood closer to her side of the car and
when it got along side of the right lower windshield, she couldn't stand it. She yelled and
quickly moved almost on top of me.
"When I was sure we had it cleared I took off fast and being so upset I took a wrong turn down
the old road in total darkness. I knew immediately the mistake as we could see the cars going by
on the main highway. In haste I ground a few gears to find reverse and got to the stop sign by
the highway. Now a car had approached the stop coming from the same area we had left and
took off (to their right). We looked at them carefully, hoping it was some of our friends from the
shower." But they were not, and there are no other known Minnesota reports for that night.
They continued on their way home, discussing the encounter "furiously". They could not come
up with an answer as to what this being was, but decided it was not a human, not an animal, not a
trick or masked being. They thought of the possibility of "an outer space being" but agreed they
didn't know anything about them and had doubted their existence. Ruth was very happy to see
her home and saying, "I'll talk to you at work", hurriedly entered the house. Liz found out later
that Ruth's husband ridiculed her story.
Liz also was most anxious to get home and scrambled fearfully into the house. There she found
that after a hot long day of painting her husband had showered and gone to bed. She writes, "My
niece had dropped in to visit and needed a ride home (approx. 3 miles). I couldn't convince my
husband to get up and go with me so I agreed to take her. I couldn't think of anything except this
horrible experience and related the whole thing to Jean (my niece) and in turn she was almost
afraid to get out of the car and go to her apartment."
"When I came home to a quiet house and prepared for bed, I fell apart. I cried and begged my
husband to wake up and listen to me. I had to tell him and it couldn't wait till tomorrow as he
requested. He did listen but could offer no comforting solution as to what we had seen. He did
say 'Why didn't you hit it and throw it in the trunk and it could have been analyzed.'"
She told her children the next day about the encounter. Also, she and Ruth both told the office
crew, who suggested they report it to the authorities. They, however, did not; they had a fear of
reporting it more widely and possibly being laughed at or considered mentally ill.
The witness writes, "It was the most terrifying experience either one of us had gone thru." When
on occasion she meets her co-witness, they mention the event but do not discuss it. Her co-
witness does not want to think about the event and refused my request for an interview. She did
not rule this out completely for some time in the future, however.
The dash lights, which had gone off when they stopped for the creature, remained inoperative.
The witness' husband was a mechanic, but he couldn't make the dash lights work again. They
took it to another mechanic's garage (Johnson's Auto Electric) and they couldn't fix the lights
either. The cause of the failure is not known; presumably, if it had been discovered, the light
system could have been repaired. Why only the dash lights failed, and none of the rest of the
electrical system, is an interesting question. No craft, which might have contained mechanisms to
cause the dash light failure, was observed. The fact of the irreparable dash lights adds to the
women's credibility. The detail of the creatures "floating", "zigzagging", and "zooming" rather
than walking or running, while seeming fantastic to persons unfamiliar with accounts of ETs, is a
fairly common occurrence in accounts of the beings associated with UFOs. This investigator can
construct no null hypotheses that can account for the facts, other than that of simultaneous
hallucinations and coincidental failure of the dash lights. The probability of this is obviously
infinitesimal.
The prime witness, although she had gone semi-public at the time of the event, understandably
does not want any additional publicity at this time. She is in her 70s and experiencing medical
problems.
Both women were and are married and had responsible jobs. They reported their experience, in
spite of perceived risks to their reputations, to coworkers and relatives. The prime witness must
be rated high in credibility and in accuracy of recollection. The beings she reported seeing must
be considered to be definitely unidentified. This experience was the apparent beginning of a
wave of UFO reports that continued for the rest of 1979.
ESTIMATING THE HEIGHT AND SIZE OF THE CREATURES
The creatures were short. They were initially mistaken for children and called "little ones",
meaning children, by the prime witness. "Their heads were right above the headlights."
Measurements on my 1999 Honda give 36" from the pavement to the bottom of the driver's side
window and a little over 48" from the pavement to the top of the window. Assuming the Buick
Century had fairly similar measurements, it is estimated that the tops of the headlights on the car
that the witness drove were about 32" above the pavement (see picture). The reaction of the
passenger when the car pulled alongside the being indicates that the face of the being was visible
in the side window. All of this taken together indicates that the creatures were around four feet
tall, which is the height that I have drawn the figures. The witness said the head was at least 18"
to 20" wide. Therefor the head is drawn about 19" wide. Based on the witness' sketch it would
be about 21" from tip of chin to top of head. It is possible that the head was large enough that it
seemed to the witness even larger than it was. The head seems quite out of proportion to the rest
of the body, but similar sketches and descriptions come to mind. The witness said the arms were
proportional to the rest of the body, that is, roughly human proportions.
The overall impression is of a creature that is quite "cerebral".
***
Date of Sighting: A Wednesday evening in late October or early November, 1978
(NOTE: We now suspect this may have ocurred in 1979.)
Location of Sighting: New Brighton, MN, Silver Lake Rd, between I694 and US Hwy10.
Type of Report: CE1 - Object observed in apparent close proximity to witness.
Date of Report: 5 Jan 1997
Investigator: Craig R. Lang, Field Investigator - Minnesota MUFON.
Local Evaluation: Possible CE1, Unexplained, High Significance
(Note: This is a preliminary report, the investigation is ongoing.)
Witness Description:
The witness is a 58 year old homemaker. She has three children and seven grandchildren.
Her children were teen-aged at the time of the sighting, and are
now grown.
Sighting Account:
It was an evening in late October or early November 1978, not long before Thanksgiving
and the holidays. The time was just after dinner. The witness'husband was in the church
choir and had just left for their Wednesday evening practice (He left for church at
approximately 7:30 to 7:45 PM). At 7:45 PM she went to Lund's (Silver Lake Rd in New
Brighton, MN) to pick up a few grocery items.
As she departed Lund's into the parking lot, she looked up (she is a "skygazer" and
says that she is always looking up). To her surprise, she saw a large object to her right
just above the trees and parking lot lights. She continued to walk to her car (which was
parked within 1/2 block of the door) carrying her groceries. Once she had reached her
car, she again looked at the object. [CL Note: The viewing angles to the object are
different, establishing its apparent location.]
The object appeared to be hovering motionless over the bank parking lot. She
described it as looking like a "cross between a donut and a battleship" with glowing
lights around it. She felt that the lights were not windows, just diffuse - glowing lights
of a whitish/yellow color. ( The lights were somewhat indistinct and she is not sure
how many there were.) In shape, the object resembled a half-squashed blob [CL
Note: an oblate spheroid]. She could not see through it. There were no perceptible
surface features. It seemed to be about 60 feet across (about the size of a house,
or two to three full sized trees).
The direction of the object was to the Northwest, appearing to be over [in direction
of] the Bank parking lot, to the near side of Palmer Drive. It appeared to be low, just
above the lights, about 100 +/-50 feet up, and seemed to her to be about 100 to
200 feet away. There was no apparent sound from the object. There also did not
appear to be any unusual sensations or effects, such as heat.
There were very few people in the parking lot at that time - she remembers about a
dozen or so cars. Few people were apparently coming/going at the time. (Note: In
retrospect she does not know why she didn't draw anyone else's attention to the
object). She remembers being transfixed by the object, continuing to stare at it.
She also remembers that she was aware of what she was doing - but it was
different from normal fascination - compelling.
Initially, the object continued to hover over the parking lot. However, as she got
into her car she noticed some perceptible motion. The object had started "floating"
northwards in a smooth motion (with no apparent wobble).
She started the car and drove out of the parking lot via the entrance on the North
side [Note: She does not remember seeing the object as she exited the lot]. She
turned north (right) on Silver Lake Road, and headed for home. However, once
on the way home, "something took over" and she resolved not to let the object
out of her sight. She went around the block (left on 20th St. and Left on Rice
Creek Rd.) and got back onto Silver Lake Rd (Northbound). When she got
onto Silver Lake Rd, the object was still in sight. It appeared to be floating to
the north of her, somewhat to the right of the road, not much above the treetops.
It still appeared to be moving slowly but steadily northward, still with no apparent
sound.
She estimates that the car was moving about 30 to 40 MPH. She kept the
object in sight, apparently at a similar angle, throughout the trip up Silver Lake Rd.
The object was always to the right, ahead, but not very far. It appeared to be
above the trees but not over the road. She felt that she was more nearly
underneath object as travelled up Silver Lake Rd. Its appearance was steady
as it travelled north. She thought that there possibly were some lights as it
travelled, but that the lights were less distinct. The object size seemed huge,
12+ inches at arms length. She listened and again noted that there was no
sound. When she stopped at one of several stop signs on Silver Lake Rd.
she could see the object continue to move slowly northward, at a constant
pace.
When she reached the stop light at Hwy 10, she had to stop at the red light.
While she was sitting at the light, the object shot away "like a streak of
lightning" - off to the northeast. In an instant it was completely gone. [CL
Note: She was very specific that it didn't just dissolve, clearly she saw it
shoot rapidly away to North-Northeast.]
She turned car around and headed back down Silver Lake Rd. On her
return trip she remembers wondering "Why am I the only one on the road
who seems to be preoccupied with this? - why isn't everybody else
interested in this?". She remembers feeling confused and asking herself
"did I really see what I thought I saw?". She also remembers having
distinct questions like "Why didn't I bring this to somebody else's attention?".
There were not many people in the Lund's parking lot, but she wonders
why she didn't wait for someone else to come out. She does not think
that there was any loss of time, but she again mentioned that she felt
entranced. She felt that it was exciting, but at the moment it was also
disturbing.
Aftermath:
After the sighting, she initially didn't say anything. When her husband
came home she indicated to him that she had had a "really odd
experience", but that she "just really don't think that I can tell you - You
won't believe me". She let it go, but it bothered her until she told him the
next day, and at his request, she described the incident, drew a picture
for husband and described the object.
The following Saturday morning, her husband noticed an article on a UFO
sighting wave in the newspaper [CL Note: not sure which paper - trying to
locate]. The article contained a sketch of the object. Her husband said "
...come here, right now...", and when she did, he pointed the article out to
her. The object which she had seen was identical to the sketch.
The article indicated that at 8:17 PM of Wed evening, something like 11
people had seen an unidentified areal object in the region Forest Lake, or
North Branch, MN [CL Note: this is north of the twin cities, approximately in
the object's direction of departure. The time is almost immediately following
her sighting]. The article indicated that people also had seen object in the
Burnsville or Apple Valley area (Southern Metro area) at about 5:30 AM
that day. In the suburb of Richfield someone saw it at about 7:30 AM.
[CL Note: There also may have been some other witnesses later that day,
however nobody else from New Brighton had apparently seen it].
She called the newspaper (Minneapolis Tribune) on Monday Morning and
asked to speak to a reporter on article. The reporter recorded conversation
with her permission. [Note: She can't remember the reporter's name.] The
reporter indicated that he would be reporting the sighting to the Air Force
who would be contacting her in next two to three weeks. However, she
never heard from USAF.
Note: The witness indicated that she had saved the article, with the name
of the reporter written on it. But she was now unable to find it (nearly 19
years have elapsed since the sighting).
Additional Witnesses:
None are known. However, Silver Lake Rd. is relatively well travelled.
Thus there must have been a number of other witnesses.
From the account of the article in the newspaper, this sighting may be part
of a multiple witness sighting which appears to have occurred in the Twin
Cities metropolitan area, and into the Chisago Lakes, MN area on that date.
I am still investigating this possibility, but have not yet been able to find the
article in the paper. (Note: she has also looked for the article and has been
unable to find it).
There were also a number of other UFO related events which occurred in
the same approximate time frame. These include the "Val Johnson" close
encounter case in Northeastern Minnesota; an "advertising blimp" sighting
which was investigated by Robert Engberg (MN MUFON Field investigator,
current Hennepin County Section Director) and subsequently found to be a
probable IFO, and an apparent "landing" (CE2) case. I am still investigating
possible links between these events and this sighting case.
Natural Phenomena Check:
No known natural phenomenon could have produced this effect.
Manmade Phenomena Check:
A working hypothesis is that the object could have been an advertising blimp.
I am investigating this possibility at present, but I do not believe that it is
adequate to explain this sighting.
The object was apparently observed to be just above the tree line. If no
reference objects were either directly in front of, or behind the object, its
distance might not have been readily apparent. Thus, a critical factor is the
variation in viewing angles between the witness and the object. If the angles
were nearly the same when the witness was in different locations, the distance
might have been greater than it appeared - while presenting an illusion of
being nearby. However, the witness describes views from multiple angles -
indicating that the object was in relatively close proximity. This argues
against the object being an advertising blimp. Also, the "distant blimp" theory
can not account for the object's rapid departure as she described it.
Sighting Evaluation:
CE1 - Unexplained - High Significance
Due to the apparent closeness and the detailed view of the object, I feel
that this may well be a bona-fide close encounter of the first kind. Due to
the possibility of corroboration and linkage with other sighting reports, it
appears to be of high significance. This sighting is presently unexplained,
although I am continuing to investigate.
***
State (USA) Minnesota, County: Roseau
(Nearest) City: Warroad
Date of Event: 1979-07-00 - approximate
Time of Event (Local Time): 23:00:00 - approximate
Duration of Event: 00:05:00
Area/Site: Farmland
Area/Terrain: Fields
Area/Technical: Airport
Short Description of UFO Event: Low flying/hovering lenticular disk
with rotating lights
Detailed Description of the UFO Event: It was late June, possibly early
July 1979 when I saw MY UFO, across the street from my dad?s farm in
Roseau, County. SO here goes ? a Personal entry for you to send on to
MUFON if you like. I was 22.
Late on a June evening (11 pm or so) I wrapped up a scrabble game with
my folks and while dad made a nightcap I headed outside for a little
air. It was a clear night with a slight breeze, just enough to get rid
of Mosquitoes. (I was home on the farm doing a summer project through
college). My dad farmed about 280 acres
West of the County Road 2, about ¾ mile South of what is called The
Summer Road. On the East side of the road is Billy Hagen?s land (Billy
now owns dad?s old place, the Hemmingson farm back then) . There is a
little grove a bit north of where our road meets Country Road 2. Bill
had the field planted in wheat that summer.
There is a narrow ditch grade to the right of our road, maybe a couple
hundred yards or so. And as I stood by the edge of Billy?s field, I saw
this little light coming down that Ditch Grade, maybe 20 feet up or even
less.
Now, there is a little municipal air port in Warroad, 12 miles East and
another in Roseau, 17 miles est. But this thing made NO NOISE. And as I
stood there I saw this circle of lights going around it, blue and white I think. It
was small. And then the object stopped. That?s when it hit me ? a UFO.
About this time I also realized everything had gone still ? the crickets
and frogs were silent, like they are when a predator is around. All I
could hear was my heartbeat and the wind on the wheat.
Now the object slid left, and then right, in a perfect horizontal plane.
That again confirmed UFO In my mind since I know of nothing else that
can move like that. I guess I stood there looking at it for maybe 2 minutes
and then, still utterly silent, it arched up into the sky at an impossible
speed (VERY HIGH!) and zipped overhead and down the Western Horizon.
It moved so fast I could scarcely turn my head fast enough and it STREAKED
is moved so fast.
Afterward I told my father who was very moved by this and we stood out
there for some time. HE told me about some of the recent sightings ?
don?t recall if he mentioned the sheriff one at that time but I know I
heard about it from my folks so it was either After this or Before it.
There had also been cattle killings and The vet had never seen anything like
them ? these cattle had NO BLOOD and No wounds that he could find (nothing
like the 'mutilation' cases that so many say are just what animals look like after
bloating. Any farmer or vet would know the difference. Don't know if these were
related but a lot of us wondered.
(Education, profession, experience summary) No other UFO experiences.
Wit and family have all had psychic and metaphysical experiences.
Several family members had seen UFOs.
Observed: Light(s),Object(s)
Number Observed: 1
Lowest Altitude: Treetop
Distance From Witness: 21-100 ft
Flight: Hovering then path, Path with directional change
Shape: Circle
Surface: Dark
Apparent Size: Baseball
Actual Size: 4-10 ft
Prominent Colors: White: Exterior Lights Black: Surface Red:
Exterior Lights Blue: Exterior Lights
Description: Description is incomplete pending CL interview of the witness. This
description is from witness's original e-mail. Steady glow with moving around
the object, like objects rotating on a rim. Witness noted that the environment
became very still and quiet (CL Note: the "Oz factor") once the object stopped
and started doing horizontal movements back and forth.
Observation: Hovering,Ascent
Description:
Investigation Report text: This sighting was described to me by e-mail,
and by phone. The witness now lives in Portland OR, and thus, followup
is not available.
This sighting should be filed as a CE1, unexplained.
Further investigation is warranted, and an on-site investigation should
be conducted at a future date. This case may serve as a correlation/corroboration
to other possible cases in the apparent 1979 Minnesota wave.
***
New Brighton Freeway Object 1979 report
Type of Report: MA1 - Large object and maneuvers at intermediate
to close range - Probable multiple witnesses
Date of Report: 12 April, 1997
Investigator: Craig R. Lang
Date of Sighting: Fall 1979 (estimated date)
Place of Sighting: New Brighton, MN - intersection of I35W and I694
Local Evaluation: Unexplained, high significance - Investigation ongoing
Sighting Background:
This report is a part of an ongoing investigation into a series of sightings
which occurred in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis, MN on or about the
time of October/November 1979. [Note: Due to her daughter's activities in
school, the witness is sure that the sighting occurred in either fall of
1979 or spring of 1980].
The sighting was brought to my attention by Bill McNeff, of MN MUFON, in
response to my queries for additional information on 1979 sightings. He then
located the witness and his own notes on the sighting. I then contacted and
interviewed her. During the interview, she indicated that there were a large
number of additional witnesses, as well as a newspaper article and possible
television news organization records regarding the event. I am continuing to
follow up on these additional leads.
Witness Description:
The witness is a female, 63 years of age. Her religious affiliation is Christian,
and I would describe her as being deeply religious. She also has a strong
interest in UFOs, which she says dates back to the time of her sighting. She
has had no other sightings beyond the event of this report. Her educational level
is high school. Her occupation at the time of the sighting was as a Government
Contract Coordinator. She is now retired. She describes her health as good,
both during and after the sighting. Her vision at the time of the sighting
was 20/20, and her hearing is good.
Sighting Account:
The witness and her daughter were in a car, proceeding south on I35W. Her
daughter was driving. They were preparing to exit onto westbound I694, when
they spotted the object hovering to the south-southeast of the intersection.
They noticed that all other traffic had pulled off the road. They pulled off
very close to the exit ramp to I694 to observe the object. [Note: the witness
indicates that much to all of the traffic on the road had pulled off prior
to, or while they were observing the object. They were the closest car pulled
off to the exit. The nearest car was on the order of 10 to 15 feet behind them].
The object hovered over the southeast quadrant of the intersection for a time on
the order of minutes, then moved suddenly to a position approximately 3 blocks
to the east. It remained there for a very brief period, then suddenly moved
back to its original position in a path that took it slightly south of its
original track. It performed this maneuver approximately five [Note: witness
could not remember exactly how many] times.
The attitude of the object remained level as it maneuvered. It appeared to remain
at the same elevation at all times. It did not appear to rotate, except when
changing directions. After a few minutes, cars which had been pulled off of the
road pulled back on and began to leave. The witnesses did the same and exited
onto I694. At this time they lost sight of the object.
The witness described the object as being approximately the size of a house, and
of hemispherical shape and metalic in color, with a large rim with a rounded edge.
She did not notice the underside of the object [she is not sure whether or not it was
visible]. The rim had a vertical edge to it, and had a large number of windows [witness
was not sure how many. C.L. estimate: somewhere between 5 to 20]. The windows
were rectangular with rounded corners - much like an airplane window, and emitted
a yellow light.
Aftermath:
Several days later (possibly on a Saturday), a newspaper article appeared regarding
this sighting. It was indicated that many people saw this object. [Note: a
newspaper article was also described by the witness to the New Brighton CE1 Case,
which I am investigating]. The witness' daughter had indicated that her high school
English teacher had posted it on the bulletin board at school. The witness gave me
the name of the teacher, and several unsuccessful attempts have been made to contact
him. We are also attempting to follow up on this lead. In addition, I am attempting
to locate the newspaper article in library archives.
Additional Witnesses:
The witness' daughter also observed the object. Unfortunately, for health reasons
she is not available to be interviewed. The witness also indicates that there were
many cars pulled off, apparently to watch the object. Thus, there should be
additional witnesses. A followup of this investigation will try to locate some of
them.
Natural and Artificial Phenomena Check:
No known object, either natural or artificial, could perform the maneuvers which
the witness described. However, I am still investigating all possible explanations.
Sighting Evaluation:
MA1 - Unexplained - Investigation Ongoing. If this sighting can be corroborated, it
will be of very high significance.
Also of note is the apparent unusual behavior of automobile traffic on the highway
during the sighting. The witness indicated that all cars on the highway seemed to
have pulled off the road, presumably to watch the object. She also felt that the
object was maneuvering in such a way that it "wanted to be seen". This indicates
that there should be many other witnesses.
This sighting may correlate with the New Brighton Silver Lake Rd. Sighting. The
location of these two sightings are consistent with the possibility of a single
object. The size and description of the objects are approximately similar in both
cases. The witness of the Silver Lake Rd sighting was not certain of the date, but
I estimated it at the time to have been in the fall of 1978. I now suspect that
the sighting may have actually occurred in 1979, and may be of this same object. A
full report of this and possible correlated sightings will be made when sufficient
information is available.<
***
Val Johnson Case - Damage to Police Car: Sept. 16, 1979
Click here for marshallcounty79 more info.
Click here for kstptv5.com article.
Click here for swamp gas journal article.
Click here for 1979 Craig Lang report.
Click here for ufoskeptic article.
Click here for geibdan article.
Note: We will addd more information as other reports and data become available.
***
Investigations of 1980's Sightings
WUFOD Report#: 2-721-MN
Type of Report: CE1/Possible CE4: Close Up Multiple-Witness Sighting
with Missing Time.
Investigator: Craig R. Lang
Date of Sighting: Mid to Late Fall, 1980
Place of Sighting: General area of Lake Elmo, south of I694
Local Evaluation: Possible CE4.
Date of Report: 26 July, 2003
Sighting Background:
The witness filed a sighting report via my website (www.craigrlang.com)
in July of 2003. He indicated that he and a friend had this sighting
experience in 1980, but that he had delayed filing it until now. I
contacted him within a day of receiving his report and arranged to
interview him. This report describes the results of the interview and
any subsequent analysis.
Witness Description:
The primary witness is a 40 year old male. His health and hearing are
good. His vision correctable to 20/30 with glasses (this was true also
in 1980. He was wearing them at the time of the sighting). He
indicates that he has had no other UFO sightings. However, along with
his family, he has had several other paranormal events occur. He has
been interested in UFOs since his encounter in 1980, and has read
extensively on the topic.
Sighting Account:
The primary witness and a friend were driving from one work location in
St. Paul, MN to another in Hudson, WI. They left St. Paul at 8:30, and
drove west on I94. At a location where I94 passes through Lake Elmo, MN
(he doesn’t remember which cross road they were near), he observed a
light in the sky in the southeastern sky at an elevation of about 45
degrees. He called it to his friend’s attention. They noted that the
light appeared to be stationary, and seemed to be quite close. They
rapidly overtook its position – so that it was now due south of them.
While they had initially thought that the light had a prosaic
explanation, such as an airplane, they realized upon closer approach
that it was not – and seemed to be a UFO.
Curious, they pulled off onto a dirt road going south [CL Note: it is
not clear how one could have simply “turned onto a dirt road” directly
from the interstate. The witness indicates that the road was “just
suddenly there”]. They followed the road for a distance of about 1/8 to
¼ of a mile until they were directly underneath the object.
They observed the object hovering over them for several minutes [15
minutes max, but probably more like 5 minutes]. The witness indicates
that it was a bright white light with greenish overtones – definitely
not a star. Although bright, it did not cast any light on the ground.
There was no sound from the object.
They watched the object from their car, remaining inside the car the
whole time. It suddenly started to maneuver – shooting to the north
(across I94) then back “in a millisecond”. The witness describes the
movement as in a flash [CL Note: similar to an afterimage from a
camera?], to the north and back, leaving a luminous trail. It repeated
this behavior to the East, then the South, then the West – each time
returning to directly overhead. The primary witness describes their
reaction as “blown away” by this display. It seemed to him like the
object was “putting on a show” for them, and could tell that they were
watching it.
The witnesses realized that they were dealing with a genuine UFO, and
began to get scared. The primary witness indicated that they decided
they had “seen enough – let’s get out of here”. At that moment, the
object appeared to shoot straight up into the air, and disappear – again
with a momentary trail of light.
They got back onto I94, and continued on the drive to Hudson, WI. When
they got to their destination (the other location associated with their
job), they noted that the time was now 10:15 PM. [Note: The primary
witness didn’t wear a watch at that time in his life, and so was unaware
of any time lapse until they arrived at their destination]
He describes the drive from St. Paul to Hudson as about 15 minutes.
Thus, the time should have been some time between 8:30 PM and 9:00 PM.
However, it was actually 90 minutes later than that. He remembered
wondering what had happened for the approximately 90 minutes that they
had been delayed.
Aftermath:
Following this event, the witness became extremely curious about the UFO
phenomenon. Since then, he has read considerably on the subject. He
also developed a strong interest in the sky beginning with this event.
He indicates that on a number of occasions, he has driven out into the
country, trying to understand this event.
Additional Witnesses:
The friend of the primary witness was the other person involved in this
event. The name of this friend is known, but his location is not known
at the present time. This person may be interviewed at a future time,
as a followup to this event. [Note: the primary witness indicates that
his friend subsequently had little/no memory of the event]
In addition, there should have been numerous cars traveling on I94, only
a few blocks to the north of their location.
Weather Conditions:
Unknown: the witness describes the night as warm and clear to partly
cloudy, a nice fall evening.
Natural or Manmade Phenomena Check:
The null hypothesis for the initial nocturnal light sighting might be
that a landing light for an aircraft approaching the airport. Under the
right circumstances, such a light might appear to be stationary for a
short period of time. The description of the light is somewhat
reminiscent of a landing light. However, such a light also would not
appear to hover to the south of the highway as they approached it. It
also would not remain stationary directly overhead. In addition, I know
of no non-anomalous explanation for the maneuvers which were described.
Analysis and Possibilities:
The most compelling explanation appears to be that the object was
anomalous. In addition, it must be noted that there was a 90 minute
period of missing time associated with the sighting. Thus, the
possibility must be considered that this apparent encounter of the first
kind may have been an encounter of the fourth kind.
Another factor is the witness’ statement that they turned off from the
interstate onto a dirt road. It is not clear how one could exit I94 in
the area of Lake Elmo, without using one of the exit ramps. In 1980
there may have been some way to get off of the highway, but this is
doubtful. This suggests an event paradox in the experience of the
witness(es) similar to those noted in many other close encounter cases
(The “Oz Factor”).
Sighting Evaluation:
Event type is a probable CE1, a close up multiple witness event with
missing time and possible reality anomaly. Thus, given the missing
time, this event must be considered as a probable CE4.
Conclusion: Unexplained.
***
WUFOD I 1-962
ABSTRACT: Wright County Mult Wit Close Flyby
- Aug 1999 [revised]
CASE_TYPE: CE1
SVP_RATING: 444
DATE: 08/08/1981 21:00 CST
DURATION: 1-5_minutes
LATITUDE: 45.03N
LONGITUDE: 94.05W
COUNTY: Wright
NEAR_TOWN_OR_CITY: Howard Lake, MN USA
SITE: suburb, rural, woods, lake_or_river
SKY: clear
MUFON_REPORTEES: 3
NUMBER_OBSERVED: 3
ELEVATION: varied
LOWEST_ALTITUDE: treetop
DISTANCE: 21-100_feet
FLIGHT: straight_line_path, path_with_direction_change, other
DIRECT_FIRST_OBSVED: W
DIRECT_LAST_OBSVED: E
SHAPE: saucer
SURFACE: dark
STRUCTURE: patterned_surface, other
APPARENT_SIZE: larger
ACTUAL_SIZE: 31-100_feet
SURFACE_COLOR: grey_lead_silver, black
EXT_LIGHTS: steady, flashed_sequentially
EXT_LIGHTS_COLOR: white, green_white, red, green, blue_violet
CHANGE_COLOR: no
INVESTIGATOR1_NAME: Craig R. Llang
INVESTIGATOR1_EMAIL: crlang@ieee.org
Background:
The sighting was by four witnesses: A mother (the primary
witness), her two children, and her niece. I was put in
contact with the primary witness through Bob Schultz, of
Minnesota MUFON, who is a mutual friend. I then contacted
her and interviewed her and her two children. The fourth
witness (the niece) now resides in Germany. I have mailed
her a sighting form, but have not yet received a response.
I have therefore decided to file this report with the three
witnesses only, to be updated if/when I obtain the fourth
witness report.
Witness Descriptions:
The witnesses are a mother, her niece and her two daughters,.
At the time of the sighting, the mother was age 33, the
daughters were ages 6 and 7, and the niece was age 15.
All witnesses describe their health and hearing as excellent.
The mother has minor visual astigmatism and wears glasses,
correcting her vision to 20/20. She was wearing her glasses
at the time of the sighting. The vision of all others is either
uncorrected 20/20 or correctable to 20/20. There do not
appear to be any health effects related to the sighting.
The mother is very interested in both UFO and metaphysical
topics. The family has indicated no other major UFO-related
or anomalous experiences. However, the mother has indicated
one other possible sighting by both her and her husband.
Sighting Account:
The witnesses were driving to their family cabin in central,
Minnesota, and were traveling west bound, in their car at
about 9PM CDT, on August 8, 2000. They were approximately
three miles west of the town of Howard Lake, Minnesota, on
County Hwy 13 (detour of US Hwy 12). The mother was driving,
her 15 year old niece was in the front passenger seat, and
her two daughters were in the back seat. She noted that the
road was busier than usual, and that traffic was moving
slowly on this detour route.
The mother observed what seemed to be lights ahead of them,
apparently aiming at them. She initially felt that they
seemed like aircraft, and also observed that there was no
noise present, beyond that from the car’s travel. Curious,
she slowed the car and observed them. As they approached,
she noticed that what was previously visible only as lights,
now resolved into disks.
She noted that the car in front of theirs had pulled over
to the side of the road, and that other cars seemed to have
slowed down as well. She pulled their car off to the side
of the road as well, and opened the car windows to watch
the objects. Nobody said anything as they watched the
objects approach. They saw the object(s) come from the
west (anti-parallel to their path), then swoop to the south,
away from the road, passing behind nearby trees and out of
sight.
As they watched, the mother initially thought that they were
some form of experimental craft, and then decided that they
had to be unidentified objects. Once she realized that the
objects were UFOs, she describes her reaction as one of
amazement.
She estimated that the objects moved at approximately the
speed of cars on the highway, somewhat faster than the cars
in the oncoming lane [CL Note: 60 +/- 10 MPH?]. She noted
that although passing quite close to them, the objects
appeared to make no noise. She notes that there were no
other aircraft visible during the time of the sighting. At closest
approach, the objects were on the order of one or so blocks
distant from them.
Once the lights were lost behind the trees, they resumed
driving, pulling out onto the road. At this time, the other
cars that had either pulled off or briefly slowed down now
began to resume their normal speed.
The witnesses arrived at their cabin at the expected time,
indicating that no apparent missing time occurred [CL Note:
see update at end of investigator comments].
Object Description:
The mother and her niece, both in the front seat observed
three objects (Note: The children in the back seat both
describe seeing only one object) traveling about 70 feet
above the ground. Their movement appeared to be smooth
to swooping, as they shifted their path to the south. There
was no apparent rotation to the objects, with two bright
lights on each object always pointing in their direction of
travel. They appeared to be dark metallic with a lighter
turquoise color to their central region.
The objects moved in a triangular formation, with one
object being lower, and the other two being slightly above.
The lower object was about 70 feet above the ground.
Mother’s description of objects’ size: about 30 - 40m
in diameter.
Description by Daughters:
Each of the daughters observed only one object. The six
year old daughter was in the left seat (closest to the
object), looking out the rear window. [CL Note: she
indicated she was on the right, but this was as looking
backwards].
The six-year old daughter described the size of the object
as about the size of the moon [CL Note: Moon size is often
overestimated, suggesting that these were pretty large
objects - CL Est.: Apparent Moon width due to optical
illusion is often subjectively given as two fingers’ width
at arm’s length].
The seven year old daughter was in the right seat, also
looking backwards out the rear window.
She described the object as being round, gray in color,
with red lights on the side and non-blinking green lights
in the interior. There was a rectangular feature in the
center which glowed with a light green color.
This witness described the object as being "bigger than
an airplane, only round."
CL Note: It is notable that the daughters each observed
only one object, while the mother observed three. They
felt that this might have been due to the two upper
objects being obscured from the daughters’ view by the
car roof. Both daughters and the mother each drew
slightly differing depictions of the object(s), with
somewhat different lighting configurations, etc. However
the overall configuration of the object as seen by all
was similar in all cases.
Additional Witnesses:
There were four witnesses in the car, one of whom now
lives in Germany and has not been available for an
interview. In addition, there were numerous cars on
the highway at that time, some of which apparently pulled
off to watch the object. So the number of additional
witnesses is probably quite high. However, none of these
additional witnesses are known at this time.
Weather Conditions:
The primary witness describes the weather at the time of
the sighting as being clear and warm.
Weather Info for 8 Aug, 1997 (obtained 10 Jan, 2000)
from MN State Climatologist’s Office:
Temperature: 71 deg F. Dew Pt: 59 deg F.
Wind 13 MPH from 170 deg (10 deg East of due south)
No clouds with unlimited (10 Mi+) visibility
Analysis:
The size of the object can be estimated as follows: Assume
a size of three finger-width (or about two inches, estimated
from illusory size of moon) at arms’ length (25 inches).
This gives a 2 to 25 width to distance ratio. If we assume
that the object was one block away (500 feet) at its closest
approach, this gives a diameter of approximately 40 feet.
This would be a reasonable size for an artificial craft, but
roughly a factor of two smaller than the mother’s estimate
of at least 30 m (approximately 90 ft).
Explanatory Phenomena Check:
No natural phenomenon that I am aware of would explain this
event.
The witness considered the possibility of aircraft, either
small commercial, or experimental of some type. The lack
of sound and the apparent low altitude both argue against
this explanation. Also, the witnesses observed the objects
in considerable detail. Their descriptions do not match
any known aircraft.
An unknown experimental aircraft must be considered.
However this also seems unlikely due to the lack of noise,
etc. The possibility of the objects being a helicopter or
other human-made hovering vehicle must also be considered.
However, this is not consistent with the drawings of all
three witnesses from whom we have reports.
Sighting Evaluation: CE1, multiple-witness, unexplained
CL Followup Note 06 August, 2002:
During a subsequent conversation with the primary witness,
she informed me that she actually did arrive late at her
cabin. Another family member pointed this out to her upon
reading this report. At this time, the duration of the delay
and the corresponding implications are not known.
This report [as updated] is published on www.craigrlang.com,
with witness sketches of objects.
***
Sighting Report Maribel, WI Boomerang Object - Estimated date August 1983
Field Investigator: Casey Holt - MN MUFON
Type of Report: Large metallic object - stationary. MA1
Date of Report: Sept 9, 1997
Date of UFO Sighting: July or August 1983 (Estimated), 1:00pm
Place of Sighting: 12003 Hidden Valley Road, Maribel, WI, Manitowoc County USA
Sighting Background
This sighting was brought to my attention in January 1997 during a telephone
conversation with my brother Cory Holt while talking about crop circles. He
never mentioned the sighting to me before. I called him back talking for about
30 minutes to ask questions about what he remembered of the details. He doesn't
know of any other witnesses.
Witness Description
The witness is my brother 31 years of age. He is not particularly interested in
UFO's. He likes the outdoor activities like fishing and hunting and has good
mechanical aptitude. He has good eyesight and hasn't had previous UFO experiences.
He was probably in high school during the year of the sighting estimated at 1983.
He remembers it being a warm summer day probably in July or August about 1:00 PM.
He thought it was a UFO.
Sighting Account
The witness was doing something outside the house when he looked up and saw a
boomerang shaped object sitting up in the air to the southwest He remembers it
being shiny silver like stainless steel or aluminum. The rounded part was on top
with the tapered ends pointing downward. It looked like the shape of two parabolas
connected at the ends, one inside of the other. From the distance he was he could
not tell if it was flat or had some thickness to the main parts. He also used
binoculars to get a better view. He saw it sitting motionless for what he thought
was about 5 minutes. The size would depend on the distance but he thought is was
as large as a big airplane and estimated the distance from 1/4 mile to 1 mile away.
It filled up about 1/4 to 1/2 of the binoculars field of view which would be about
400 feet wide at 1000 yards. This would make the minimum object size 44 feet and
the maximum size 350 feet. The sun was almost directly overhead and the angle of
the object was about 1/2 way up to the sun making the elevation angle about 45
degrees. The weather was a warm day with very little wind and no clouds. After he
saw the object for 5 minutes he went into the house then came back out and the
object had disappeared. No sound was noticed coming from the object.
UFO sketch.
Sighting map.
Man Made and Natural Object Check
The only familiar objects that could hover motionless for 5 minutes would be a
balloon or helicopter. A helicopter would not match the description. A balloon
could possibly be in the shape of a boomerang and coated with a silver reflective
coating but it would not be a typical balloon which are usually more rounded in
shape. Since there was little or no wind a balloon could be motionless for awhile.
Perhaps an experimental balloon of some type could produce this type of sighting.
The object was in the vicinity of being above a high voltage power line. Whether
this could have an attractive affect to a UFO type object is unknown.
The moon could appear similar to a boomerang shape when about 1/4 full but that
would not explain the silver color and it would not disappear after the witness
went into the house for awhile.
Sighting Evaluation
Unknown aerial object appearing artificially constructed. This could represent some
significant technology that we are not too familiar with. Unfortunately the sighting
was about 14 years ago and not much other information is available to determine what
it could have been or how it could function. The hope would be that if other similar
described objects were seen it might add clues as to what it was or how it behaves.
***
Houston, MN july 1986 report
Estimated Date of Sighting: 26 July, 1986
(Note: The Houston Hoedown is the last Saturday of July. Thus this fixes
the estimated date. The year is estimated based upon process of elimination.)
Place of Sighting: Houston, MN
Submitted by FI Craig Lang.
Type of Report: NL/MA1
Date of Report: 20 Aug, 1996
Local Evaluation: Possible misidentification of farm or all-terrain vehicle on a distant
dike. Also, possible unknown (based upon impression of witness)
Sighting Background:
The object was seen by the witness, a personal friend of both my wife and myself,
approximately 10 years ago. I was informed of the sighting during casual
conversation on the evening of 5 June, 1996. In the following week, I followed
up with some additional questions by phone, plus a tape recorded interview. A
few weeks later, I performed a site visit, observing the terrain and geometry of
the sighting location.
Based upon the site visit, and upon investigation into possible means of low-level
hovering craft, I came to the conclusion that the object was a probable IFO - an
all-terrain or farm vehicle on elevated ground in the distance. However, upon
further discussion with the witness, I am not fully convinced of this explanation.
The witness is relatively skeptical that the object she observed fits the behavior
of a vehicle travelling the terrain described by this theory.
Witness Description:
The witness is a personal friend of Craig Lang, the principal investigator. She is
presently 35 years old (thus she was 25 at the time of the sighting). She has
had two years of college, with training in art and graphic design. She is currently
working as an administrative assistant for a small company. She also runs a
small franchise sales business. Her health is excellent. She has slightly reduced
hearing, and presently wears glasses which correct her vision to 20/20 (at the time
of the sighting she had 20/20 vision without glasses).
Sighting Account:
The sighting occurred after the conclusion of the Houston Hoedown. The witness
had attended the festivities and was now preparing to leave the grounds (12:30 AM
+/- one hour) . She was looking North from the bleachers (which faced north)
toward a corn field (at the northern edge of the town of Houston) when a unusual
light or set of lights in or above the field caught her attention. She described the
light(s) as appearing to "hover" approximately 15 feet above the corn, travelling
slowly in a northerly direction toward the Root river. The light was below the level
of the tree tops - indicating that the object was approximately 1/2 mile away. The
light(s) appeared to project a wide beam (at least 45 degrees) downward, but did
not appear to illuminate the corn below. She also indicated that she could see
no structures associated with the light.
She described the object's motion as "drifting" slowly to the North. The object
then turned "gracefully" to the West, continuing at about the same speed,
remaining below and in front of the tree line (immediately beyond the dike).
Although the path was smooth, the witness also indicated that there was some
"wobble" in the position of the light - she estimated it to be on the order of a few
feet. She indicated that the motion reminded her of a "dirigible" or "balloon".
She heard no noise from the object.
She watched the object for an estimated 10 to 15 minutes, then left the grounds,
walking to her parents' home (about 2 blocks from the grounds), where she was
staying for the weekend. The street along which she walked is parallel with the
Southern border of the field, but the view of the field is largely blocked by buildings.
She looked from one or more openings between buildings and may have been
able to see it briefly (not clear from her description). When she arrived home she
proceeded immediately to the balcony on the third floor for a clear view, but was
unable to see the object from that point on. Thus, she is not sure of the actual
time or manner at which the object "departed" the area. She did indicate
however, that she thought it might have gone over the dike, and proceeded to
the north-west, along the Root river.
The location where the object probably was lost to sight corresponds to location
where tree line changes from the north to south side of the dike. At that point, a
path from the dike accesses additional fields to the north, along the Root river.
The object may have travelled to the north at that point, but would no longer have
been visible from the town of Houston.
Additional Witnesses:
None are known. However, the witness said that she thought others "must"
have seen the light. There are also one or more other reports (from approximately
that same date) of "lights" sighted hovering over farm fields.
Natural Phenomena Check:
No known natural phenomenon fits this description.
Manmade Phenomena Check:
1) Helicopter or other hovering aircraft.
The initial hypothesis (prior to site visit) was that this was likely a small "stealthy"
light-weight helicopter of some sort, hovering over the field and searching for
something or someone. The low noise level could have been due to the design,
or to an effect of the wind direction (although the witness indicated that there
was no wind). I theorized that this might have been a law- enforcement patrol
looking for poachers, or poachers looking for animals (the price of Raccoon
pelts was quite high at that particular time).
Upon further investigation, I discovered that in 1985, noise suppression
equipment for helicopters was not commonly available. I was further informed
that it would be an inefficient use of aircraft to patrol in a low hover such as I
observed - aircraft patrols usually circle at about 5,000 feet to perform
surveillance, and direct ground cars as appropriate.
Also, on the site visit, I found that power and telephone lines are strung over
the field, making it difficult for any hovering vehicle to operate safely. Thus,
my conclusion is that the object could not have been a helicopter, and also
was unlikely to be any type of lighter-than-air craft.
2) Farm Machinery or ATV.
My tentative conclusion is that the object may have been a farm machine or
ATV at the Northern edge of the corn field. A dike exists on the far side of
the field, separating it from the Root river. There is a wide, shallow "ramp"
allowing farm machinery or all-terrain vehicles to ascend onto the dike. This
ramp about 1 block long, and is about where the witness indicated that the
light was travelling north. The object may have been a vehicle travelling
North along the ramp, then turning West along the dike.
Other Possibilities:
The witness was skeptical of the theory that the object could be a vehicle - although
she indicated that she thought this was possible. The object seemed to her to be hovering
with more of a "drifting" motion. Also, while the "searchlights" may have been trail lights or
farm machine lighting, this explanation is not a close match with the "searchlights"
described by the witness. Thus the possibility of an anomaly must still be considered.
Sighting Evaluation:
Possible sighting of a distant vehicle on a dike north of field, with the remaining possibility
of an unknown (based upon impression of witness), with a significance of "ordinary".
***
Date/Time of Sighting: Sunday 07 Sep, 1986 - approx 1:30AM CDT
Place of Sighting: St. Francis, MN
Type of Report: CE1 or AN1
Date of Report: 09 Jan, 1999
Investigator: Craig R. Lang - Field Investigator, MN MUFON
Local Evaluation: CE1/AN1: Unexplained pending further investigation.
Sighting Background:
I was initially informed of the sighting at the MUFON conference in
June of 1998, by a relative of the witness. On noticing my name tag
indicating Minnesota, he informed me that his relative had seen an
object in the area of St. Francis, MN. He then gave me the name,
address and phone number of the witness. I later contacted the witness
and interviewed her. She described the events in this report. She
also indicated that there were a number of reports of this type of
object. Thus other witness may be available (Note: I am still
attempting to locate additional witnesses).
Witness Description:
The witness is a female, whose current age is 79 (age 67 at time of
sighting). She resides in a rural area north of the twin cities, near
the town of St. Francis, MN. She is retired, and now runs a business
with a partner in the Anoka/St. Francis area. She describes her
health and hearing as good. Her vision is 20/20. She indicates that
she has had no other anomalous sightings or experiences besides the
event in this report.
Sighting Account:
At approximately 1:30 AM on the morning of the sighting, the witness
was awakened by the sound of her dog barking. This was unusual, as the
dog was generally very calm and quiet. She also became aware of a
sound, which she likened to that of the warning beeps from a truck in
reverse. She then went to the kitchen and looked out the window, which
affords a clear view of the back yard (see layout of yard, pictured
below).
Layout of witness's property showing location of object and location of dog kennel
She observed the object hovering at approximately half way up to
treetop level. She indicated that she pulled the shade down, and as
she did, the object descended. When she pulled the shade back up, the
object ascended, as if in response. This up/down sequence was repeated
approximately 4 or 5 times.
The witness described the object as a well defined blue/white ball of
light. It had a diameter of approximately 4 feet, with well defined
edges. It slightly illuminated its immediate surroundings, but was
not extremely bright. The following is a sketch by the witness
(annotated by CL) of the object.
Witness sketch of object
She indicated that the object seemed to emanate a sound, which she
described as similar to that of a spinning top. She also noted that
the beeping sound was present when the object was descending. Also,
when the object descended, the intensity of dog's barking would
increase, whereas when the object ascended, the barking would subside.
The witness watched this object for up to 1/2 hour. She then decided
to go back to bed, although the object was still present. About 1/2
hour later, she looked out again and observed that it was gone, and
the dog had stopped barking.
Additional Witnesses:
Sometime later, (the next day, to a few days later) the witness was
called by a friend, who indicated that she had just seen an object
which also matched this same description. Unfortunately, this second
witness is no longer living. However this indicates that there may
have been additional witnesses as well. In addition, there are other
(unconfirmed) reports of similar phenomena in this area, in that
approximate time frame. We are attempting to locate any possible
additional witnesses.
Weather Conditions:
WX Conditions at 2400 Hours on 6 Sep, 1986:
Temp 48F Dew Pt: 42F Wind: 4 Kts from 320 degs
Visibility: 20mi Cloud cover: 0%
WX Conditions at 0300 Hours on 7 Sep, 1986: Windy and Rainy
(warm front?) Temp 48F Dew Pt: 44F Wind: 4 Kts from 240 degs
Visibility: 20mi Cloud cover: 100% with 4900 ft ceiling
The witness described the weather at the time as clear and warm at
1:30AM. Thus this might have been sometime shortly prior to arrival
of the front. The conditions at the time of the sighting would have
been those of increasing humidity, and an approaching weather front.
Natural Phenomena Check:
No common natural phenomenon is immediately known that would reproduce
this effect. However, possible explanations such as plasma, etc.
could offer some value toward understanding this event. Thus if/when
additional witnesses and details become known, this possibility may
be further investigated.
Manmade Phenomena Check:
Another possibility considered was that there might have been some
sort of utility vehicle driving through the back. This possibility
has TBD resolution. However, the witness was extremely doubtful that
a utility truck would have been driving backwards through her back
yard at 1:30 AM on a Sunday morning.
Sighting Evaluation:
CE1/AN1 - Presently unexplained Significance: Ordinary. Note: Will
be increased if additional witness or similar events are found. This
investigation is continuing. Further findings will be included in a
subsequent report.
***
MPLS strange Humanoid - Oct. 1988 I 2-239
ABSTRACT: Report of a black, non-reflecting entity,
of humanoid form.
CASE_TYPE: CE4
MONTH: 10/xx/1988, 06:15am CST
DURATION: under_1_minute
COUNTY: Hennepin
NEAR_TOWN_OR_CITY: Minneapolis, MN USA
SITE: city
MUFON_REPORTEES: 1
ENTITY_TYPE: humanoid
HEIGHT: 5_feet
APPAREL_COLOR: black
INVESTIGATOR1_NAME: William I. McNeff
INVESTIGATOR1_EMAIL: w.mcneff@att.net
ENTITY EXPERIENCE
In November [1988], my Dad was at a convention, and I slept
with my Mom. The alarm clock went off, I popped up, sprung
forward, then fell backwards. I couldn’t move, couldn’t do
anything but think. I finally managed to move my foot, then
my leg, then sat up on the edge of the bed. Things felt
like they were out of sync, like a wave moving. [I got up],
put my hand on the door, walked toward the bathroom, put my
hand on the wall, looked to the right into the dining room,
and saw this black figure [it was if it reflected no light at
all]. Then I went into the bathroom. I got the toothpaste,
started to brush my teeth, then thought about the figure. I
peeked out of the bathroom, didn’t see anything [in the
dining room any more]. The figure had been so black that I
saw no features. There is lots of light in our house from
streetlights, etc. [so I should have been able to see more
than I did.]
The head was rounder than ours. It also seemed bigger but
not grossly. It was not my nephew [who was living with us at
the time], [he is] too tall. The height of the black figure
was about 4 feet 8 inches to 5 feet tall, it was a little
shorter than my Mom, who is 5 feet 1-1/2 inches tall.
OTHER EXPERIENCES
My experiences go back to 1988; the first time was probably
in July. It was at night, I heard a sound like thousands of
blowtorches. I couldn’t move. [She was sleeping on the sofa
on the porch at home.] I don’t know how long it lasted, it
seemed like forever. Then it cut off, and I ran to my
parents’ room. I called the police, they informed me that
they had just received a call from someone just a couple of
blocks from me regarding an unusual sound. Another person I
know, who lives in the Camden area about a mile from the NSP
generator plant, says they may have been letting off steam,
but no way should I have heard it, since I live over 6 miles
from the plant. I called NSP and they informed me that they
only let off steam about every ten years, and they said no
way could I have heard it from where I live.
Three weeks later my parents were on the porch, around
midnight, [they apparently heard the same sound I had heard,]
my Dad wanted to go out, but the sound cut off suddenly.
A month later [after the entity experience], [approx. December
1988] Dad was home, I had the same out-of-sync experience,
with the wave thing. [I was starting into the bathroom], Dad
said to me “What are you doing? You just went into the
bathroom half an hour ago! He said I was wearing a white night
gown. I didn’t have a white night gown!
Years later, my nephew told me of hearing about abductions.
[I hadn’t heard of them.]
My most recent experience was at the end of March this year
(2000). Has anyone ever had the experience of coming back into
their body? It felt like something being thrown at me; it
bounced off my bed, into me. Our dog was still alive and
jumped up, because she heard it. It felt like it hit my chest
area, but it hit on the left [side of my bed] first. It was
about early morning, I have it in my journal.
[From notes taken during telephone interviews on 9-18-00 and
10-19-02, and written testimony from the witness in October,
2002. William I. McNeff]
Investigator's Report:
This witness is highly reliable and trustworthy. I would judge
her to be very intelligent and objective.
The experience that is the main subject of this report, that
involved the sighting of the entity, would fit the description
of “sleep paralysis” to some degree. Certainly paralysis is
vividly described by the witness. But initially, according to
the witness, there was no paralysis; rather she briefly popped
into a sitting position. In the typical description of sleep
paralysis hallucinations may be present. However, the sighting
of the black entity, which might be supposed to be a
hallucination, took place after the witness had gotten out of
bed and walked some distance down a hallway to the doorway of
the living room. It could be assumed that she was fairly well
awake at that point. It could be doubted that hallucinations
would be experienced after a person is fairly awake. The
alarm had gone off at 6:00 AM, and this was the witness normal
time for arising on a work day, so it would be normal to be
fairly awake in a minute or so.
Contrariwise, the account of having popped into a sitting
position could be itself a hallucination.
This author, however, is not certain how well the alleged
phenomenon of “sleep paralysis” has been studied. It seems to
be fairly well established that during sleep a chemical is
generated in the human body which paralyzes the large motor
muscles but not the heart or lung muscles. This paralysis
lessens from time to time during the periods of lighter sleep
to the degree that the sleeper is able to changed their position
in bed. In “sleep paralysis” an excess of the paralyzing
chemical is supposed to have been produced. But this
investigator wonders if many or perhaps all of the incidents
of “sleep paralysis” are actually abduction incidents, in which
the “hallucinations” are actually screen memories.
It is suspected that this entity experience may have been part
of an “abduction experience”. The best way to attempt to
confirm or disprove this would probably be to conduct a
regression. But this investigator is reluctant to urge this
course on a person who seems to be generally unconcerned about
the experience and appears to be leading a happy, productive
life, as is the witness. Only if the witness expresses a
suspicion that more went on than is in conscious memory and
states an urgent desire to find out, will I suggest, but not
recommend, regression.
Without regression, the uncertainties about this case must
remain. But the other experiences recounted by the witness
suggest that some strange things associated with her house,
family or neighborhood had been happening. The “sound like
thousands of blowtorches” was apparently heard by more than
one witness on one or both occasions. The incidents of the
“white night gown” and the “coming back into the body”, as
well as the paralysis associated with the roaring sound on one
occasion and the entity sighting on another, are all strongly
suggestive that abductions of this witness may have been
occurring. The fact that she did not investigate the black
figure initially may have been part of a “control” mechanism
by an entity which had remained in the house just long enough
to verify that she, or some other family member, was not
adversely affected by an abduction.
It is this investigators conclusion that there is significant
evidence, but no certainty, that a strange entity was seen
and that abductions of the witness may have been occurring.
William I. McNeff
***
Sighting Report: Fort Mojave, AZ V-Shaped Object, Estimated Date Nov. 1989
Date of UFO Sighting: Nov. 1989 on a Saturday ( year estimated )
Time of UFO Sighting: 10:00 PM
Place of Sighting: Fort Mojave, AZ, Mojave County, USA
Field Investigator: Casey Holt - MN MUFON
Type of Report: V-Shaped lights hovering at close range
Date of Report: Jan 19, 1997
Sighting Background
The Sighting was brought to my attention by the witness while riding on a bus to
Laughlin, Nevada while talking about a UFO conference there. She was on her way
to Arizona. We talked for about 30 minutes while filling out a MUFON form 1 and
form 2. She indicated that during the sighting she was with her daughter who was
looking the wrong way to see the object.
Witness Description
The witness is a female about 50 years of age who described herself as in good
health with good eyesight and hearing. She was wearing glasses at the time of
the interview. Her education and training was unknown but seemed to be a reliable
witness with a good memory of the sighting event. She has a daughter. She has
not had other UFO experiences. She did not give her name or how she could be
reached for follow-up questions.
Sighting Account
The witness was getting into the hot tub by her house and was with her daughter
at the time of the sighting. She looked up and saw the object with lights in a
V-Shape sitting above her house hovering motionless. She saw the object for about
2 seconds then looked away to get her daughters attention. When she looked back
at the area the object was gone. She descried it as a V-Shaped or possibly
triangular object with several lights along two of the sides. She estimated the
size to be about 14 to 15 feet across as judged by comparison to the height of
her house. The objects distance was about 20 feet away which was about the
distance from the hot tub to the house. The object was right even with the top
of the house like it was sitting over the edge of the roof. The lights were
described as 2 rows of bright luminous blue lights along the edges of the V.
There were also red lights possibly at the end of each row and some white lights
possibly at the pointed end of the V. She estimated there could have been 12 to
14 lights total and each light was round. Because it was dark the witness was
not sure if the object was a V-Shaped structure or a triangle. When she saw it
she thought it was a UFO because it didn't make any noise. She was amazed and
shocked to see it.
Image of object.
Area map.
Man Made and Natural Object Check
The object does not fit the description of any conventional aircraft in that it
could hover motionless at the close range of about 20 feet without making a sound
and then vanish suddenly. A balloon possibly could float above the edge of the
house from behind and then drift back again but that would not explain the bright
lights seen on the object or its shape as being in a V.
Sighting Evaluation
Unknown aerial object appearing artificially constructed. This could represent
some significant technology. Other UFO objects with a similar description could
be the triangular shaped objects as reportedly seen in Belgium. The witness's
account of a short sighting time of only 2 seconds may not have been enough time
to get an accurate description. The actual object might have been somewhat
different. It could also raise the question of the sighting as being some kind
of hallucination but still the clear remembrance of the bright lights would make
it an unknown phenomenon.
***
Investigations of 1990-1994 Sightings
Jade's Fall 1990 Abduction/UFO report
Date of Sighting: 27 Nov, 1990 - (Date estimated from NOAA weather records)
Place of Sighting: Plymouth, MN
Local Evaluation: Possible CE4 - Unexplained Significance: Ordinary
Type of Report: Possible CE4 - Missing time and reported encounter with entities.
Date of Report: 18 March, 1997
Investigator: Craig R. Lang
Sighting Background:
I interviewed Jade for two hours and obtained all pertinent information. I also
gave him the name of a psychologist who has done work with Minnesota MUFON in the
past. The psychologist indicated that I should give the witness his office number,
which I did. Any followup is now up to the witness to pursue. In addition, I visited the
reported site of the encounter and noted the features of the area.
Witness Description
Jade is a 22 year old male. He is a freelance graphic artist and draftsman. (During
the interview, he made sketches of his encounter, which are included in this report.
He describes himself as having a vivid imagination. He also indicates that he is very
interested in the UFO phenomenon, and has been for most of his life. At the time of
the sighting Jade was 16 years old. He describes himself at that time as suffering
from extreme depression. He had been hospitalized approximately three weeks prior
to his encounter for this condition. He was under medication (Prozak) for it at the
time of his encounter.
Jade has had one year of college and two years of tech school, but has not completed
a degree or certificate. At the time of this report, he had just started a new job,
which he indicated was going well. He indicated that he may go back to tech school
after his job kicks in. He presently resides with his parents in Plymouth, MN -
where he also lived at the time of the sighting.
Although at the time of the sighting, his relationship with his parents was strained,
Jade describes their current relationship as being very good. He indicates, however,
that his parents do not want to have anything to do with the subject of UFOs. In
particular, his mother is extremely defensive about the topic. He also has two
younger brothers, which whom his relationship is also apparently good. It is not
known whether his brothers are either interested in, or affected by, any UFO related
phenomena. Jade's present health is reported as good, both physically and mentally.
He describes his vision as near-sighted (both now, and at the time of the sighting),
and he wears glasses and/or contact lenses which correct his eyesight to 20/20.
Initial Sighting Account:
It was somewhat prior to 8:00 PM. The witness had just had a significant argument
with his parents. Extremely upset, he left the house wearing only a tee shirt and
letter jacket, blue jeans with a hole in the knee, and a pair of moccasins. There had
been a recent snowstorm, leaving the streets covered with approximately 1/2 inch of
snow. Thus, his moccasins quickly became wet.
He went for a walk in his neighborhood, first walking to his girlfriend's house, then
to another friend's house. Finding neither home, he began to walk home, a distance
of about a mile. Approximately 1/2 of the distance home [see map below], he became
disoriented. He indicated that he was originally walking west-bound on 45th Street
in Plymouth, while looking down at the ground. He looked up and realized that his
surroundings did not look familiar to him. He determined that he had somehow
reversed direction and he was now heading east-bound.
At that time, he noted that he now felt warm, as if he had just emerged from a warm
house or car. He also noted that his previously emotional upset had completely
changed to a more positive state of mind, and his depression had vanished. (He
states that this change has remained since that time). He ran the rest of the way
home to find his parents still angry with him. However, he indicates that at that
point he didn't care - "he had 'the answer'".
Initial Flashbacks:
Within a year after the sighting, he began to have flashbacks, in which he remembered
seeing a large object (described as a dark circular silhouette) over him, with a
brilliant light shining down on him. The first suggestion of a flashback occurred
while he was at a youth group with his church, studying for confirmation (religion
is Roman Catholic). He remembers his youth coordinator asking them to discuss the
time when they first "felt God". He explained to them about the time in 1990 when
he was very upset, was walking along the road and a light came down from the sky, and
suddenly everything made sense. This was the first "glimmer" of a flashback, but did
not yet include a full memory of any part of the event.
Subsequent Flashbacks and Dream Recalls:
Following the initial flashbacks, Jade began to remember the events of Nov 90 in which
he was walking along 45th avenue. This included dreams and visions of objects
[presumably associated with the event]. He began to have flashbacks with high enough
frequency, that he kept a sketchbook of them [which I obtained]. With each dream,
he indicated that the details became clearer. Frequent flashbacks started to occur in
approximately March/April of 1996. Subsequently, different places and things, which
were presumably related to the encounter, started coming back to him. The following
description is a composite scenario derived from them.
Initial Encounter Scenario:
A scenario of his initial encounter apparently emerges, in which, while he was
walking on 45th St., looking at the ground. He was walking slowly. He was getting
quite cold, and was trying not to think about it. There was no discernable wind, and
snow had just fallen. Cars would occasionally drive by and he could hear the
crunch of snow on the tires. The road had not yet been plowed, thus he was
dragging his feet, trying not to get snow on top of feet, which would otherwise soak
through the leather.
There was flash of light (in subsequent flashbacks, it was a spotlight-like pool of
light) on the snow. He remembers no sound of any kind but remembers that it appeared
to come from above. It appeared elliptical in shape [CL Note: like as spot light
at an angle]. He looked up to see where the light was coming from and saw a large
object to his north, over Schmidt lake. Several houses are between the road and
the lake, and the object would have been over or just beyond these houses.
The light was not very far up - 100 ft at most. He remembered seeing it almost at
the treetop level. As he watched, the object moved straight over him, with the light
staying on him like a spotlight. From the side he felt that the light was not as
bright, but when it was directly overhead, it became blinding. He estimated the
beam to be about 6 feet wide, and the diameter of the object to be about 20 to 30 feet.
He covered his eyes and looked down. Then, putting his right hand over his face,
leaving just a little corner to see through, he looked up, and observed the object
again. He was able to see dark edge of a large circular object, with the light
coming form the middle of it. Due to the brilliance of the light, he was unable
to see anything except the edge.
Map of area
Alternate Location Scenario:
In a subsequent dream - rather than occurring on 45th, the scenario occurred at
a location about a half-mile away (on Schmidt Lake Rd, just west of I494.). This
scene contains a large metal sphere, which was white with vertical stripes or ribs.
Around the sphere were some old buildings, and several antennae.
It was not clear as to whether this was the same event or not (it may correspond to
a different encounter). There is no such place on 45th Ave N. but a location on
Schmidt Lake Rd, which he pointed out to me, does roughly match this description.
He described a run down area with old cement buildings that don't have any windows,
a silo, etc - which was largely deserted. Behind the site is a wooded hill. In one variant
of this encounter dream, he describes the incident of the object shining
the light on him, as being at this site. Thus this site may somehow be associated
with the close encounter dream, or might be the location of an additional encounter.
I was able to locate the site at the location which Jade indicated. This location
contains a round tankas he described. It is the Test Lab of a local aerospace
engineering company. The spherical tank is present, but the present building
arrangement does not match that of the pictures.
Interior Scenario:
From subsequent dreams and flashbacks, a picture of the apparent interior of the
"object" emerges. The memories begin with being awake, presumably inside the object.
Jade was apparently alert, but unable to move. There was someone behind him, gently
pulling him across the floor through (into?) a dark room of some kind. He was being
"almost dragged" backwards, as if someone was carrying him from around the chest.
He remembers being moved about three or four feet then placed on a platform -
apparently a table - rising from the floor. He describes the table as cold and hard
[Note: in another description, he the table had a smooth slippery texture, like
plastic that had been chromed over].
The table resembled restaurant cabinets and counter tops, made of hard cold stainless
steel - very smooth and rounded. The surface was shaped "almost like a large pan" -
square in shape. His impression was that it was contoured almost so that you could
sit someone unconscious in it - with a rise for the back and legs so that one would
not slide.
Sketch of table
Jade was lying on his right side. An entity was in front of him, which he describes
as being "curious" about him, was apparently looking at him. The immediately
noticeable thing about this entity apparently was its eyes, which were very penetrating.
They were "regular" in shape but larger than human eyes. He describes the room as
very large and black or very dark blue. The table was located approximately in the
center of the room, which appeared to be round. Above, there was a "cone" of light
shining down. The cone was inverted, with the smaller part just over the table, and
the wider part at the top. However, from the interior, it seemed to be nearly straight
up and down. He felt that the light was not very bright, but he could not tell where
the light was actually coming from. Within the light overhead, there as a "mobile-like"
object. This object did not move and appeared to be solid, resembling a mobile over
a child's crib. This "mobile" was solid black, perhaps due to being silhouetted against
the light. The "mobile" was very structured, and consisted of several different
branching posts which ended in black spheres.
[Note: He initially remembered the "mobile" upon seeing a picture of a helicopter
borne infrared camera on the bottom of a helicopter (black balls on a frame)].
He was also aware of a cylindrical post to his right, on which a mechanical arm was
attached. The arm was rectangular in shape, with a beveled edge.
On the underside of the arm, were two small prongs (not even sharp) of different lengths.
He estimated the width of the arm as about eight inches with the length being not more
than 2 1/2 or three feet. The arm extended from the post near where he was lying. He
felt that the post with the arm was moving towards him, perhaps on a wheeled platform.
An entity was standing on either side of the table, one in front of him and the other
behind. Neither of the entities were familiar to him. All conversation appeared to
be non-verbal, (apparently telepathic), appearing to speak within his head. He was
unable to communicate with them. He was unable to remember hearing sounds (but
indicated that he is unable to remember sounds in dreams - with the exception of
music). He somehow remembers them appearing to disagree over something.
The entities all looked similar. He could clearly remember their eyes, which appeared
to be associated with their communication. He sensed messages like "Who are you"
and "Why are you so depressed?" as well as other (apparently empathetic) thoughts.
The second entity stood behind Jade on the other side of the table. Jade felt that
this second entity may have been taller that the first entity. The two entities were
"handling" him, to keep him on his side. The entity on his right was "looking into"
Jade, apparently communicating with him. He sensed some form of a relationship
with the entities, even though they were strangers. they appeared to have "sympathy"
for him [CL Note: Perhaps due to Jade's agitated state of mind at the time of the encounter]
The entities seldom if ever turned away from him, so Jade's view of the entities is
largely from the front. At the level of the table, he was able to see the entities
from the about middle of their chest up. They seemed to be proportioned right.
Remembers the face being "flesh" colored, with a dull yellowish tone. He felt that
the face was "hollow", almost like it was a mask. He does not remember seeing a mouth.
He indicated that the hands appeared to have two thumbs [not sure how many fingers].
They did not have any hair. The cheek bones were more prominent than what he seen
in drawings of a "typical gray".
The entities had large heads with small chins. The back of the head flared out
beginning at the temples. He also remembered the eyes being spaced in about human
proportions, and being somewhat "oriental" looking. They did have whites, but the
pupils were extremely large.
Sketch of entity
The entities were wearing what appeared to be "jump suits". Jade noticed a vee-
shaped collar on at least one of the entities. The material seemed like a brushed
leather, only thinner. The color of garment was grayish, more metallic in appearance.
He could not remember any insignia. It is not apparent what clothing Jade was wearing
during the time he was in the "interior". However, when he was placed upon the
examining table, he remembers his baseball hat (white baseball cap which he wears
frequently, and which was on backwards) falling off, being pulled off by the bill. [Note:
He remembers wearing that particular cap on the night of the encounter in November].
He also remembers the first entity's hands being visible, and every so often touching
his shoulder. The second entity, behind him, was moving or bracing Jade's head or
neck.
Then, For a moment the entities seemed not to pay too much attention to him - they
seemed to be talking to each other [CL Note: not able to tell if conversation was
audible, but other comments suggest that it was telepathic]. Jade felt that there
might have been some sort of disagreement between them concerning him.
Jade remembers the room as being round, with pillars around the outer edge. One
of the pillars appeared to have a hole about three to three 1/2 inches across. One
of the entities [possibly a third entity] was holding a cylinder of some sort, which
was about a foot long. It was inserting the cylinder into the hole (Jade sensed that
the object might have been heavy, requiring the entity to hold it with both hands).
The cylinder fit perfectly into the wall. [CL Note: not apparent whether it was flush
with the wall after insertion, or whether there was any effect due to insertion of the
object.]
He also remembers there being a "window" and a "control panel" of some sort.
The panel did not appear to have buttons or lights but Jade had a feeling that it was
a control panel due to the way it was laid out - like a ledge that jutted out like a
table or counter top. He never saw any of the entities use it. However, immediately
next to [left of?] the control panel was the pillar where the apparent third entity
had placed the cylinder into the hole. He also felt that he could see a scene "outside
the craft", through the "window".
The ceiling of the room appeared to have a diameter greater than that of the room.
There was a gap between the top of the wall and the ceiling. The ceiling was domed,
with the light and apparatus coming down from the middle. At the edge of the circular
room, there was a rounded wall, with regular pillars.
Between one pair of pillars was a hallway, coming out from this round room. It gave Jade
the impression of hallways resembling the spokes of a wheel. Two halls were visible, but
Jade did not remember any activity in either of these two halls. He also did not remember
actually leaving the room. [CL Note: He described one hallway, the other apparently is the
one through which they entered the room].
In addition, there was a large hole in the floor
Jade was not sure if it was round or octagonal. He was not sure of its location within the room,
but remembers a large structure over the hole. possibly coming down from the ceiling. He
felt that the hole was somewhere next to the wall.
Possible Medical Effects:
No medical effects can be directly attributed to the apparent close encounter.
However, there are several anomalous medical conditions which he feels might have
bearing on the case.
1) He had problems with his contact lenses a few months after the encounter. Upon
seeing the doctor, it was discovered that there was significant scar tissue built
up around the lenses. The doctor attributed this to an error in the lens curvature
prescription, causing a poor fit to his cornea.
2) The witness' report to MUFON was prompted by a significant problem with insomnia,
in which dreams and flashbacks of the encounter would occur. He indicates that in
the past three to four months he has had many consistent dreams and visions consistent
with the typical CE4 scenario.
Additional Witnesses:
None are known.
A check of the police records indicates that no unusual objects or lights in the
sky were reported to the Plymouth, MN Police Dept. Note however, that the object as
described, was of considerable size, and was approximately 100 feet up in the air, in a
suburban area near a heavily travelled highway. Thus, it should have been clearly
visible to other witnesses. Therefore the potential exists for corroborating witness reports.
Weather Information:
Based upon the witness' recollections, there had been a considerable snowstorm that
day. He remembers specifically that the event occurred in late November. A check
of National Climatic Data Center snowfall records for November of 1990 indicated that
there was a heavy snowfall on Tuesday Nov 27, 1990, with a trace amount of snow the
following day. This implies that the snowstorm was probably tapering off, late in
the evening of the 27th, with a trace of snow after midnight. This would be consistent
with his description of the weather. Thus, we can estimate that the date/time of the
initial encounter to be about 8:30 PM, on Nov 27, 1990.
The following is the weather report from MSP for 2100 CST on 27 Nov, 1990:
Snow falling. Visibility 3/4 mile. 1000 ft overcast. Temp 26. Dew-point 25.
Wind from 310 degrees, 13 mph.
Freezing rain changed to snow sometime during the evening.
This roughly corroborates the witness' description of a fresh snowfall.
Natural and Manmade Phenomena Check:
Assuming that the events which the witness describes are an objective experience, no
known phenomena could produce the effects described.
Other Possibilities:
This report assumes that the object sighting, and probable subsequent close-encounter
experience, were actual objective experiences. However, the possibility exists that
this was some form of psychological artifact. It should be noted that the witness had
recently been hospitalized - and was subsequently under medication for a psychiatric
condition. These, and/or the actual psychological effects of the condition, might have
produced an impression of this experience on him. He had also read extensively about
the UFO phenomenon. I do not consider myself qualified to evaluate this hypothesis.
In my view it must be evaluated by a practicing mental health professional.
Sighting Evaluation:
Possible CE4 - Unexplained, ordinary significance.
Given the size and location of the potential corroboration by possible other witnesses
should exist. However, at the present time there is no actual corroborating evidence.
It is possible that a close encounter with entities might have occurred, but it is also
possible that this event might have been entirely psychological in nature. Thus this
event must be considered a possible close encounter of the fourth kind, but of
"ordinary" significance.
Initial Encounter
Possible Alternate Location
Witness Depiction of Table
Witness depiction of apparatus and objects which triggered flashback
Witness depiction of "arm" which approached him
Witness cross section of room with overhead apparatus
Witness depiction of view of room - looking toward foot of "table"
Layout of room as depicted by witness
Witness depiction of entity
***
Date of Sighting: May, 1992 (Exact Date Unknown)
Time of Sighting: 10:02 PM CDT
Place of Sighting: White Bear Lake, MN
Type of Report: CE1
Local Evaluation: Unexplained
Sighting Account
The witness was driving northbound on Century avenue, and was almost to the
shore of White Bear Lake. At the location where Century Ave. turns into Southshore
Blvd, tops a hill and descends to the lakeshore, she noticed a large object over
the water.
Map of sighting area showing path of witness and object
The object was located approximately 30 to 50 feet from shore, and was approximately
fifty above the water. It was moving to the left (west) along the shoreline. The
witness had had other sightings, but was surprised and puzzled by this object until
she concluded that it was similar to the others she had observed.
The witness followed the object along South Shore Blvd, as far as Hwy 61. She had
the object in view at a number of locations, where it was not obscured by trees
along the shore. At other locations, however, trees obscured her view of the object.
The object moved at a rate of approximately 30 miles per hour (as indicated by the
speed of the witness's car as she followed the object). The object's motion was
described by the witness as "chugging", indicating an erratic or oscillatory flight
path, varying in height by approximately 3 feet with a constant average elevation.
The witness estimated the rate of oscillation or "chugging" to be at about twice
per second. She indicated that the movements during these oscillations were jerky
in nature, giving her the momentary impression that the object might be in trouble.
[Note: She later decided that it was not in trouble when it performed subsequent
maneuvers.]
When the object reached the western shore of the lake, it shot nearly vertically
up to an altitude of approximately 1000 to 2000 feet, moved over the highway, and
then descended at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. She estimated that its
elevation when it reached the west side of Hwy 61 was approximately 100 ft. It
continued to move west and was lost from view. Throughout all of its motion,
the object retained a horizontal attitude. The total duration of the sighting was
approximately 10 minutes
The witness described the object as a "silver saucer", approximately 60 feet in
diameter. Its shape was lenticular, with a dome on top. The disk did not appear
to be spinning, and had a rim with between 6 to 12 lights, which the witness
described as glowing cherry red. The object was also surrounded by a cherry red
glow (aura).
Witness sketch of object [with CL annotation]
The lights and aura appeared to be pulsating together at a rate of about twice
per second. The witness felt that this pulsation appeared to be synchronized
with the oscillations in the object's flight path, although she could not
remember the details of how they were synchronized.
The object made no apparent sound (although the witness indicated that due to
allergies, she drives with the car windows closed).
Aftermath:
The witness reported the sighting to the newspaper "White Bear Press", who
appeared not to be interested in following up on it.
Additional Witnesses:
None are known. However, the sighting took place in an area of relatively high
population. Thus there may well have been other witnesses. The witness did not
notice what, if any aircraft or boats were in the area.
Weather Conditions:
The witness describes the weather as clear, with no precipitation. Due to the
inexact date of the sighting, weather records can not be obtained.
Natural and Manmade Phenomena Check:
No known phenomena, either natural or manmade would appear to explain this sighting
Sighting Evaluation:
Type: CE1
Evaluation: Unexplained
Significance: High
***
Date/Time of Sighting: July (first week, not sure of exact day) of
1992 Approximately 3:00AM CDT
Place of Sighting: Anoka, MN - near Elk River and St. Francis.
Local Evaluation: CE1 Unexplained
Type of Report: CE1 - close flyover by large object
Date of Report: 13 Feb, 1999
Investigator: Craig R. Lang - Field Investigator, MN MUFON
Sighting Background:
I was informed of this sighting while interviewing the witness's
business partner, regarding another event. After learning of this
sighting, I contacted the witness, and arranged an interview. This
report is based upon the results of this interview and followup
research. This investigation is still in progress and further
findings will be included in a subsequent report.
Witness Description:
The witness is a female, whose present age is 61 (approximately age
55 at time of sighting). She and her husband live in a relatively
rural area, north of the Twin Cities, near the towns of St. Francis
and Elk River, MN. She has a high school education. She indicates
that her health and hearing are good, both now and at the time of the
sighting. Her vision is slightly farsighted, correctable to 20/20
with reading glasses. She and a partner run a catering business in
the Anoka/St. Francis/Elk River area.
Sighting Account:
The witness was unable to sleep and was sitting in a chair in her
living room at about 1:30 AM CDT.
She was nearly asleep when she heard a loud noise to the north of the
house, and looked out her living room window (faces north), to see a
large object (see sketch below) low to the ground, heading toward the
house.
Witness sketch [CL Annotation] of object which overflew house.
She viewed the object from the underside, and indicated that it
appeared to be disk shaped and dark colored, with brilliant red lights,
evenly spaced a few feet apart along the rim. The lights did not
illuminate the field. There were no other visible features such as
"windows", etc.
The object initially appeared to be close to the ground, ascending
from a corn field across the highway from her house. [Note: She felt
that the object initially might have been landed in the field.] The
object was rapidly moving toward her house, accompanied by a loud
roar, which she said resembled that of the reverse thruster on a
commercial jet.
Witness sketch [CL Annotation] of house plan showing witness locations.
The witness indicates that she was afraid the object would hit the
house. However it quickly (nearly instantly) passed overhead (she
thought about 20 feet up). She ran to the dining room window (facing
south), and observed the object receding into the distance over the
field to the south of the house (she felt that it was about 1/4 mile
away by this time). The motion of the object was straight and fast.
She noted that it remained low (elevation of about two hand-widths
at arm's length) in the southern sky. She continued to hear a roar
from the object as it receded to the south.
The object was quickly lost to sight as it "just faded out". [CL
Note: WX not known, could object have passed into cloud layer?] She
estimated that the entire sighting lasted only about two seconds.
CL Sketch of witness's property.
Object appeared from north of the property, passed over the house and
disappeared to the south.
Additional Witnesses:
No direct secondary witnesses are known to this sighting. However,
this event occurred during a wave of sightings which took place in the
Northern Anoka / St. Francis / Elk River area, north of the Twin
Cities, MN. We are informed that additional witnesses may exist, and
are currently attempting to locate them.
In addition, the witness in this report felt that object may have
landed in the corn field across the highway from her house. It is not
known if there were any landing traces observed, etc. We are
attempting to contact the owner of the field and adjacent properties,
to determine if they may have noticed anything unusual at that time.
This investigation is presently ongoing.
Weather Conditions:
Not known, since exact date not known.
Witness indicates that she does not remember WX conditions.
Natural and Manmade Phenomena Check:
At present, No known natural phenomenon would explain this event.
The possibility of a very low flying aircraft must be considered,
although the witness was certain that this object was not an aircraft.
Also, the sighting location is only a few miles from the Elk River
proving grounds used by Honeywell, Inc (now Alliant TechSystems, Inc)
to test military ordinance. It might be possible that this event, and
other related sightings in the Elk River area, may somehow be
associated with this. We are investigating this possibility as part
of the ongoing research into the Elk River / St. Francis sightings of
1992/93.
Other Possibilities:
Assuming that the object is truly anomalous, it may have been
ascending from the field across the highway from the witness's house.
Thus, it is possible that a sighting or encounter might have occurred
to one of the neighboring residents. This possibility is also being
explored wherever possible.
Sighting Evaluation:
CE1 - Unexplained (Investigation ongoing)
Significance: Ordinary, but significance increases in context of
other Elk River related events. Investigation of this and related
sightings in the area of Elk River / St. Francis, MN is continuing.
Further findings will be included in a subsequent report.
***
Lake Elmo, MN CE1/MA1 - 02 May, 1993
Place of Sighting: Lake Elmo, MN
Date of Sighting: 02 May, 1993
Time of Sighting: 11:00 AM CDT
Type of Report: CE1 or MA1
Local Evaluation: Unexplained
Sighting Account:
The witness was driving South on Lake Elmo Ave. N. at about 45 miles per hour. She
was about 1/4 mile north of the intersection with N. Stillwater Blvd. Looking up,
she observed an object at a location directly to her south, which she estimated to
be over Lake Elmo. Her attention was caught by the unusual appearance of the object,
which seemed to be hovering a short distance above the tree line. The object
appeared to be at about "mid windshield" level [CL Estimate: about 20 degrees or less
above horizon]. She estimated its altitude to be about 500 feet.
Map of sighting location
The witness clearly noted the sun shining on one side of the object. She indicated
that on seeing the object, she instantly recognized it as a "flying saucer" and that
she was initially "a little thrilled" to see the object.
The witness noted that as she moved south, she could tell that she was approaching
the object. It appeared to be slowly descending, at an angle about 25 degrees or
less from vertical. As she approached, the intersection with Stillwater Blvd, the
object dropped out of view. She felt that the sighting lasted about one to two
minutes.
The object was described by the witness as silver, and about 40 feet in diameter. It
did not appear to be spinning, and had no visible features (such as windows, doors,
lights, antennas, etc). Its attitude remained horizontal, and its movement was slow
and smooth all throughout the descent.
Witness sketch of object
Additional Witnesses:
None are known. The sighting was on a Sunday morning (when the roads are lightly
travelled), and the witness did not notice any other cars on the road. She did note
that there were quite a few people at the White Hat Restaurant for Sunday brunch,
but from that location the object would have been obscured by trees.
Weather Conditions:
The witness described the weather as clear, or high clouds.
Records from the Minnesota state climatologist's office indicate the following:
Temperature: 56 degrees F.
Wind: 4 knots from 40 degrees
Visibility 15 Mi. (unlimited)
Cloud Ceiling: 22000 ft, 100% Cloudy (presumably cirrus or cirrostratus)
Natural and Manmade Phenomena Check:
No known natural or manmade phenomena would be able to explain this sighting.
The witness was clearly able to distinguish this object from any prosaic object
(such as a blimp or helicopter, etc.)
Note: This location is frequently overflown by recreational balloonists. Thus, the
possibility of the object being a balloon, or other lighter-than-air craft was
considered. However, the witness indicates that she was clearly able to
distinguish this object from any prosaic object such as a balloon due to its shape
and flight path.
Sighting Evaluation:
Type: CE1 or MA1
Evaluation: Unexplained
Significance: Normal
***
Date of Sighting: 09 Oct, 1995 (date estimated)
Place of Sighting: South Minneapolis
Local Evaluation: Unexplained - Ordinary Significance (High if additional witnesses
or accompanying CE4 event)
Type of Report: Close Encounter or Anomaly of the First Kind (CE1/AN1) - large
object over populated area
Date of Report: 13 February, 1999
Investigator: Craig R. Lang - Field Investigator, MN MUFON
Sighting Background
I was informed of this sighting by another MUFON member, who is
acquainted with the witness. The witness had informed him of the
event, and he in turn informed me. I then interviewed the witness
and performed a followup investigation. Since this event occurred
in a way that should have attracted considerable attention, I have
spentconsiderable time attempting to locate additional witnesses.
To date I have not been successful. However, this investigation is
ongoing.
Witness Description
The primary witness is a woman who lives in south Minneapolis, across
the street from the apparent location of the object. She has a high
school education, with significant self study and training and training
in business administration. Her age at the time of this report (March
1997) is 44. She indicates that her health, and hearing are good, and
her vision is correctable to 20/20. At the time of the sighting she
was employed as a billing supervisor for a large health care
corporation in the Minnesota Twin Cities area. She indicates that
she has not had any other UFO sightings, but has had metaphysical
experiences.
Sighting Account
The witness was sitting in her apartment, watching television sometime
between 8:00 and 9:00 PM CDT. At this time, there was a power failure.
She located a candle, lit it, and went out into the hall, to the front
landing to see if others were also affected by the blackout.
About five minutes following the onset of the power failure, she was
standing on the front landing (between the first and second floor) of
her apartment building, looking out of the window onto the street.
She indicates that she "felt compelled to look up". When she did,
she observed a large dark oval-shaped object which appeared to be
over the top of the buildings across the street (see sketch). She
watched the object for about 30 seconds to one minute. She was not
sure of the actual distance to the object but noted that while she
was watching the object, an airplane passed behind it in the distance.
She was able to hear the airplane, but could hear no sound from the
object. She also noted that there were a number of people outside
(approximately 10) on the street and sidewalks during the blackout.
She felt that they should have noticed the object.
View of building front with object.
CL Sketch to witness description, showing object over building block
across street in front of witness's apartment. The object was somewhat
larger than the city block. It was dark with interspersed red and
white lights on the edge. She was unable to see any structural
details of the object itself.
She then turned her head around to try to point out the object to two
of her neighbors, who were standing and talking in the hall about
twenty feet away (Note: CL Estimate of distance). She was unable to
get their attention, and so turned her view back to the object. When
she did, the object was gone. She then remembers the lights coming
back on within what she felt was 1/2 hour of this event. She then
went upstairs and watched the 9PM news, which was already in progress.
Analysis of Time Interval:
Blackout Timing was given by the Oct 10, 1995 Star Tribune as follows:
Outage began "shortly after 8PM", and was restored at 9:05 PM. - thus
the outage lasted approximately one hour.
Thus, the probable sequence of events looks something like this:
- 8:05PM CDT (approximate): Witness watching TV when power failure occurs.
- 8:10PM CDT (approximate): Witness has located and lit candle - exits apartment
to hallway, looking out window
- Moments later: Observes object - watches for about 30 seconds, then attempts to
attract attention of neighbors When witness turns to again look at object, object has
vanished. - this would have been at approximately 8:15PM CDT
- 9:05 PM CDT: Power restored (witness felt this was approximately within 1/2 hour
of sighting)
Note: The witness was not sure how long it was from the time the
object disappeared until the power came back on. However, she felt
that it was within 1/2 hour of sighting. From the chronology, a time
interval of approximately 50 minutes is suggested between the sighting
and power restoration. Thus a possible discontinuity in time
perception ofapproximately 20 minutes might exist, but is not clearly
established.
Additional Witnesses:
No specific additional witnesses are known. There were several
persons were in the bookstore, and about 10 people in the street. We
have been attempting to locate possible additional witnesses, but have
not been successful.
The witness indicated that two neighbors had been conversing in the
hall of the apartment building during the time of the power failure.
I contacted one neighbor, who remembered being there at that time, and
remembered the witness being in the hall, but did not remember the
witness trying to get their attention.
The owner of the bookstore remembered the time of the power failure.
He indicated that people in the store "acted weird", and did not go
out into the street, but "just hung out there" for several minutes.
Another customer who was in the bookstore indicated that she did not
observe anything unusual, but did not have a view to the outside of
the store. Thus, there does not appear to be any direct witnesses
associated with the bookstore.
Assuming that the object was truly anomalous, then one possible
hypothesis is that the object was "interested in" someone in that
building block. Thus it would be beneficial to determine if a CE4
event might have occurred in that area at that particular time.
However, at present no reports exist of possible CE4 events at that
place and time.
Weather Conditions (MSP WX report from State Climatologist for
Oct. 9, 1995, 2100 CST):
9/10 coverage high (20,000 ft), thin clouds.
Visibility 15 miles, temp 47, dewpoint 45,
Wind from 180 deg at 7 kt.
Natural Phenomena Check:
The possibility of some sort of cloud formation was considered by the
witness as she was observing it. However, her description corresponds
to no known type of clouds. In addition, the sudden vanishing of the
object would argue against this explanation. However, at this date,
it is not possible to completely rule this explanation out.
Manmade Phenomena Check:
No known human made object would account for this event.
Other Possibilities:
It is possible that if the object is truly anomalous, there may have
been a CE4 event in progress which was inadvertently partially
observed by the witness. This event is not provable unless a CE4
event can be established at that particular place/time.
Sighting Evaluation:
Sighting Type: CE1/AN1
Evaluation: Unexplained.
Significance: Ordinary (Note: If additional witnesses can be located,
will increase to High significance).
***
A Multiple Witness CE1 in Wright County, MN: August 1997
WUFOD# 1-962-MN
Date/Time of Sighting: 08 August, 1997 Approx. 9:00 PM CDT
Place of Sighting: Approx. three miles east of Howard Lake
in Wright County. Traveling westbound on US Hwy 12 detour,
south of main highway [actual road is TBD, either 70th St (1
mile south of US12) or County Hwy 30 (5 miles south of US12)].
Type of Report: Multiple Witness Close Flyby - CE1
Date of Report: 04 April, 2002
Investigator: Craig R. Lang, Field Investigator, MN MUFON
Local Evaluation: CE1 Unexplained.
Sighting Background:
The sighting was by four witnesses: A mother (the primary
witness), her two children, and her niece.
I was put in contact with the primary witness through Bob
Schultz, of Minnesota MUFON, who is a mutual friend. I then
contacted her and interviewed her and her two children. The
fourth witness (the niece) now resides in Germany. I have
mailed her a sighting form, but have not yet received a
response. I have therefore decided to file this report with
the three witnesses only, to be updated if/when I obtain the
fourth witness report.
Witness Descriptions:
The witnesses are a mother, her niece and her two daughters.
At the time of the sighting, the mother was age 33, the
daughters were ages 6 and 7, and the niece was age 15.
There do not appear to be any health effects related to the
sighting.
The mother is very interested in both UFO and metaphysical
topics. The family has indicated no other major UFO-related
or anomalous experiences. However, the mother has indicated
one other possible sighting by both her and her husband.
Sighting Account:
The witnesses were driving to their family cabin in central,
Minnesota, and were traveling west bound, in their car at
about 9PM CDT, on August 8, 2000. They were approximately
three miles west of the town of Howard Lake, Minnesota, on
County Hwy 13 (detour of US Hwy 12). The mother was driving,
her 15 year old niece was in the front passenger seat, and
her two daughters were in the back seat. She noted that the
road was busier than usual, and that traffic was moving
slowly on this detour route
The mother observed what seemed to be lights ahead of them,
apparently aiming at them. She initially felt that they
seemed like aircraft, and also observed that there was no
noise present, beyond that from the car’s travel. Curious,
she slowed the car and observed them. As they approached,
she noticed that what was previously visible only as lights,
now resolved into disks.
She noted that the car in front of theirs had pulled over
to the side of the road, and that other cars seemed to have
slowed down as well. She pulled their car off to the side
of the road as well, and opened the car windows to watch
the objects. Nobody said anything as they watched the
objects approach. They saw the object(s) come from the
west (anti-parallel to their path), then swoop to the south,
away from the road, passing behind nearby trees and out of s
ight.
Object path as drawn by mother
As they watched, the mother initially thought that they
were some form of experimental craft, and then decided that
they had to be unidentified objects. Once she realized that
the objects were UFOs, she describes her reaction as one of
amazement.
She estimated that the objects moved at approximately the
speed of cars on the highway, somewhat faster than the cars
in the oncoming lane [CL Note: 60 +/- 10 MPH?]. She noted
that although passing quite close to them, the objects
appeared to make no noise. She notes that there were no
other aircraft visible during the time of the sighting. At
closest approach, the objects were on the order of one or
so blocks distant from them. Once the lights were lost
behind the trees, they resumed driving, pulling out onto
the road. At this time, the other cars that had either
pulled off or briefly slowed down now began to resume their
normal speed.
The witnesses arrived at their cabin at the expected time,
indicating that no apparent missing time occurred.
Object Description:
The mother and her niece, both in the front seat observed
three objects (Note: The children in the back seat both
describe seeing only one object) traveling about 70 feet
above the ground. Their movement appeared to be smooth to
swooping, as they shifted their path to the south. There
was no apparent rotation to the objects, with two bright
lights on each object always pointing in their direction
of travel. They appeared to be dark metallic with a lighter
turquoise color to their central region.
Mother's drawing of objects
The objects moved in a triangular formation, with one
object being lower, and the other two being slightly above.
The lower object was about 70 feet above the ground.
Mother’s description of objects’ size: about 30-40m in
diameter.
Description by Daughters:
Each of the daughters observed only one object. The six
year old daughter was in the left seat (closest to the
object), looking out the rear window. [CL Note: she
indicated she was on the right, but this was as looking
backwards]. She observed the object to be as follows:
Bottom view of object drawn by youngest daughter
She was also apparently able to observe some detail of the
top of the object as it receded, drawing it as follows:
Top structure (est. top view) as seen by youngest daughter
The six-year old daughter described the size of the object
as about the size of the moon [CL Note: Moon size is often
overestimated, suggesting that these were pretty large
objects - CL Est.: Apparent Moon width due to optical
illusion is often subjectively given as two fingers’ width
at arm’s length].
The seven year old daughter was in the right seat, also
looking backwards out the rear window. She observed the
object to be as follows:
Older daughter bottom view of object
She described the object as being round, gray in color,
with red lights on the side and non-blinking green lights
in the interior. There was a rectangular feature in the
center which glowed with a light green color. This witness
described the object as being "bigger than an airplane,
only round."
CL Note: It is notable that the daughters each observed
only one object, while the mother observed three. They felt
that this might have been due to the two upper objects being
obscured from the daughters’ view by the car roof. Both
daughters and the mother each drew slightly differing
depictions of the object(s), with somewhat different
lighting configurations, etc. However the overall
configuration of the object as seen by all was similar in
all cases.
Additional Witnesses:
There were four witnesses in the car, one of whom now lives
in Germany and has not been available for an interview. In
addition, there were numerous cars on the highway at that
time, some of which apparently pulled off to watch the
object. So the number of additional witnesses is probably
quite high. However, none of these additional witnesses
are known at this time.
Weather Conditions:
The primary witness describes the weather at the time of
the sighting as being clear and warm. Weather Info for
8 Aug, 1997 from MN State Climatologist’s Office:
Temperature: 71 deg F. Dew Pt: 59 deg F.
Wind 13 MPH from 170 deg (10 deg East of due south)
No clouds with unlimited (10 Mi+) visibility
Analysis:
The size of the object can be estimated as follows:
Assume a size of three finger-width (or about two inches,
estimated from illusory size of moon) at arms’ length (25
inches). This gives a 2 to 25 width to distance ratio.
If we assume that the object was one block away (500 feet)
at its closest approach, this gives a diameter of approx.
40 feet. This would be a reasonable size for an artificial
craft, but roughly a factor of two smaller than the mother’s
estimate of at least 30 m (approximately 90 ft).
Explanatory Phenomena Check:
No natural phenomenon that I am aware of would explain this
event.
The witness considered the possibility of aircraft, either
small commercial, or experimental of some type. The lack of
sound and the apparent low altitude both argue against this
explanation. Also, the witnesses observed the objects in
considerable detail. Their descriptions do not match any
known aircraft.
An unknown experimental aircraft must be considered. However
this also seems unlikely due to the lack of noise, etc.
The possibility of the objects being a helicopter or other
human-made hovering vehicle must also be considered. However,
this is not consistent with the drawings of all three
witnesses from whom we have reports.
Sighting Evaluation:
CE1, Multiple-Witness, Unexplained
CL Followup Note – 06 August, 2002: During a subsequent conversation
with the primary witness, she informed me that she actually did arrive
late at her cabin. Another family member pointed this out to her upon
reading this report. At this time, the duration of the delay and the
corresponding implications are not known.
***
I 1-336
ABSTRACT: Glowing orange ball maneuvered in sky, came close.
CASE_TYPE: CE1
MONTH: 07/05/1999, 01:30
DURATION: over_1_hour
LATITUDE: 46N
LONGITUDE: 93W
COUNTY: Aitken
NEAR_TOWN_OR_CITY: Wealthwood, MN USA
SITE: lake_or_river
SKY: partly_cloudy
MUFON_REPORTEES: 2
NUMBER_OBSERVED: 1
ELEVATION: 0-10_degrees
LOWEST_ALTITUDE: treetop
DISTANCE: 101-500_feet
FLIGHT: straight_line_path, hovering, jumped_around
DIRECT_LAST_OBSVED: E
SHAPE: sphere
SURFACE: glowing
APPARENT_SIZE: aspirin
ACTUAL_SIZE: 4-10_feet
SURFACE_COLOR: orange
CHANGE_COLOR: no
PSYCH_DURING_EVENT: fear
PSYCH_AFTER_EVENT: fear
INVESTIGATOR1_NAME: William I. McNeff
INVESTIGATOR1_EMAIL: w.mcneff@att.net
Witness No. 1 said he was at his cabin on the north shore of
Mille Lacs Lake. He was watching satellites ( I believe he
said he started watching late on the night of the 4th), when
what he at first thought was a satellite stopped, then zipped
across the sky. This made him believe it was a UFO, and he
became excited. He said there was one additional witness to
the July 5 sighting, the man from the neighboring cabin, whom
he went to get when he saw the object, but he couldn’t give
me the man’s name during this interview. I believe he didn’t
remember the name. As they were watching the object together,
it went out of sight, then what he assumed was the same object
appeared at closer range through a gap in the row of trees
that ran between the two cabins. He said the object was 100
to 150 feet away from them, was a perfect sphere approx. 5
feet in diameter, glowing orange. He estimated that it was
about 20 feet off the ground and moving at between 25 to 50
mph. He felt that it passed between the row of trees and the
neighbor’s cabin. They ran to the gap in the trees, but the
object was by then out of sight. His neighbor was, he said,
frightened by the sighting. Witness No. 1 said he watched for
UFOs a total of three and a half hours that night.
Witness No. 2 did not have a good memory of the event. He was
originally unsure how close the object came. He later said the
object might have been as close as between the two cabins. He
estimated the height of his cabin as 15 feet, therefor it is
not possible to be sure of the distance of the object at
closest approach.
Investigators Report:
Relevant information on the weather was obtained from Witness
No. 1. A site visit has not yet been made. The object has not
been identified as anything conventional. Because the object
changed direction, it was not a satellite. It maneuvered too
quickly for a conventional aircraft or ball lightning. The
reliability of Witness No. 1 has been determined to be somewhat
low, but the fact that a second witness testified to the
existence of a moving light of unconventional form is considered
good evidence that something unusual was seen.
Conclusion: Unidentified.
***
Date of Sighting: 02 Sep, 1999
Time of Sighting: 9:30 PM CST
Sighting Duration: Approximately 5 Minutes
Sighting Location: Medicine Lake/Plymouth, MN
Local Evaluation: CE1 Unexplained
Type of Report: Close Overflight of Large Triangular Object -
Single Witness
Date of Report: 08 January, 2000
Investigator: Craig R. Lang, Field Investigator, MN MUFON
Sighting Background:
The witness is an acquaintance of another MN MUFON member. Following
a presentation at a MN MUFON meeting by a guest speaker, this MN
MUFON member introduced the witness to me. I then briefly interviewed
the witness regarding the essential information of the sighting, and
arranged a followup interview. At the followup interview, she
extensively described the sighting. We visited the sighting location
and extensively documented the details of the event.
Witness Description:
The witness is female, age 54. She is a financial/business
administrator for a major local corporation. Her health, vision and
hearing are all good (None appear to have been affected by the
sighting). She has indicated that she has not had any other UFO
sightings, but has had other metaphysical and paranormal experiences
throughout her life.
Sighting Account:
The witness was driving along a road leading onto a peninsula which
extends out into Medicine Lake. At the point near where the road
enters the base of the peninsula (see associated map) she observed
a pair of bright lights located ahead, to her left (to the northwest).
Figure 1: Map showing witness and object locations during sighting.
[Annotations by CL]
She described the lights as white, and very intense. She felt that
they resembled landing lights, except that there were two of them,
very close together. To her they seemed to be out of place, and
appeared to be searching for something, perhaps something on the lake
to the west of the peninsula. It became apparent to her that they
were just above the treeline, at a distance which she estimated to be
about 1 block away.
She continued to drive up the peninsula for approximately 1/2 block,
observing the lights as she could, through the trees. She then
realized that the lights were not moving.
After moving a few hundred feet ahead, she reached a point where the
trees no longer obscured her view of the lights. She then noted that
the lights were no longer visible. Instead, at an elevation of about
30 to 45 degrees above the horizon was a large, dark triangular
object, which she felt was just above the treetops. She estimated
the angular size to be about that of her hand at arms length. She
felt that the absolute size was slightly less than that of a house,
but considerably greater than that of a car. [CL Estimate: about 30
feet]
The object itself was triangular shaped, and black to charcoal-gray
matte-colored (see illustration below). The closest vertex of the
triangle was pointed in her direction, with the object moving toward
her. There were lights at the two rear vertices, one red and one
green [CL Note: She could not remember which was which color]. Also,
all over the underside of the object was a pattern of 3-dimensional
rectangular relief. (She felt that these might be concealing
something within, such as the lights she had seen earlier).
Figure 2: View of underside of object as described/sketched by
witness (Note: Computer drawing and annotation correspond to witness
description and sketch of object)
The object passed overhead of the location where her car was. She
indicated that as it passed over, she felt an intense mixture of awe
and fear. She indicates that she was afraid to get out of her car,
and felt concerned for her personal safety at that point. She was
not able to hear any sound (although, she had the windows closed,
with the air conditioner on, thus outside sounds were not very audible
to her at that time). [CL Note: As the object passed overhead, it
was visible through both the driver's side window and the front
windshield. This would indicate that it was at a low level, and/or
of considerable size].
The witness then pulled ahead about 75 feet further, and turned right
into a driveway, leading toward the waterfront. She pulled over again,
got out, and observed the object (now to her south) from shore. The
object was now moving over the lake, along the south shore. She
watched it move away, eventually losing sight of it when it became
obscured by the treeline on the south shore of the lake.
Additional Witnesses:
None are known. However, the object was large enough that it should
have been visible to others. Extrapolating the object's direction of
travel indicates that it would likely have passed over a major
highway, which at that time of the evening would have been well
traveled. Thus it is likely that there are other witnesses to the
event, who are not known to MUFON at this time.
Weather Conditions: (From MN state climatologist's office)
Temp: 79 deg F, Dewpoint: 71 deg F [CL Note: Very warm and humid]
Visibility: 7Mi., Wind: 12MPH from 170 deg (10 deg East of due South)
Cloud Conditions: Clear
Note: this corresponds very closely with the witness' description
of a clear, humid, hazy sky.
Natural & Manmade Phenomena Check:
Null hypothesis: The object might be assumed to be some form of
aircraft, as suggested by the witness' description of red and green
lights. However, the shape, the slow/hovering motion, and the
soundless operation argue against any commonly-known, conventional
type of aircraft as an explanation. The possibility of an
experimental aircraft employing advanced technology, can not be
entirely ruled out.
Sighting Evaluation:
Type of Report: CE1
Local Evaluation: Unexplained
***
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