One of the most intriguing cases of serious injury attributed to a UFO experience is that of Stefan Michalak. He returned home from a prospecting expedition with serious ill effects that he claimed were a result of an extraordinary UFO encounter.
The incident occurred on May 20, 1967, in an area near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, Canada, approximately 75 kilometres north of the American border in the rocky edge of the great Canadian Shield. Falcon Lake is a resort town at the southern boundary of Whiteshell Provincial Park. The park is largely uninhabited wilderness, known for various mineral deposits, and several small mines were established in the surrounding region. Stefan Michalak was an amateur geologist and had worked the area many times. Some prospectors had found several quartz veins nearby that were associated with silver deposits, and Michalak had even staked a few claims himself. On May 19, 1967, he traveled from his home in Winnipeg to Falcon Lake, where he spent the night in a motel on the Trans-Canada Highway.
The Encounter
Stefan Michalak left his motel at 5:30 that morning and headed north into the bush. By 9:00 a.m., traveling under a bright, cloudless sky, he had found a quartz vein near a marshy area, close to a small stream. At 11:00 a.m. he had lunch, then went back to his examination of the quartz formation. At 12:15 p.m., with the sun high and clouds gathering in the west, Michalak was startled by the cackling of some geese, who were obviously disturbed by something. He looked up and was surprised to see two cigar-shaped objects with "bumps" on them, an estimated forty-five degrees in altitude, descending and glowing red. As they approached, they appeared disc-shaped.
The furthest of the pair stopped in mid-flight, and the other drew nearer and landed on a large, flat rock which was later determined to be about 160 feet away. The one in the air hovered for a short while, then later departed, changing from red to orange to grey as it flew into the west, where it disappeared behind the clouds. Focusing his attention to the object on the ground, Michalak saw that it, too, was turning from red to grey, until it finally was the colour of "hot stainless steel," surrounded by a golden-hued glow. As he observed the object, he knelt beside a rock where he had been chipping at the quartz. He had been wearing welding goggles to protect his eyes from flying rock fragments. The goggles proved to be very useful, as brilliant light shone from openings in the object, blinding him and creating red afterimages in his eyes.
For the next half-hour he stayed near the rock, making a sketch of the object and noting various features. The craft was saucer-shaped, about 40 feet in diameter and approximately 10 feet thick. Its upper cupola or dome was an additional three feet high. Michalak became aware of waves of warm air radiating from the craft, accompanied by the "smell of sulphur." He also heard the whirring of what sounded like a fast electric motor, and a hissing, as if air were being taken in or expelled.
A door had opened in the side of the craft, revealing some lights inside. This door was about two by three feet in size. Michalak approached to within 60 feet of the craft, and heard two humanlike voices, one with a higher pitch than the other. He was sure that the craft was an American experimental test vehicle, and walked closer to it, sarcastically asking, "Okay, Yankee boys, having trouble? Come on out and we'll see what we can do about it." Getting no response (the voices had subsided), and becoming flustered, he asked cautiously in Russian, "Do you speak Russian?" There was still no answer, so he gave greetings in German, Italian, French and Ukrainian, then once again in English.
At this point, his curiosity got the best of him, and he walked closer to the craft, ending up directly in front of it. Poking his head into the opening, he saw a maze of lights on what appeared to be a panel, and beams of light in horizontal and diagonal patterns. There was also a cluster of lights flashing in a random sequence "like on a computer."
As Michalak stepped away from the craft, he saw that the wall of the craft was about 18 inches thick. Suddenly, three panels slid over the opening, sealing it "like a camera shutter." He examined the outside of the craft and touched the side of it with his gloved hand. There were no signs of welding or joints; the surface was highly polished, and appeared like colored glass with light reflecting off it, and made "silvery spectra" out of the sunlight. Drawing his glove back, he saw that it had burned and melted when it brushed the side of the object. Unexpectedly, the craft shifted position, and he was facing a grid like exhaust vent which he had seen earlier to his left. This vent was about nine inches high by six inches wide, and contained a uniform pattern of round holes, each about 1/16 inch in diameter. A blast of hot gas shot from these holes onto his chest, setting his shirt and undershirt on fire and causing him severe pain. He tore off his burning garments and threw them to the ground. He looked up in time to see the craft depart like the first, and felt a rush of air as it ascended.
People who claimed to have seen UFOs do not typically return with any evidence to verify their stories. But in this instance, the person involved came back with more than a tall tale. The evidence of his encounter was actually burned into his body.
The burned out area was 30 feet across
In shock, Stephen headed back toward his car. He was nauseous and vomited several times. Disoriented, he checked his compass, trying to find his way southeast, to the road. But the needle went haywire. Stephen made his best guess at the right direction. Nine hours later, he finally arrived back home. He was badly burned and still disoriented. According to his son, Stan, Stephen’s burns left doctors baffled:
“At that point in time, the diagnosis, if you can call it that, was burns. And sure they were burns, yes. Heat-caused burns. What they couldn’t diagnose and didn’t have a clue about was what appeared below the chest on the abdomen, the exact same pattern of holes that was on the grid on the side of the craft in the same order, in the same rows in the same number appeared as red spots on his lower abdomen, red dots.”
Stephen was released from the hospital, but his symptoms worsened. The nausea continued and his body seemed to emit a sulfuric stench. Stephen was tested for radiation poisoning, but the results were negative. No one could explain the source of the strange burns on his torso.
Six weeks after the encounter, Stephen and a friend went looking for the site. After several hours they found a burned-out circle the same size as the craft Stephen had seen. It was more then 30 feet across. Within days, a team of experts from the United States, working with the Royal Canadian Air Force, converged on the site. They took measurements, catalogued soil samples, and checked for radiation. The levels appeared quite high, and the Health Department considered quarantining the area. Later, however, they discovered that the high levels were caused by an unrelated vein of radium which ran under the entire region.
Meanwhile, Stephen’s burns, which had appeared to be healing, suddenly flared up again. According to Stephen, his doctors remained mystified:
“After every three months, my burns from legs and here were coming back, showing up again and burning.”
Nearly 30 years after his encounter, Stephen died with the burn marks still emblazoned on his torso. For the remainder of his life, Stephen Michalak never lost faith that on May 20, 1967, he had a remarkable encounter with something not of this Earth.
One of the best documented cases of physical trace evidence is known as the "Falcon Lake Encounter." Occurring on May 19, 1967, the lone participant was Stephen Michalak, who was a mechanic by trade, but his hobby was prospecting for silver. He was enjoying his favorite pastime when he encountered two UFOs, and actually touched one of the unknown flying objects that had landed in his vicinity.
Michalak was a resident of Winnipeg, Canada, but had taken a short vacation in The Whiteshell Provincial Park. He was quite familiar with the area, having prospected there on a number of occasions. He had been told that there were veins of quartz to be found near Falcon Lake. He was up early on May, 19, and after a couple of hours had found a vein of the precious material, stopped for a lunch break, and then resumed his digging.
Two Red Glowing Objects:
Shortly after the noon hour, he heard the sound of geese. Looking up to see them, he was surprised to also see two elongated objects which were descending toward the ground. They were glowing a reddish color. The closer they came to him, the more they took on a disc-shape. While he was watching in awe, one of the UFOs hovered in mid-air.
Object Lands on Large Rock:
The second UFO continued to descend until it finally landed on a large rock about 150 feet from him. The hovering object moved away, changing from red to orange, and finally gray before disappearing into a cloud bank. The landed UFO then began to change its colors in a like fashion. Ultimately, the gray appeared as "hot stainless steel."
Craft From Another World:
As he watched this strange flying object, he saw brilliant purple lights coming from openings in the front of the object. He was already wearing protective glasses, and they helped shield his eyes. The smell of sulfur was now unmistakable. He also heard a hissing sound from this craft which must have been from another world. His curiosity was running wild.
Door Opens in Craft:
Gaining his composure, he did a sketch of the UFO, yet never moved from where he stood for a half-hour. Then, an opening appeared in the object. He was able to view inside the craft. The inside was lit up like a Christmas tree. His curiosity got the best of him, as he moved ever closer to the UFO. He was now about 60 feet from it, and decided to go even closer.
Panels Hide the Door:
Finally, he was at the door. He looked in, and saw panels of different colored lights, and light beams crossing each other like security laser beams. The panel array was similar to a display on a computer. He could not see any living beings in the craft, and decided to walk back out of the UFO. Compare Michalak's description with that of Dr.Botta Three panels quickly closed, and the door was gone.
Vent Catches Shirt on Fire:
Examining the exterior of the craft, he reached out to touch it. He described it as "highly polished colored glass with no breaks or seams in its surface." When he made contact with the craft, his glove was melted from the heat. Then, the object moved! He could now see a vented opening about nine inches tall by six inches wide. The heat that came from the vent caught Michalak's shirt and undershirt afire. Pulling them off quickly, he was in extreme pain.
Severe Illness:
He could see the craft as it ascended in the skies above. A rush of air could be felt as it left the ground. His most immediate need at this point was medical attention. Before leaving the area, he tried to make a landmark by piling up debris, rocks, anything he could get his hands on. He now was suffering from a bad headache, broke into a cold sweat, and vomited.
The Aftermath:
He eventually made his way to a hospital, where he was treated for his severe burns on his chest, and his nausea. Was his experience the real thing? There is no reason to believe that Michalak made his story up. He was known as a reliable, honest man who was not given to creating tall tales. He paid all of his own expenses, including a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He attempted to recover some of his costs-he did write a booklet on his experiece at Falcon Lake, but it lost money.
The place of Michalak's encounter was investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and other governmental and civilian UFO groups. Also, the Condon Committee did an investigation. There was actually nothing left to investigate, yet nothing was found to debunk his story either. Michalak is one of the few people to claim injury from contact with a UFO, and his account is considered legitimate.
