During Victoria Day week-end, Canadian Stephen Michalak of Winnipeg,
a mechanic by trade, decided to do some prospecting in the
Whiteshell Provincial Park . Michalak was an amateur geologist
and had been prospecting in the area many times. Others had found
several quartz veins near Falcon Lake that were associated with
silver deposits, and Michalak had himself found a few promising sites.
So, on May 19, 1967, he traveled from Winnipeg to Falcon Lake, where he
spent the night in a motel on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Michalak left his motel at 5:30 that morning and headed north
into the wilds of the park. At about 9:00 a.m. he found a quartz
vein near a small stream. At 11:00 a.m. he ate lunch, then continued
to examine the quartz formation. At 12:15 p.m. Michalak's
concentration was disturbed by the cackling of some geese. He looked
up and was surprised to see two red, glowing cigar-shaped objects
descending at a forty-five degree angle. As they came nearer, their appearance
became more oval and then disc-shaped.
As he watched, one of the objects stopped and hovered, while the
other one descended and landed on a large, flat rock about 160 feet
away from him. After a few moments the object still in the air
departed, changing from red to orange to grey as it flew into the
west and disappeared behind the clouds. The object on the ground also
turned from red to grey and finally to the color of "hot stainless
steel" surrounded by a golden-hued glow. He had been wearing welding
goggles while chipping at the quartz to protect his eyes from flying
rock fragments, and now they served the additional purpose of
protecting his eyes from a brilliant purple light that was shining
through openings in the object's exterior. The object was making a
hissing sound and a whirring noise, and it gave off a sulphurous
smell.
For several minutes, Michalak stayed where he was and sketched the
object. After about half an hour, a door opened in the side of the
object, revealing a lighted interior. Michalak decided to move
closer, and when he was approximately sixty feet away from the
object, he began to hear two voices over the other sounds coming from
the object.
Believing that the object was a secret experimental American
craft of some sort, Michalak called out in English. There was no
response, so he tried Russian, German, Italian, French, Ukrainian,
and then English again. There was still no response.
Summoning his nerve, Michalak approached the open door and stuck his
head inside. There 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."
Not seeing anyone, he pulled back and waited. Suddenly, three panels
slid together, closing the opening completely. Michalak then examined
the outer surface of the object, noting that it was like highly
polished colored glass with no breaks or seams in its surface. He
touched it, and it melted his glove.
Without warning, the object moved, and something like an exhaust vent
was now in front of him. It 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.
After the object was gone, Michalak noticed a strong odor of
burning electrical insulation along with the sulphurous smell he had
noticed earlier. Some moss on the ground had been set on fire
by his burning shirts, and so he stamped it out.
The spot where the object had landed looked as if it had been swept
clean, but piled up in a 15 foot circle was a collection of pine
needles, dirt and leaves. As he looked around, he developed a severe
headache, became nauseous, and broke out in a cold sweat. His nausea
became worse, and he soon vomited. He decided to head back to the
motel, and on the way back he had to stop several times because of
vomiting.
Finally, after asking for help from a passing RCMP officer and being
refused, he reached the motel. At 4:00 p.m., he entered the
coffee shop and asked where he could find a doctor. He was told that
the nearest doctor was in Kenora, Ontario, 45 miles east of Falcon
Lake. Michalak decided to return to Winnipeg rather than go into
Ontario.
The next bus to Winnipeg didn't come through until around 8:45 p.m.,
so he went to his room and called his wife. He told her not to worry,
but that he had had an accident and to send their son to meet him at
the bus terminal. He got to Winnipeg at around 10:15 p.m., and his
son immediately took him to the Misericordia Hospital, where his
headache and nausea were treated and the curious burn marks on his
chest in the shape of a grid were noted.
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One of the RCMP investigators tried to make the case that Michalak had burned his chest on a barbecue grill. However, the burn pattern was opposite to what it would have been had that been the case.
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There was a manned firetower nearby, but the lookouts reportedly saw nothing that day.
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Michalak never made any money off his experience. In fact, he had to pay all of his own medical expenses, including a trip to the Mayo Clinic on Minnesota. A small, privately published booklet he wrote on the experience lost money.
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Over the course of the next two years, Michalak was examined by more
than one dozen physicians in the United States and Canada. Site
investigations were made by members of the RCMP, RCAF, government
officials and numerous civilians. Among those who traveled back to
the site with Michalak were representatives of: the RCAF (Royal
Canadian Air Force) Training Command Headquarters, CFB (Canadian
Forces Base) Winnipeg, RCMP CID (Criminal Investigations Division);
the federal Department of Health and Welfare, and the Manitoba
provincial Department of Health and Welfare. Also, the University of
Colorado Condon Committee investigated the case, Life magazine
reporters came to Manitoba and two civilian UFO groups, APRO (Aerial
Phenomena Research Organization) and CAPRO (Canadian APRO), became
involved. Finally, the federal Department of Mines and Natural
Resources got involved to a degree, as did the Whiteshell Nuclear
Research Establishment (WNRE), the Manitoba Cancer Institute, the
Mayo Clinic, and a host of other medical establishments.