The Falcon Lake (Stephen/Stefan Michalak) UFO Incident

Stephen (Stefan) Michalak, a resident of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, was a mechanic, amateur geologist and passionate part time prospector. On May 19, 1967, having decided to indulge his passion for the weekend, he checked into a motel on the Trans-Canada Highway near Falcon Lake, a wilderness area located on the southern boundary of Whiteshell Provincial Park (an area with which he was already familiar having worked it a number of times), grabbed a coffee in the motel‘s beverage room and headed for bed.

Shortly after 5 a.m. the morning of May 20 he headed into the brush and within a few hours had found a promising vein of quartz (quartz and silver are often found in close proximity). After setting up a base camp he broke for lunch before returning to his investigation of the mineral deposit.

Around noon his concentration was broken by what sounded like the cackling of geese, looking up he was startled to see two UFOs descending from a largely cloudless sky. One allegedly landed nearby while the other after hovering for a short time headed west its color changing from bright red to orange then grey.

After studying the landed object and making a crude sketch he gathered his nerve and moved closer. The craft was disk shaped, approximately forty feet in diameter, grey in color (it had previously been red), smelled like rotten eggs and was emitting an annoying hum.

Suddenly a door opened revealing a brightly lit interior inside of which he allegedly heard voices, attempts to converse with the hidden crew proved fruitless and touching the ship’s side resulted in a melted glove. As suddenly as it had opened the door now closed and Michalak found himself facing a grid-like exhaust vent, before he could react a hot steamy exhaust blasted forth set his clothes on fire and seared his chest. The craft and its unseen inhabitants obviously unconcerned with the burning prospector then lifted off and disappeared skyward.

At this point Michalak apparently feeling weak and dizzy, vomited, then made his way back through the dense brush to the highway where he flagged down a RCMP cruiser.

In his report the police officer described the incident:

At approximately 3 p.m. I was patrolling one half mile west of Falcon Beach when I noticed a man walking. . . . He was wearing a grey cap, brown jacket with no shirt. . . . He shouted to me to stay away from him. I asked him why and he replied that he had seen two spaceships. He said I might get some sort of skin disease or radiation if I came to close. . . . I could not smell the odor of liquor on Michalak. His general appearance was not dissimilar to that of a person who has over indulged. His eyes were bloodshot and when questioned in detail could or would not answer coherently. I offered to drive him to Falcon Beach and arrange for someone to treat him but he declined.

Even though he had originally refused the offer of help he later visited the RCMP office and enquired about a doctor, upon being informed that none were immediately available he returned to Winnipeg.

After returning home he was taken to the hospital by his family telling the doctor the burns on his chest were caused by airplane exhaust (The burn was grid-like covering an area a foot square.)

The following months saw Michalak lose weight, suffer swelling and experience fainting spells but through it all he never wavered from his story.

Meanwhile The RCMP after trying to find the encounter site with no success had their doubts about the veracity of the prospector’s claims. Claims placed even further in doubt when they learned from the motel's bartender that Michalak had been drinking alcohol not coffee the night before the incident.

On June 26 Michalak returned to the area, located his campsite, recovered his personal possessions and obtained soil samples which when tested for radioactivity proved positive.

On July 28 the RCMP visited the site and found radium 226 (a naturally occurring isotope with many commercial applications) in a rock fault near the middle of the purported landing spot.

Stephen Michalak passed away in 1999 at the age of 83.

As far as the Canadian Department of National Defence is concerned the Falcon Lake (Stephen/Stefan Michalak) UFO incident remains unresolved.

HOME TABLE OF CONTENTS COPYRIGHT INFORMATION SITE MAP <<PREVIOUS NEXT>>