Canadian Stephen Michalak was one of the few humans who could claim to have encountered a UFO whilst having the burn marks to support his story.
In 1967, industrial mechanic and amateur geologist Stephen Michalak was enjoying the weekend out in Whiteshell Provincial Park. Located around 80 miles east of Michalak’s home, the park is a largely uninhabited wilderness rich in mineral deposits.
As an amateur geologist, he heard about other prospectors finding silver ore veins and he ultimately wanted to hit the big one.
On May 19, Michalak traveled from his home in Winnipeg to the park, spending the night in a motel. Early next morning, he headed out in search of the precious metal. Unbeknownst to him, he would find metal, albeit in a more refined shape and state.
For the first half of the day, it was business as usual; dig here, pick that, examine the findings. But at around 12:15 p.m., the silence was disturbed by the honks of a panicked a flock of geese.
Wondering what might have startled them, Michalak looked up and saw two cigar-shaped objects rapidly descending towards the ground. Their elevation was around 45 degrees, and they appeared to glow red. As the UFOs got closer, it became obvious they were, in fact, disc-shaped.
One of the disks remained stationary while the other got closer and eventually landed on a large, flat rock, about 150 feet away from where Michalak was standing.
After a few short moments, the object in the air changed its color from orange to grey and flew west, disappearing into the clouds. The UFO on the ground also changed its color to that of “hot stainless steel” and surrounded itself in a golden glow.
Luckily, our prospector had been wearing welding goggles to protect his eyes from rock splinters, because next thing he knew, a brilliant flash of light erupted from one of the openings in the object’s outer shell, temporarily blinding him.
As the afterimages subsided from his vision, he began sketching the object and its features. It was approximately 40 feet in diameter and 10 feet high.
The dome on top raised its overall height by 3 more feet. Warm air emanating from the craft carried a faint smell of sulfur and various electrical noises suggested some kind of activity taking place inside.
A 2-foot wide hatch on the side of the craft swung open, revealing the lights inside. Two human-like voices coming from inside the craft determined Michalak to take a few steps toward it.
He was convinced it was some kind of experimental vehicle and as he got closer, he even jokingly said:
“Okay, Yankee boys, having trouble? Come out and we’ll see what we can do about it.”
Having received no answer, he repeated his greetings in Russian, French, Italian, German and again English but the voices were silent.
Michalak then did what any curious human would – he peeked his head inside the UFO. Inside was a maze of lights, what appeared to be control panels and holographic light displays. Your standard, run-of-the-mill flying saucer equipment, if you will.
Believing he might not be welcome inside, Michalak stepped out right before three panels covered the opening “like a camera shutter.” The highly-polished surface of the craft caught his eye; it resembled colored glass and split the sunlight into “silvery spectra.”
As a mechanic, he quickly noticed there were no signs of welding or joints and ran his gloved hand over the unusual material. As he pulled his hand back, he noticed his glove was burned.
All of a sudden, the craft rotated and Michalak found himself facing what appeared to be an exhaust vent. It measured nine by six inches and consisted of a pattern of round holes.
A blast of hot gas hit him right in the chest, setting his shirt on fire and causing severe pain. As he tore his burning clothes off, Michalak looked up just in time to see the UFO one last time.
Little evidence of its presence could be seen on site, apart from a 15-foot wide area of twigs, leaves and stones that weren’t blown away when the craft took off.
By now, Michalak realized he needed medical attention. His symptoms included headaches, nausea and cold sweat.
Unfortunately, the remoteness of his location meant that he wouldn’t make it back to his motel before 4 p.m. Since the nearest available doctor was 45 miles away, he decided to return to Winnipeg, where he checked into the Misericordia Hospital.
Over the following years, Michalak would be examined by a dozen physicians in Canada and the U.S. The alleged landing site was investigated by multiple government departments: the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force), the CFB (Canadian Forces Base), the RCMP CID (Crime Investigations Division) and others.
Additionally, the site was inspected by the APRO (Aerial Phenomena Research Organization) and the Condon Committee.
Despite the cumulated hundreds of hours of field work, multiple reports and witness accounts, the case was labeled inconclusive and subsequently closed.
Up to now, nobody was able to successfully discredit Michalak’s story. He received the support of many ufologists who believed he was telling the truth when he claimed a UFO burned him.
By Locklip
