What Happened To Stefan Michalak? (Falcon Lake; Canada; 1967)

[EnolaGaia]

Here's a photo of Michalak modeling the welding goggles he was wearing during the incident. He normally wore these as eye protection when chipping away at rocks. According to the article linked below, he pulled them on (over his eyes) when stepping close to the object to peer inside the newly-opened door or portal from which a bright interior light was visible.

SOURCE: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/falcon-lake-incident-book-anniversary-1.4121639

 

[EnolaGaia]

Here's an image of the RCMP / Highway Patrol report filed on the contact(s) with Michalak on the day of the incident and a subsequent occasion. I don't know whether there were additional pages in this report.

SOURCE: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EiDyS4DVoAEgbC9.png​

 

[Comfortably Numb]

As just expressed on the 'UFO Research List' Facebook group I administer:

"It's all historical now though and given Stefan Michalak's horrific wartime experiences, plus the years afterwards he fought to be reunited with his wife and children, I have decided to have no further involvement in researching this case.

I will still though, be interested to see any clarifications which arise from ongoing discussions.

I am finding it increasingly too dark a place to visit and more uplifting cases to spend time on".

When you start to dig up material like the jail conviction and alcohol abuse related issues...

 

[BS3]

As just expressed on the 'UFO Research List' Facebook group I administer:

"It's all historical now though and given Stefan Michalak's horrific wartime experiences, plus the years afterwards he fought to be reunited with his wife and children, I have decided to have no further involvement in researching this case.

I will still though, be interested to see any clarifications which arise from ongoing discussions.

I am finding it increasingly too dark a place to visit and more uplifting cases to spend time on".

When you start to dig up material like the jail conviction and alcohol abuse related issues...

Yet despite all this, I keep thinking 'what was in it for Michalak?'

Very few people have ever got anything other than transient interest and enduring ridicule by going 'public' with a UFO sighting. By 1967 this would have been quite apparent. Moreover, given Michalak's fairly recent involvement with the law, you'd think he'd want to keep a low profile generally.

 

[EnolaGaia]

"It's all historical now though and given Stefan Michalak's horrific wartime experiences, plus the years afterwards he fought to be reunited with his wife and children, I have decided to have no further involvement in researching this case. ...
I am finding it increasingly too dark a place to visit and more uplifting cases to spend time on".

You're certainly entitled to continue (or not ... ) with this case as you see fit. However:

(1) I'd like to understand how and why Michalak's personal history causes you to withdraw from the case of his 1967 experience. Is it because certain facts and factors render him as someone to whom you don't wish to direct your attention in general? Or is it because additional information has undermined your assessment of his truthfulness (whatever ... ) as a witness / participant in the UFO incident? In other words, do you find him personally off-putting or do you find the reported incident less credible?

(2) On a related note ... To the extent you're disengaging from the Falcon Lake incident because of something to do with Michalak the person / Michalak's personal history ... What is it that justifies disengagement from Michalak's case that doesn't call into question your continued interest in the Pascagoula case, which pretty clearly wrecked Calvin Parker's adult life?

 

[BS3]

You're certainly entitled to continue (or not ... ) with this case as you see fit. However:

(1) I'd like to understand how and why Michalak's personal history causes you to withdraw from the case of his 1967 experience. Is it because certain facts and factors render him as someone to whom you don't wish to direct your attention in general? Or is it because additional information has undermined your assessment of his truthfulness (whatever ... ) as a witness / participant in the UFO incident? In other words, do you find him personally off-putting or do you find the reported incident less credible?

(2) On a related note ... To the extent you're disengaging from the Falcon Lake incident because of something to do with Michalak the person / Michalak's personal history ... What is it that justifies disengagement from Michalak's case that doesn't call into question your continued interest in the Pascagoula case, which pretty clearly wrecked Calvin Parker's adult life?

Interesting point; I've said it before - close encounters can blight the lives of the people involved in them.

A couple of examples from police witnesses - as close to a 'respectable' set of people as I can imagine - are Dale Spaur from the Portage County case, who supposedly ended up a reclusive repeat witness and Jeff Greenhaw, witness to the Falkville 'spaceman' ("People who were supposed to be my friends, the only thing I found out is that I really couldn’t trust anyone. I withdrew, I ran and I went places to try to get away from it").

As for the issue of 'off putting' character traits - this is why I bought up the Desvergers case. Of course a tendency to grandiosity or to fantasise is a 'red flag' for hoaxing, but given how much the phenomenon does seem connected with psychological factors which may influence perception, might it also happen that these type of people may be more likely to genuinely have an 'anomalous' experience? Are you only allowed to see a UFO if you're Father Gill?

 

[Comfortably Numb]

On arelated note ... To the extent you're disengaging from the Falcon Lake incident because of something to do with Michalak the person / Michalak's personal history ... What is it that justifies disengagement from Michalak's case that doesn't call into question your continued interest in the Pascagoula case, which pretty clearly wrecked Calvin Parker's adult life

Tell me about it....

The very damned thing which occurred to myself.

And what about revisiting Kenneth Arnold... isn't that contrary to what my granny used to say... "never speak ill of the dead"...

Etc ..

I found the problem with our Falcon Lake case, simply having to keep in mind Michalak's formative years and also brought back memories of my late father-in-law, who spent two years in a Japanese 'prisoner of war camp'.

It was all becoming too depressing.

However, things change, as they do and resultant to further, directly related developments:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1100706627172357/permalink/1252258635350488/

 

[EnolaGaia]

... I found the problem with our Falcon Lake case, simply having to keep in mind Michalak's formative years and also brought back memories of my late father-in-law, who spent two years in a Japanese 'prisoner of war camp'.
It was all becoming too depressing. ...

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[dr wu]

It is indeed a case with conflicting data but the Wiki article, if accurate, had a few salient points regarding his medical exam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Lake_Incident

"According to Michalak, he was disoriented from the event, feeling nauseous, and eventually vomiting, and attempted to return to his motel room at the Falcon Motor Hotel. A nearby highway patrol officer from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Constable G.A. Solotki, who had spotted Michalak assumed he was drunk,[2] but did not smell alcohol on Michalak. Solotki's report indicated that he offered to help Michalak return and seek treatment at Falcon Beach, but was declined.[7] According to Michalak's account, Solotki was dismissive of his situation and refused to offer him aid.[7] He safely returned, talking with the owner of the motel about seeing a doctor, but was told that the local doctor was absent.[2] Michalak then rested and phoned his wife telling her that an accident had occurred, and that he would return to his home in Winnipeg by means of the Greyhound bus.[7][1] Upon returning home, Michalak sought medical attention at the Misericordia Health Centre[13][7] for his injuries, and was admitted to the emergency room.[2]

"Michalak experienced burns on his chest and stomach which matched with his claims of being hit by the exhaust panel. A grid-like pattern of raised sores from his burns appeared on Michalak's body.[14][12] Michalak continued to suffer from prolonged bouts of diarrhea, headaches, blackouts, and continued weight loss, eventually seeking help from the Mayo Clinic.[1] The Mayo Clinic's report determined that Michalak was of sound mind.[12] His physical condition following the event was allegedly consistent with radiation poisoning,[9] but tests administered at Pinawa, Manitoba, following the incident came up negative.[3][15] Michalak allegedly lost 13 pounds (6 kg) following the incident,[2] with his lymphocyte count drastically falling to near lethal levels.[15] He continued to suffer from intermittent reappearances of his burns,[14] and its effects would never fully subside by the time Michalak died in 1999"

The RCMP report emphasized their inability to explain Michalak's physical effects, burns, and the burned circle of vegetation from the site.[
Analysis of the site yielded unusual results, including a 4.5-meter (15 ft) circle of burned vegetation in the site Michalak claimed the landing occurred,[14] and the presence of highly radioactive elements within soil samples and clothing Michalak had removed.[9][1] Metal that was superheated was found to have been melted into cracks of rock and exhibited high levels of radioactivity.[8][1][4] The anomalous readings were subsequently uncovered to be due to a radium vein which was near the site...."

Skeptics later said his body marks were an 'allergy'....not ikely imho to be in a grid pattern , and that he or someone else planted materials and burn marks in the area after the fact to bolster his tale....really?
I believe he had an anomalous experience but like so many of these events it remains bizarre, lacking any apparent reaon, and seems inconsistent.

 

[BS3]

It is indeed a case with conflicting data but the Wiki article, if accurate, had a few salient points regarding his medical exam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Lake_Incident

"According to Michalak, he was disoriented from the event, feeling nauseous, and eventually vomiting, and attempted to return to his motel room at the Falcon Motor Hotel. A nearby highway patrol officer from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Constable G.A. Solotki, who had spotted Michalak assumed he was drunk,[2] but did not smell alcohol on Michalak. Solotki's report indicated that he offered to help Michalak return and seek treatment at Falcon Beach, but was declined.[7] According to Michalak's account, Solotki was dismissive of his situation and refused to offer him aid.[7] He safely returned, talking with the owner of the motel about seeing a doctor, but was told that the local doctor was absent.[2] Michalak then rested and phoned his wife telling her that an accident had occurred, and that he would return to his home in Winnipeg by means of the Greyhound bus.[7][1] Upon returning home, Michalak sought medical attention at the Misericordia Health Centre[13][7] for his injuries, and was admitted to the emergency room.[2]

"Michalak experienced burns on his chest and stomach which matched with his claims of being hit by the exhaust panel. A grid-like pattern of raised sores from his burns appeared on Michalak's body.[14][12] Michalak continued to suffer from prolonged bouts of diarrhea, headaches, blackouts, and continued weight loss, eventually seeking help from the Mayo Clinic.[1] The Mayo Clinic's report determined that Michalak was of sound mind.[12] His physical condition following the event was allegedly consistent with radiation poisoning,[9] but tests administered at Pinawa, Manitoba, following the incident came up negative.[3][15] Michalak allegedly lost 13 pounds (6 kg) following the incident,[2] with his lymphocyte count drastically falling to near lethal levels.[15] He continued to suffer from intermittent reappearances of his burns,[14] and its effects would never fully subside by the time Michalak died in 1999"

The RCMP report emphasized their inability to explain Michalak's physical effects, burns, and the burned circle of vegetation from the site.[
Analysis of the site yielded unusual results, including a 4.5-meter (15 ft) circle of burned vegetation in the site Michalak claimed the landing occurred,[14] and the presence of highly radioactive elements within soil samples and clothing Michalak had removed.[9][1] Metal that was superheated was found to have been melted into cracks of rock and exhibited high levels of radioactivity.[8][1][4] The anomalous readings were subsequently uncovered to be due to a radium vein which was near the site...."

Skeptics later said his body marks were an 'allergy'....not ikely imho to be in a grid pattern , and that he or someone else planted materials and burn marks in the area after the fact to bolster his tale....really?
I believe he had an anomalous experience but like so many of these events it remains bizarre, lacking any apparent reaon, and seems inconsistent.

Overall the existing sceptical 'explanations' I've seen for this one feel a bit contrived -

- Michalak conducted a fairly elaborate hoax, including an element of self-harm, for some as yet unclear reason
- Michalak was drunk and hallucinated the UFO (do drunk people really see things in this way?)
- Michalak was drunk, injured himself in some way, and covered it up with a UFO story (this seems more plausible, but surely there are far less absurd ways to conceal an accident)
- Michalak was doing something illegal in the course of which he injured himself, and covered it up with a UFO story (what exactly was he doing in that case?)

I'm still trying to think of a narrative that's a good fit for both his actions and the evidence, but it seems hard to without postulating some genuinely hallucinatory episode at the centre of it. A bit like Hopkinsville in that regard.

 

[EnolaGaia]

Another note about Michalak's name ... There are a few online references and accounts that name him as Stafan rather than Stefan.

 

[EnolaGaia]

The "mother lode" of contemporary (196X) documentation of the RCMP's contacts with, and investigation of, the Michalak incident can be accessed at the Black Vault:

https://documents.theblackvault.com...a/Canada - FOIA Part 24 - Pages 6901-7200.pdf

The extensive set of documentation on Michalak's initial incident and subsequent actions to locate and return an alleged original sketch of the UFO begins a bit farther than halfway down this big webpage and continues to the webpage's end.

 

[EnolaGaia]

... "It's all historical now though and given Stefan Michalak's horrific wartime experiences, plus the years afterwards he fought to be reunited with his wife and children, I have decided to have no further involvement in researching this case. ...

NOTE 1 (FYI to others who may wonder what you're referring to ... ). A capsule biography of Michalak's life can be found on his memorial page at Find a Grave:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86572549/stefen-michalak

Stefan was born in Poland on August 7, 1916. When he came of age, he enlisted in the Polish Army and began the training that would prepare him to attain a junior officers rank at the outbreak of the Second World War. With the defeat of the Polish Army, Stefan joined his comrades in the Polish Home Army and continued the struggle as a partisan, participating in clandestine operations, which earned him the respect of his peers.

It was during this turbulent time that he met the woman who would become his wife. They were married in 1946 only to be separated again for a ten-year period after his escape from Communist-held Poland in 1948. Stefan immigrated to Canada via the Allied occupation forces in Germany. He settled in Saskatchewan and, while working on a family farm as a hired hand, began a ten-year struggle to bring his wife, daughter and son to Canada from Poland. In 1957, he was reunited with his wife and family ...

NOTE 2: The Stefan Michalak of the UFO incident (died 1999) is not the Ohio resident Stefan Michalak (died 2020) who'd been a forced farm laborer in Germany during WWII:

https://www.zmfh.com/obituary/stefan-michalak

 

[EnolaGaia]

It was a cursory review of a Swedish UFO site's webpage about the Falcon Lake incident that cued me to the fact there'd been some discrepancies in Michalak's story concerning whether he'd been drinking (alcohol) during his Falcon Lake trip. This account also notes belated claims (1978 / 1992) from other parties claiming to have observed a UFO near Falcon Lake on the day of Michalak's encounter. It's also the first account I've seen that claims Michalak retrieved his burnt (outer) shirt on a subsequent visit with a friend (rather than with authorities). It was also during this visit (on 30 June) that Michalak obtained samples submitted for the analyses first alleging evidence of radioactivity at the site.

It was digging deeper on the alcohol intake discrepancy and other issues that led me to the Black Vault treasure trove of RCMP documentation.

Just for the record, here's the Google translation of the Swedish article.

The meeting at Falcon Lake

One of the strangest UFO sightings in Canada occurred on May 20, 1967 off Falcon Lake in Manitoba. The reporter, 51-year-old industrial worker and amateur geologist Stefan Michalak, was alone in the forest when he unexpectedly spotted two disc-shaped objects in the sky. When one of the strange objects landed in front of him, he became curious and went over to investigate the matter more closely. He would soon regret that..

By Anders Berglund


Stefan Michalak had been looking for minerals in the Canadian wilderness for several years. In 1966, he had bribed some deposits in the area around Falcon Lake, a small tourist resort at Whiteshall Provincial Park, and now he was looking for more. That's why on Friday, May 19, 1967, he took the bus from his home in Winnipeg. It was about fifteen miles to Falcon Lake and once there he checked into a motel. Early the next morning he set out into the terrain on foot. The plan was to spend the whole day trying to find quartz and – by extension – silver.

It was a beautiful Saturday with clear, cloudless skies. At nine o'clock in the morning, Michalak had found a quartz vein in a rock near a small stream. He processed the find until lunch. After eating the sack lunch he had brought with him, he put on the welding gloves and goggles he used for protection and continued chipping away at the quartz. In the middle of the day, around a quarter past twelve, he suddenly heard geese squawking very close by. Michalak looked up to see what had scared the birds away. Then he saw two strange objects in the sky.

Landing

From a distance it looked like two cigar-like objects were coming down towards him. When one object came right down to the ground and appeared to land just 50 yards from Michalak, he got a better look at the shape. Up close, the object looked more like a discus than a cigar. And it had like a dome on the top. Michalak saw that the second object, which had stopped a little further up in the air, flew away into the sky again. It went west until it disappeared behind a cloud.

Michalak initially stayed close to the cliff. Because Michalak had been wearing the welding goggles, he had received red dots of light or afterimages in his field of vision from the blinding light radiating from the object. But the red glow the object had during the descent had dulled. Now the glow was more golden. Michalak carefully observed the object as it landed. It appeared to be made of “hot stainless steel”. He took the opportunity to make a sketch of the unknown object. He perceived the discus to be 12 meters in diameter and calculated it to be 6 meters high with the dome. In addition, he would later tell us that it smelled strongly of sulphur.

Voices

After a while a hissing sound was heard. Michalak has described it as sounding like an electric motor noise, or like the sound of an air intake. Suddenly a door opened to the side of the object. Michalak is very curious so he starts to get closer. And he thinks he knows what it is he sees. It must be an experimental aircraft. Probably an American. Almost at the discus, he also hears voices from inside the object. Two human-like voices but he can't make out what they are saying to each other. Then he shouts out, “Okay, Yankee boys, do you have a problem? Come out and we'll see what I can do.” But he gets no answer. Instead there is silence.

Michalak becomes thoughtful. A little more cautiously, he asks "do you speak Russian?" He knows the language. Still no answer. He tries greeting phrases in German, Italian, French and Ukrainian but doesn't catch on. Soon he is so close to the saucer that he dares to poke his head through the opening. But the only thing he sees inside is like a kind of light panel, from which light rays shoot out both in different patterns, a light cluster that flashes irregularly. Michalak backs out of the doorway. In the next moment, as unexpectedly as it was opened, the door is sealed right in front of your nose. It sort of slides again, like the shutter mechanism in a camera.

An exhaust

Michalak stares at the object. He cannot see any welding lines or joints, but the surface is completely smooth. He touches the object with his hand. He still has his welding gloves on. When he pulls his hand back, he sees that the glove has started to melt.

Suddenly the object shifted position. Without having moved himself, Michalak finds himself in front of a sort of lattice-like valve. What is happening now is happening fast. A hot exhaust explodes from the valve, a burst of gas that immediately burns him across the chest. Michalak recoils. He tears off his sweaters, which have started to burn, and throws the shoes to the ground. At the same time, the object shoots away in the same way as the other one previously did. Michalak feels a strong gust of wind as the discus shoots off in the same way the other one did earlier. At a distance, the object again looks cigar-shaped.

Circle in the ground

After the object pulls away, it smells burnt, like electrical circuits blown off. The smell of sulfur is also noticeable. Michalak feels in a cold sweat. Feeling that he is not feeling well, he decides to go back to the motel. He stomps out some embers in the ground vegetation that has caught fire next to his smoldering pile of clothes before walking back to where he had put his stuff. He takes out the compass. The compass needle spins back and forth. It takes a while before it becomes completely still again.

Michalak looks back towards the landing site. What he sees makes him move closer again. A circle has formed on the ground. The object's exhaust recoil appears to have blown the landing point clear of leaves and soil, exposing the rock plateau below. Michalak is now starting to feel even more dizzy. And it hurts my head. He is allowed to vomit.

Looking for help

It takes a while to walk back to the motel. Several times Michalak has to stop to throw up and recover. He comes out of the woods after two hours about a mile from the motel. As he walks along the road, a police car comes speeding by. Michalak waves his arms and tries to make it stop. The police stop further away and turn back. The police have difficulty taking in what Michalak tells them. The impression the police get is that he is drunk and incoherent. This results in Michalak not getting any help.

Instead, he continues to the motel. But because Michalak thinks he has been contaminated, he does not want to go inside. He tries to get help at the park office but it is closed. He stays outside until the pain becomes too great. At the motel's cafe, it is after 4 pm in the afternoon, he asks for a doctor. However, he learns that the nearest doctor lives some distance away. Michalak thinks it's too far away but gets the idea to call the newspaper editorial office at the Winnipeg Tribune. He thinks they can send a car and bring him home while he can tell what he's been up to. But since it's the weekend, the weekend staff who don't have that option answer. Michalak now decides to take the bus back to Winnipeg. He goes to his room and waits there until evening. He calls his wife before the bus arrives at quarter to nine. He tells her that he has been involved in an accident and asks that his son meet him at the bus station. An hour and a half later, the son meets up and takes Michalak straight to the hospital.

At the hospital, Michalak tells the doctor that he was behind the exhaust of an airplane, that it is what caused the burn marks on his chest. He is far too exhausted to tell what really happened. Michalak is sedated and sent home. The next day he doesn't feel any better. He can't eat and the wife and son have testified that his body odor smelled something so horrible. Doctors who checked him afterwards confirmed that he had burned his eyebrows and hairline. His upper body was burned and red, and on his lower abdomen he had oval rashes and burn marks that indicated first degree burns. Other physical symptoms that took a while to resolve were sudden fainting and weight loss.

In the fall of 1967, a series of symptoms returned that Michalak linked to the incident with the object. His upper body swelled up while he experienced pain and a sore throat. Red rash broke out over his stomach where he burned himself. Doctors suspected some kind of allergic reaction. From what, no one could find the answer. In 1968, Michalak went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to try to get help for recurring headaches and skin rashes. From time to time, Michalak could also experience fainting attacks. In all, more than a dozen doctors in both Canada and the United States would come to examine Michalak.

Several surveys

After the Winnipeg Tribune newspaper on May 21 wrote about Michalak and his sighting, there was great interest both among ufologists and authorities to investigate the site of the discus landing. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) made several attempts over the next few weeks to locate the landing site but were unsuccessful, despite flying Michalak over the area in a helicopter so he could pinpoint the location, among other things. Michalak could not lead them there because he felt too ill to walk. It was not until the end of June that Michalak again found his way to the landing site, then together with a friend of his. Michalak and the friend took the opportunity to pick up the remains of the shirt lying on the ground, despite the RCAF asking Michalak to leave the site untouched until they could accompany him there.

During the June 30 visit, Michalak also plastic-wrapped rocks and soil samples that were taken back to Winnipeg to submit to the RCAF for analysis. Another month passed before representatives of the authorities were finally able to see for themselves the traces on the ground that the discus target would have left. And indeed there was a circle on the ground where it looked as if moss and soil had been pushed aside by what could very well have been a strong air pressure. During the visit, investigator Paul Bissky from RCAP was able to state, however, that Michalak's statement regarding the direction in which the saucer left the incident could not be true. The only opening in the surrounding forest edge was to the north-northeast, not to the west as Michalak meant.

When analyzes were made of rock samples, the authorities found signs of alarmingly high radioactivity. This was carefully investigated because it could be dangerous to health. According to an investigation, an area of about nine meters in size was identified at the landing site where there were traces in the moss slave that indicated a higher radium content than is found naturally in nature. In the summer of 1968, Michalak and a friend of his found two approximately 12 centimeter long metal rods shaped like the letter W at the landing site. In later investigations, these have been attributed to the source of the radiation. But it is not certain. Other analyzes done by the University of Manitoba examining the soil samples from the landing site have found no unusual radiation in the samples at all.

Other observations

What Michalak was involved with on that May Day more than fifty years ago is still to this day not determined. Perhaps there were more than Michalak who saw the same unknown object. In 1978, a man told us that he and a friend had been out walking along a road just north of Falcon Lake and that he then saw a large discus-shaped object come flying quickly right over the treetops. It would have been around the same time that Michalak was involved in the saucer landing. In 1992, a woman was able to report that she and her daughter saw a flying saucer just above the trees west of Falcon Lake at 4 o'clock in the afternoon on the same day Michalak saw his. The Canadian ufologist Chris Rutkowski, who investigated the later reports, believes that the witness images agree with Michalak's description of the objects.

There are those who have investigated Michalak's observation who believe it is a hoax. The skeptic Aaron Sakulich writes on theironsceptic.com, among other things, that Michalak's injuries may have come from alcohol that caught fire. According to Sakulich, a bartender at the motel Michalak stayed at during his explorations is said to have told him that Michalak drank a lot of alcohol on some of the occasions he was there, something Michalak adamantly denied he had done.

More telling is the police report made by the officer who stopped Michalak on the side of the road on his way back from the landing site. The police write in their report that Michalak had "bloodshot eyes" and behaved as if he had drunk too much. Sakulich paints a picture that Michalak must have deliberately lied about his experience either to become famous, or that Michalak wanted to scare away potential competitors from the area he wanted to bribe.

No explanation

Michalak's observation has been the subject of several investigations. But neither the Canadian police nor the Canadian military could find an explanation for the incident he had witnessed. Nor could any doctor provide a diagnosis that explained all the symptoms Michalak experienced after the incident at Falcon Lake.

Stefan Michalak passed away in 1999, aged 83.

Read more:

In 1967, Stefan Michalak self-published a shift about what he had been through. The title became: My encounter with the ufo.

In 2017, son Stan Michalak, together with Canadian ufologist Chris Rutkowski, published a book about his father's observation and experience. The book is called When they appeared Falcon Lake 1967: The inside story of a close encounter.

SOURCE (In Swedish): https://www.ufo.se/index.php/falcon-lake

 

[EnolaGaia]

Over at Facebook, James Easton posted and inquired about two photos of Michalak, both of which illustrate the burns on his abdomen.

The first is one of the photos most commonly seen, showing Michalak in bed (at the hospital? Or ...?). There are at least two photos showing him in bed.

The photograph of Michalak lying in bed, published in 1968 is not contemporary and according to Chris Rutkowski, depicts a later 'flare-up'.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1100706627172357/permalink/1252258635350488/

The second is a photo of Michalak standing and exposing his torso to display a set of blotchy discolorations. The color version of this photo (excerpted from a photo of Rutkowski's materials donated to the University of Manitoba) is the one James presents and refers to on Facebook:

The original of our colour image with Michalak standing and holding his top up, is presently uncertain.
Can anyone help locate the original source of this, which seemingly only appears online, as part of the attached compisition.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1100706627172357/permalink/1252258635350488/

No, I haven't been able to find any clues to the origin or provenance for the color (second) photo above. However, I did find a black and white version posted within a 2021 Canadian news site overview of Canadian UFOs:

SOURCE: https://globalnews.ca/news/7993486/canadian-ufo-sightings-aliens-covid-19/​

 

[EnolaGaia]

Now ... About the two "burn exhibition" photos posted above ...

After comparing the striping formats (and colors, using color or colorized versions of each), it's apparent Michalak is wearing different striped garb in the two photos. In the bed photo he's wearing striped pajamas. In the standing photo he's wearing a similarly-striped but much darker black and blue robe. This is more evident if you track down one of the colorized (or perhaps originally color? ... ) versions of the first photo.

In other words, the "burns" and "blotches" indicate the photos were taken at different times, which could have been anywhere from weeks to years apart.

Perhaps more interesting is the fact the second (blotches) photo shows the burns (lesions; whatever) shifted from the location in which the neat grid pattern appears in the first photo. In the first photo the grid of burn-dots extends to the right of Michalak's navel. In the second photo the larger blotches extend downward to the left of his navel.

The matching moles on his belly indicate neither of the photos is reversed (relative to the other).

 

[EnolaGaia]

There are two discrepancies regarding the grid pattern of burns and the undershirt / tank top t-shirt Michalak was wearing during his encounter.

The first discrepancy lies in the fact this burned shirt was photographed some time ago (date unknown) and clearly displayed a pattern of dark marks matching his description of the grid-perforated panel:

The most recent photo of the shirt (from the University of Manitoba Archives) shows the same side of the same shirt with only very faint traces of the grid-patterened burn marks.

In the later photo it's apparent there are no holes corresponding to the burn marks seen on his abdomen (in the first photo of the marks posted earlier). The faint discolorations corresponding to the burn grid are no more than faint surface singes on the material's exterior surface.

How reasonable is it to presume the grid pattern of alleged burns on his abdominal skin represents a set of points of intersection or contact which did no more than mildly singe the shirt material covering that area of skin?

 

[EnolaGaia]

The second shirt-related discrepancy relates to the relative location of the grid-patterned burn marks on the shirt versus Michalak's torso. Many accounts of the incident consistently refer to the burn marks being on Michalak's "chest." In contrast, the photos of the burn marks consistent show the grid marks and the splotches as being on his abdomen / belly below the chest area.

It seems to me that if the t-shirt was of a "tank top" configuration its singed grid marks' locations correlate with the marks on his belly in the bed photo only if it was a notably oversized tank top hanging loose and low on his torso.

Conversely, it seems to me the only way the original burn marks could have been as high on his body as his "chest" would be if the t-shirt was in fact a sleeveless crewneck (a style I don't think I've ever seen for ordinary men's undergarments).

 

[EnolaGaia]

RE: The second (outer) shirt

The Swedish web article (cited earlier), like other accounts, indicated Michalak was wearing a shirt over the t-shirt. I've not yet seen any account that gives a description of this second / outer shirt. One would assume this outer shirt bore the brunt of the hot blast and was burned as bad or worse than the t-shirt. Where was / is this second shirt?

The Swedish account was the first I'd found that specified both (a) at least one of the shirts was left at the scene when Michalak evacuated it and (b) Michalak retrieved the abandoned shirt on the later (30 June) return to the site with a friend.* It finally became clear to me only the second / outer shirt had been abandoned at the incident site. Michalak put the burned t-shirt into the "briefcase" he carried that day.

I've yet to see any account claiming Michalak had or donned any other shirt for his hike back from the scene. Similarly, I've yet to see any account that specifies whether Michalak was bare from the waist up when he made it back to the highway where the RCMP highway patrol officer saw and interacted with him. Neither have I seen any account that indicates he had a jacket he'd taken off and later put on when exiting the scene.

If he retrieved the second / outer shirt only after having reported his UFO encounter, why didn't he keep it? What happened to this second shirt?

* NOTE: According to the Swedish account and the Black Vault documentation Michalak had been asked to not return to the site (if and when he could find it again ... ) unless RCMP and / or RCAF investigators accompanied him. His return to the site with a friend flouted this request and raised the possibility of Michalak's tampering with evidence and / or the site itself.

 

[EnolaGaia]

RE: Michalak's compass

Compasses going haywire have become stock-in-trade (or, arguably, routine cliché) in UFO reports. Some of the nth-party retellings of Michalak's story include this trope. For example:

Disoriented, he checked his compass, trying to find his way southeast, to the road. But the needle went haywire.

https://unsolved.com/gallery/falcon-lake-ufo/

Stephen was disoriented as a result of the incident. He tried to find his way back home, but his compass was not working.

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Falcon_Lake_UFO

The device disappeared from Michalak's sight, leaving behind a strong smell of burnt electrical wiring, mixed with the already mentioned smell of sulfur. The observer decided to return to the place where he had left his belongings, where he saw that the needle of his compass was demagnetized.

https://ufoac.com/ufo-incident-in-falcon-lake.html

The early / original evidence doesn't support such claims. In fact, Michalak himself refuted them in his RCMP interview by claiming a precision orientational reading was obtained with his compass immediately following the landed UFO's departure.

Here's the relevant excerpt from his interview with an officer Davis on 24 May 1967 at Michalak's home.
(D = Davis; M = Michalak)

SOURCE: https://documents.theblackvault.com...a/Canada - FOIA Part 24 - Pages 6901-7200.pdf​

 

[BS3]

Over at Facebook, James Easton posted and inquired about two photos of Michalak, both of which illustrate the burns on his abdomen.

The first is one of the photos most commonly seen, showing Michalak in bed (at the hospital? Or ...?). There are at least two photos showing him in bed.

View attachment 60705​

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1100706627172357/permalink/1252258635350488/

The second is a photo of Michalak standing and exposing his torso to display a set of blotchy discolorations. The color version of this photo (excerpted from a photo of Rutkowski's materials donated to the University of Manitoba) is the one James presents and refers to on Facebook:

View attachment 60706​

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1100706627172357/permalink/1252258635350488/

No, I haven't been able to find any clues to the origin or provenance for the color (second) photo above. However, I did find a black and white version posted within a 2021 Canadian news site overview of Canadian UFOs:

View attachment 60707
SOURCE: https://globalnews.ca/news/7993486/canadian-ufo-sightings-aliens-covid-19/​

On the 'Three Dollar Kit' blog it's suggested that one of the letters from the 'government files', from Sq-Ldr P Bissky and dated 4 July 1967, says the second of the above photos "was taken by Barry Thompson (APRO) who visited on Tuesday (3 days after the incident, although Bissky writes 48 hours)".

This in turn suggests that the injuries shortly after the incident did not match either the distinctive grid pattern seen later or the grid pattern seen on Michalak's undershirt shortly after the incident itself. The doctor who examined Michalak made no mention of a regular pattern, which seems odd. The RCMP officer who first met Michalak saw only that Michalak appeared to have something like wood ash smeared on his chest.

Rutkowski however seems to argue the photo to be of one of the (several) later 'flare up's.

 

[BS3]

I've also seen it suggested (can't recall where; possibly mentioned by Rutkowski) that there were two types of burn; the blotchy, irregular burns higher up, which were thermal burns, and the regular pattern recurring later, which were some sort of chemical burn.

The question is whether Michalak could have received multiple types of injury or whether the chemical burn perhaps represented a later attempt to 'improve' the evidence. Moreover the undershirt seems to have shown a regular pattern since very early on in the case.

 

[BS3]

As for the question of where this is leading - I suppose the obvious one is that Michalak was suffering from a form of Munchausen's, which leads people to injure themselves to be cared for or to be the centre of attention. There doesn't need to be any financial or other obvious gain, in this case.

There isn't much certainty about what causes it, though there seems to be a link to childhood trauma, and I was interested to read it is thought to most often affect "white men aged 30-50" - close enough to Michalak's demographic.

However 'Munchausen's by UFO' has to be pretty unique, and there is no evidence (yet) Michalak presented with self inflicted symptoms at other times, as you might expect if he had a long term undiagnosed psychological issue. Indeed it was actually stated that he'd not seen his family doctor previously.

 

[EnolaGaia]

I've also seen it suggested (can't recall where; possibly mentioned by Rutkowski) that there were two types of burn; the blotchy, irregular burns higher up, which were thermal burns, and the regular pattern recurring later, which were some sort of chemical burn. ...

I also recall reading (somewhere in all the accounts) suggestion(s) that the two photographed sets of "burn" marks represented skin reactions to different insults. Some of the suggestions mentioned the possibility of allergic reaction in addition to or rather than direct thermal / chemical insults.

My initial off-the-cuff impression of the probable causes for the two different sets of burns was the reverse of what you cited. The grid pattern struck me as more probably thermal burning from a heat source masked by an intermediate perforated plate or panel. The irregular splotches struck me as more probably chemical burning or some sort of allergic reaction (e.g., a rash).

 

[BS3]

I also recall reading (somewhere in all the accounts) suggestion(s) that the two photographed sets of "burn" marks represented skin reactions to different insults. Some of the suggestions mentioned the possibility of allergic reaction in addition to or rather than direct thermal / chemical insults.

My initial off-the-cuff impression of the probable causes for the two different sets of burns was the reverse of what you cited. The grid pattern struck me as more probably thermal burning from a heat source masked by an intermediate perforated plate or panel. The irregular splotches struck me as more probably chemical burning or some sort of allergic reaction (e.g., a rash).

I seem to recall that the lower, grid patterned burns were identified as chemical burns as they were the ones that recurred or caused a later skin reaction.

However there seems to be a general lack of clarity about exactly what recurred and when, with Michalak himself claiming that the spots grew and merged during each 'outbreak'. The only certain evidence we have is the photographs, none of which are exactly dated.

 

[EnolaGaia]

... The early / original evidence doesn't support such claims. In fact, Michalak himself refuted them in his RCMP interview by claiming a precision orientational reading was obtained with his compass immediately following the landed UFO's departure. ...

This leads to another oddity in the aftermath of the incident ...

Once Michalak recovered sufficiently to permit the RCMP / RCAF investigators to bring him back to the Falcon Lake area (multiple times) so as to find the actual incident site, he repeatedly failed to do more than wander around in the woods and declare he couldn't re-trace his path to the incident site. Michalak similarly failed to be able to identify the site from a helicopter flying over the area.

According to the investigation documentation, Michalak was unable to specify the site's location except in terms of estimated distance (hiked) from his starting point (where he left the highway) and a generally southward direction.

Michalak's excuse for these failures (noted in the investigation documentation) was that he typically set a compass heading and "bushwhacked" (made his own way without following a trail) toward wherever he was headed.

How did he know where he was headed that day? His testimony was that he'd studied his books and notes the preceding evening, and we know he had a map (presumably some sort of terrain / topographic map). Hadn't he selected his target area on the map? Didn't he already have an idea where on the relevant map he'd intended to visit that day?

To add to the strangeness ... Michalak would later tell the investigators he'd immediately pulled out his map and compass to determine the precise heading on which the landed UFO had flown away (which he claimed was the direction from which it and its companion UFO had come). How did he use the map to aid in determining this precise bearing without knowing where on the map he was located? He didn't need the map to obtain an approximate bearing using the compass alone, but he insisted he'd used the map to obtain the quite precise bearing he cited.

I'm having trouble reconciling (a) his pre-trek planning, possession of the map, and use of the map to get a precise flight bearing with (b) his inability to do more than blunder around the woods in the initial attempts to lead the authorities back to the incident site.

 

[BS3]

This leads to another oddity in the aftermath of the incident ...

Once Michalak recovered sufficiently to permit the RCMP / RCAF investigators to bring him back to the Falcon Lake area (multiple times) so as to find the actual incident site, he repeatedly failed to do more than wander around in the woods and declare he couldn't re-trace his path to the incident site. Michalak similarly failed to be able to identify the site from a helicopter flying over the area.

According to the investigation documentation, Michalak was unable to specify the site's location except in terms of estimated distance (hiked) from his starting point (where he left the highway) and a generally southward direction.

Michalak's excuse for these failures (noted in the investigation documentation) was that he typically set a compass heading and "bushwhacked" (made his own way without following a trail) toward wherever he was headed.

How did he know where he was headed that day? His testimony was that he'd studied his books and notes the preceding evening, and we know he had a map (presumably some sort of terrain / topographic map). Hadn't he selected his target area on the map? Didn't he already have an idea where on the relevant map he'd intended to visit that day?

To add to the strangeness ... Michalak would later tell the investigators he'd immediately pulled out his map and compass to determine the precise heading on which the landed UFO had flown away (which he claimed was the direction from which it and its companion UFO had come). How did he use the map to aid in determining this precise bearing without knowing where on the map he was located? He didn't need the map to obtain an approximate bearing using the compass alone, but he insisted he'd used the map to obtain the quite precise bearing he cited.

I'm having trouble reconciling (a) his pre-trek planning, possession of the map, and use of the map to get a precise flight bearing with (b) his inability to do more than blunder around the woods in the initial attempts to lead the authorities back to the incident site.

I suppose the obvious implication, again, is that Michalak was deliberately obfuscating the location until such time as suitable ground traces could be 'planted'. There is some suggestion that one of the people involved in the case knew about this and was an accomplice (not all 'investigators' of the period seem to have been above this, including a few people, like Grey Barker, actively hoaxing or spreading misinformation).

 

[EnolaGaia]

On the 'Three Dollar Kit' blog it's suggested that one of the letters from the 'government files', from Sq-Ldr P Bissky and dated 4 July 1967, says the second of the above photos "was taken by Barry Thompson (APRO) who visited on Tuesday (3 days after the incident, although Bissky writes 48 hours)". ...
Rutkowski however seems to argue the photo to be of one of the (several) later 'flare up's. ...

For what it's worth ... The standing (shirt upraised; splotches) photo was published in an article about Michalak in the Winnipeg Free Press for 5 April 1968. There's no mention in the article of when the photo was taken, but this demonstrates it was sometime prior to the publication date.

I've not yet found any definitive claim as to when and where the bed (grid pattern) photo was taken.

 

[BS3]

For what it's worth ... The standing (shirt upraised; splotches) photo was published in an article about Michalak in the Winnipeg Free Press for 5 April 1968. There's no mention in the article of when the photo was taken, but this demonstrates it was sometime prior to the publication date.

I've not yet found any definitive claim as to when and where the bed (grid pattern) photo was taken.

The standing photo is featured in two relatively 'early' sources - 1. Michalak's own booklet on the incident and 2. attached to Bissky's letter, so we can get it back to early July 1967. What we can't necessarily do (yet) is verify Bissky's suggestion that it was taken by APRO immediately after the incident itself.

 

[EnolaGaia]

As for the question of where this is leading - I suppose the obvious one is that Michalak was suffering from a form of Munchausen's, which leads people to injure themselves to be cared for or to be the centre of attention. There doesn't need to be any financial or other obvious gain, in this case. ...

To be fair, Michalak expressed reservations concerning the ramifications of reporting the UFO incident on his allegedly original intention to stake mineral claims. This could have been merely a convenient excuse for being tight-lipped about the location, or it could have been a substantive concern. I've seen claims he'd previously staked claims and would later stake claims. I've not yet seen any clear indication he ever staked a claim to the incident site.

On the other hand, his return to the site before the authorities ever had a chance to examine it smacks of manipulation and deception. It seems to me if he'd planned a hoax he wouldn't have left himself in a position to feign ignorance of the site's location to buy time in which to sneak back to the location and plant evidence.

Did he really worry more about mineral claims in the wake of the incident, only to shift priorities once he realized he might stand to gain more from the UFO experience? Was he plotting a hoax the whole time? Did he remain a prospector at heart, with a major publicity distraction complicating his plans and intentions? I doubt there's any way to know.

Regardless of intentions or plans, his multiple surreptitious returns to the site effectively nullified his prospects for being treated as believable and above suspicion.