The Falcon Lake UFO – Another Unsolved Mysteries Case

a reply to: ConfusedBrit

He was described as seeming drunk/hungover, and whether he'd got 'high on his own supply' whilst brewing booze before an accident occurred is an interesting angle, but why did he flag an officer down in the first place? He didn't smell of alcohol but did deny drinking five bottles of the beer the previous evening - why?

The Air Force certainly seemed hell-bent on making Michalak appear as some drunken imbecile. Plus of course we only have a hotel bartender's word that Michalak drank 5 bottles of beer the night before. Although Michalak eventually seemed to not deny it. So he might have been the worse for wear next morning. But I somehow doubt it could cause hallucinations.

This part I find rather confusing. Michalak had travelled [by bus] some 80 miles from home to stay overnight in a local hotel. If he'd been brewing alcohol, then surely his burns would have been in place before he arrived in Falcon Lake?

When Stefan arrived back in Winnipeg his son took him to the hospital and the doctor reported "...an area of first degree burns over the upper abdomen, covering an area of 7-8 inches [17-20 cm] and consisting of several round and irregular shaped burns the size of a silver dollar or less..."

So it would seem that he received the burns whilst in the Falcon Lake area. If so what was he doing?

Michalak went for further treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Winnipeg in mid-1968 (a year after the incident), including a physical and psychiatric examination. The psychiatrist said the UFO encounter was an “apparition” ​and his “ lesions have been diagnosed as obviously factitial”.

In other words he'd created them himself!!!

....'Unsolved Mysteries' deserves a slap on the wrist for ignoring both the initial interaction with a police officer, as well as muddying the waters as to when the grid pattern appeared on his chest, ie the following year, not at the time of the incident.

In fairness to the show's producers/editors all the details like police and air force reports may not have been available back in the early 1990s when the show first aired. But it certainly seemed focused on Michalak's side of the story.

a reply to: Ophiuchus1

That piece certainly goes into a lot of detail. With some interesting speculation and conclusions that I've edited down for brevity here.

What really happened at Falcon Lake?

This analysis has provided evidence that the grid pattern of dots appeared on Michalak’s skin for the first time around Jan 1968, but that he retro-fitted the rash of dots into his May 1967 sighting, in a poor attempt to match the pattern burned into his undershirt allegedly by a UFO.

Some speculation based on the evidence:

The burns on Michalak’s chest may have come from hot ash, either the result of an accident that he quickly spun into a UFO sighting, or as part of a premeditated hoax.

- He refused help from the police and, despite saying he didn’t want publicity, instead called the newspaper to tell his story - which printed his address. The family was then inundated with an "endless stream of reporters, well-wishers, flim-flam artists, odd folks, interested parties, government agency representatives, the authorities, investigators of all types and just simple nutcases who washed up on our doorstep like a never-ending tsunami." [Stan Michalak & Rutkowski 2017, chp 5]

- Both the sketch of the UFO and the burned undershirt may have been created after he got home to Winnipeg, for his interview with the reporter on Sunday. Additional evidence that the sketch of the craft was not made at the site is the label "fast closing exit". The exit hatch only closed after he finished the sketch and approached the craft.

- The blotchy irregular first degree burns to his chest and upper abdomen were not serious. His sickness may have been entirely faked: essentially, he did not eat much, lost weight, and reported nausea. And none of the doctors, reporters, or officers of the law or military commented on the terrible smell he claimed to be oozing. He may have been simulating symptoms that he associated with radiation poisoning, but this backfired because abnormal radiation was not found at the site.

- Once the police and military got involved, it became impossible for him to back down because he might be on the hook for the expenses incurred.

- Once his family began suffering, he may have felt unable to back down because he couldn’t admit he’d put them through all that for a hoax.

- It’s possible he failed to “find” the site for the authorities on multiple attempts because there was no site and his map was a generic sketch to keep them happy.

- If there was a site, perhaps he wasn’t ready for anyone to find it until he’d planted evidence, created a “landing circle”, or killed off the surrounding leaves with poison. (Perhaps he collaborated with the colorful Mr Hart, the man with whom he eventually did locate the site, and who owned a cabin at Falcon Lake – they may have become acquainted during Michalak’s previous visits to the area. What their ultimate goal was is anyone’s guess, and perhaps things didn’t go according to plan anyway.)

- After publishing his 40-page booklet in late 1967 (some time after September), the fuss died down and he may have pretended the burns come back in order to revitalize the story the following year. Maybe his previous allergy attacks gave him the idea.

​- Beyond all this speculation, what does seem clear is that Michalak’s retro-fitting of his “recurring” rash of grid-like dots was an act of deception. There was nothing unusual about his initial first-degree burns, there is no medical information about the grid of dots 8 months later, and whatever lesions he had a few months after that were self-inflicted according to his psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic.

The other evidence for this case is unconvincing or turned out to be red herrings: no radiation poisoning, no unusual radioactivity at the site, and other features at the site such as silver rods, dead leaves and cleared rock could easily be manmade or planted. As such, the unusual grid of dots allegedly caused by the craft's exhaust was all this case had going for it. Those dots did not appear until 8 months later and don't match up with the burn on his undershirt.

If Michalak was truly burned by a UFO, there was no need for him to deceive.

If this was all a hoax, and the evidence points to some deception by Michalak then the question has to WHY?

a reply to: mirageman

This story…..reminds me of the Eagle River “Alien Pancakes” story in 1961……some how.

According to the farmer, “ looked like the Italian.”….” Simonton noticed that inside the ship,”

Source: Bizarre UFO Encounter Of US Farmer: Three Aliens Gave Him Pancakes

Stephan too….thought the occupants spoke a foreign language……he also looked inside the craft.
——————————————————————————————————————

I think it simply could have been the proverbial “15 Minutes of Fame” syndrome…..for Stephan….despite his assertions he did not want fame….but perhaps secretly he really did….

Or….

Some “in cahoots””prodding””influencing” form could have been done with J.B. Thompson…..and the gullibility of Stephan, wife and son.



Also as written ..Stephan in previous readings of UFO’s “scoffed” and thought of those who believed in those incidents were “crackpots”…….

Yes, that was prior to J.B. Thompson ever meeting Stephan. Now J.B. Thompson comes along ….and prior to the RCMP folks getting to Stephan house…..J. B. Thompson conceivably could have filled Stephan’s head with prior UFO incidents that the APRO had in their files.

So now those stories coming from a reputable Organization…..starts to influence Stephan to do some story telling of his own……dismissing the “scoffing” and “crackpot” way of thinking.

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a reply to: Ophiuchus1
Odd though that Michalak was a police officer back in Poland and was seemingly a do-the-right-thing kind of guy. Just seems a stretch that anyone would go to those lengths for attention?
You might be right, but he would have to have some imagination to come up with that drawing of the UFO, and that detail of the geese starting to squawk when the UFO appeared.
It's the little details that always mean something. Just my opinion though.

a reply to: mirageman
As a former bartender, 5 beers is nothing.

a reply to: RonnieJersey

Odd though that Michalak was a police officer back in Poland and was seemingly a do-the-right-thing kind of guy. Just seems a stretch that anyone would go to those lengths for attention?

Hmmm maybe not? I am fairly certain this one and the same Stefan Michalak charged with pinning another driver against his parked car in 1964. It might also explain why he could not drive to Falcon Lake from his home.



Page 7 at this link

a reply to: RonnieJersey

Even do gooders can become do baders 😉

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originally posted by: mirageman
a reply to: RonnieJersey

Odd though that Michalak was a police officer back in Poland and was seemingly a do-the-right-thing kind of guy. Just seems a stretch that anyone would go to those lengths for attention?

Hmmm maybe not? I am fairly certain this one and the same Stefan Michalak charged with pinning another driver against his parked car in 1964. It might also explain why he could not drive to Falcon Lake from his home.

Page 7 at this link

Wow, never saw that before, wonder what the outcome was for this charge?

originally posted by: Ophiuchus1
a reply to: RonnieJersey

Even do gooders can become do baders 😉

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Yes, that's so true! No one is perfect.

The article, Ophiuchus1 posted exposes this incident as a likely hoax. There are more holes in this story than holes on the grid pattern.

Particularly that grid pattern on the undershirt is clearly way above the one on his stomach.

Unless he’s saying, this pattern showed up later on his stomach on its own, very unlikely.

Also, with the edges, it looks like some weird hot iron device was impressed on the shirt.


The thing that got me originally was him saying he spoke to the aliens in four languages. It sounds kind of self-serving...I speak four languages kind of thing, showing his vanity at work.

a reply to: peaceinoutz

The Falcon Lake incident smells like fish to me. There are way too many inconsistencies in his story. Sometimes a report is suspect because it is too vague; it has too few details. Other times a report is suspect because it contains too many details--particularly when they don't stack up.
Speaking of stacking up, it's funny how Ophiuchus1 mentioned the Eagle River Pancake Incident, I was just thinking about it yesterday. Some fun trivia about the case: In his book, Passport to Magonia, Jacques Vallée compared the apparently salt-less pancakes to Celtic Folklore about fairies and "The Gentry", said to never eat salt.


ETA: you may be interested in this loosely (very loosely) similar case from 1952 in Florida:
A Scoutmaster's UFO Encounter
It remains unsolved, although the integrity of the witness has been questioned.

a reply to: peaceinoutz

There was an article in the Edmonton Journal from 24th May 1967.

This was just a few days after the incident. It quotes Stefan's older son Stan who describes the burns as "similar to a checker board. One square has a number of dots in it. The next one is bare...." .But as we know from the June 1967 photo this did not appear to be the case. Although Michalak's undershirt could be described as having a checker board type pattern. Stan was the son who drove him to the hospital on the 20th May (the night of the incident). So did he not see the burns and was he relaying what he'd seen on Michalak's undershirt? Or was he part and parcel of a hoax?

a reply to: wavelength


Yeah, this case, though anything is possible, has problems.

you may be interested in this loosely (very loosely) similar case from 1952 in Florida:

Thanks for that link. I'll be glad to check it out. I’m also looking for the one where the person had a pyramid somehow etched, burned into, or maybe stapled (haha) on his solar plexus.


Yeah, I recall the Vallee comment on that; interesting. Or maybe they get HBP or this planet or are hep to the fact that although the body needs some iodine, too much salt can cause problems. Maybe that's why no one has reported an overweight alien.

originally posted by: mirageman
a reply to: ConfusedBrit

In fairness to the show's producers/editors all the details like police and air force reports may not have been available back in the early 1990s when the show first aired. But it certainly seemed focused on Michalak's side of the story.

True, but the timing of the grid pattern is something they should have clarified, at least.

Reminds me of Rendlesham and poor Jim Penniston who'd carefully created his own personal narrative in the early 90s, not expecting the original USAF statements to surface years later and expose his fantasies.

This portion of dialogue below is very telling in two ways and it may include the smoking gun of a hoax to this story…..



First the dialogue in the blue box……

I cannot reconcile the physicality of what Stephan says. In no part of this dialogue is he said to be crouching or kneeling…….he said to be standing at all times….during the exchange with RCMP.

The dialogue states that he is about a hands length way from the grill……

But the craft had already started to rotate. What person in their right mind would be that close to a rotating craft about to take off???

Below is a crude depiction to show two possible blast patterns….imo….the grill holes on the metal skin for the exhaust would have had to have been at a rough 45 degree angle with the 45 degree angle of the lower portion of the craft.

What is unknown it the thrust pattern of the exhaust angle ….. was it perpendicular at 90 degrees to the 45 degree angle of the skin of the craft (green lines)…..or obtuse/acute to the 45 degree angle of the skin of the craft (red lines)

I don’t see either angle blast causing such as symmetrical, evenly spaced, hole grid pattern on his chest while standing up…….and all the while the craft is rotating!! what are the odds of a straight line shot blast pattern?? and certainly his body wasn’t at a 45 degree angle parallel the 45 degree angle of the lower portion of the craft….



Second…the dialogue in the red box….

Stephan mentions with absolute assurance “that very moment” (twice) …that his shirt was burned AFTER spinning his body around…..in other words ….the BACK of his shirt got burned with the grid hole pattern.

So….yes, received his burn to his shirt, but only after the blast under the craft forced him to turn around……

That’s how I’m reading it from the official report of Stephan’s interview…..imo.

Analysis to the notion that it was the back of his undershirt that received the grid hole pattern and not the front his undershirt onto his chest was made here…..



Imo…..the analysis is pretty compelling.

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a reply to: mirageman

One wonders what the motivation of such a hoax is. Maybe money, he did write some little book.

As for the kid, maybe he helped iron that undershirt into a scorched rag. like what this undershirt went through

Did you see the picture with the holes turning into a blotchy, pink, swollen mess?

a reply to: Ophiuchus1

Some good points you make.

Also, in the blue section line, 3 D asks did he hear anything
M says no, just the engine turning red and it rotating

Then D asks whether it turned red or rotated first.

Then M contradicts what he said in line 3

“Increased the whirling then when it blows I didn’t hear nothing anymore”

But in line three, he says he heard nothing when asked by D did he hear anything.

How can he stop hearing something he never heard in the first place?

Unless he's saying he heard it blow and then he didn't hear anything anymore.

Which is illogical. One doesn't hear a sound and then says after that I didn't hear anything anymore. Maybe the guy's English isn't too good.

How curious…….this blurb article is dated Jan 3 2023

Was the Falcon Lake Incident in Canada an Extraterrestrial Encounter?

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a reply to: peaceinoutz

One wonders what the motivation of such a hoax is. Maybe money, he did write some little book.

The RCAF officer in charge of the case believed Michalak wanted to secure mineral rights and had concocted his story in an attempt to ward other prospectors away from the area until he had filed a claim. This sounds like an ill thought plan with little consideration for how things could develop. But people do stupid things without consideration for the consequences.

So maybe this was Michalak's original idea to secure mineral rights? But then things got complicated because of interest from the media, police, air force and UFO groups. The discovery of radiation attracted the Department of Health and Welfare to the area. This focus was making it very difficult to back down (probably with the likelihood of a charge for wasting police and other authorities time). So Michalak was faced with a situation where he was compelled to go along with a story that had become far bigger than he'd imagined.

This doesn't really explain his burns and continued rash appearing after the incident. The RCAF officer thought maybe he'd climbed a nearby microwave tower and was burned by that. But didn't really consider it likely. So, if this was all a hoax, instigated by Michalak then how do we explain the burns/rash?

The local police patrol, who was the first person Michalak had encountered after his 'encounter' thought he'd rubbed wood ash into his chest. The hospital who treated Michalak confirmed they were first degree burns (painful but only affecting the outer layer of skin). We have no way of knowing if his claim of weight loss was accurate, either.

originally posted by: Ophiuchus1
How curious…….this blurb article is dated Jan 3 2023

Was the Falcon Lake Incident in Canada an Extraterrestrial Encounter?

👽

This is probably Canada's most famous UFO case, alongside Shag Harbour. I also read somewhere that a Canadain documentary was made on the case recently, with Stefan's son Stan featuring in it (he also co-authored a book for the 50th anniversay). So there's always interest in the case. Sometimes as just a whitespace filler story during slow news periods.