Falcon Lake incident
Incident
According to authors Chris Rutkowski and Geoff
Dittman, Michalak, a resident of Winnipeg, Manitoba,
had taken a short vacation in Whiteshell Provincial
Park to prospect veins of quartz near Falcon Lake
when he spotted two cigar-shaped objects descending,
one of which landed near him. Michelak says he saw a
door open and heard voices from inside the object,
after which he tried to make contact in English and
other languages but got no response. He claims to
have burned his hand while attempting to examine
"colourful glass" found around the object and seen a
grid-like exhaust vent that expelled gas that burned
his clothing.
Rutkowski and Dittman write that Michalak felt
pain and sickness after his encounter and was
treated at a hospital, initially claiming the burns
were caused by airplane exhaust. Michalak's family
physician reportedly stated that Michalak was
confused and dazed but rational, and showed signs of
hair loss and a series of raised oval-shaped sores
on Michalak's chest and abdomen in a grid-like
pattern, similar to a first-degree burn. Reportedly,
health problems plagued Michalak for several months,
including lack of appetite, weight loss, swelling,
and fainting spells, despite a Mayo Clinic
psychiatrist stating that Michalak was free of
"significant mental or emotional illness."
Investigation By late June 1967, the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (RCMP) had taken an interest in Michalak's
claims. They could not identify the site on their
own, and on June 1 they brought Michalak with them.
However, Michalak could not locate the site, which
raised further doubts regarding his claim. The RCMP
also confirmed that Michalak had consumed multiple
bottles of beer the night before the sighting.
By June 26, Michalak had located the site and
recovered personal belongings he had left there. The
RCMP obtained soil samples from the location, which
they tested for radioactivity. The tests were
negative.
On July 28, Michalak and RCMP officers together
identified a semicircle on the rock face at the
scene, 15 feet in diameter, where the moss had been
somehow removed. There were traces of radiation in a
fault in the rock across the center of the landing
spot. No trace of radiation was found around the
outer perimeter of the circle or in the moss or
grass below the raised portion of the rock.
The radioactive material found in the rock fault
was radium 226, a naturally occurring isotope in
wide commercial use and also found in nuclear
reactor waste. They concluded that the level of
radiation posed no danger to humans in the area.
Michalak died in 1999, age 83.
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