In the river of history, UFO events sparkle in the night sky like stars, and among them, the Shag Harbour UFO incident of 1967 stands out as a captivating episode. This event unfolded on an ordinary night but began with the eyewitness account of Lauren Smith, sparking a mystery that transcends time and space. The story takes us on an adventure that is both mysterious and captivating.

However, the Shag Harbour incident is not just an ordinary UFO sighting. In the years that followed, investigator Stéarles reignited doubts about the authenticity of the event. His investigation revealed crucial clues, focusing on the underwater search operation conducted about 50 kilometers northeast of Shag Harbour in Sheldrake. The testimony of an anonymous diver unveiled a mysterious story involving the U.S. Navy, geomagnetic anomaly monitoring systems, and the Gavomet Point base.

The diver’s testimony triggered endless speculation: Was the Shag Harbour UFO incident part of a global cover-up operation? Is the truth of the event hidden within the complex disputes of international politics and submarine strategies? Is this incident a supernatural phenomenon or an extraterrestrial event beyond human comprehension? These questions remain a puzzle waiting to be unraveled. In this gripping story, we attempt to glimpse the truth behind the Shag Harbour UFO incident and unveil the mysterious veil that has lingered for many years.

Shag Harbour UFO incident

The Shag Harbour UFO incident took place on the evening of October 4, 1967. In a small fishing village called Shag Harbour in Canada, a UFO crash occurred. After investigations and evidence collection by local police and the Coast Guard, the authorities officially classified the event as a UFO incident. It was this official acknowledgment that led people to refer to this incident as the Canadian version of the Roswell incident.

Shag Harbour is located in the southeastern part of Nova Scotia, Canada, and is a small fishing village adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. For centuries, the majority of the local population has relied on fishing as their main livelihood. A local custom involves young people setting up tents by the shore and enjoying the noise and tranquility brought by the sea and sunset when they have free time.

On the evening of October 4, 1967, a young man named Laurie Wickens was kicked out of a bar, a common occurrence for him after enjoying the effects of alcohol. After the conflict that often arises among young people under the influence of alcohol, Laurie, almost getting into a fight, was picked up by friends in a car to return home. As they drove along the coastal road, preparing to take Laurie home, he joked and admired the scenery outside the window.

However, as the vehicle was about to reach Laurie’s home, he witnessed an incredible scene. It was around 5:00 PM, not quite nightfall, but the sky was gradually darkening. A faint light caught Laurie’s eye. He began to look up at the sky, and there, a flying object with flickering yellow light was flying in the air. Thinking he might be mistaken, Laurie rubbed his eyes and, realizing it wasn’t a hallucination, immediately called on his friend driving the car to look outside. Both of them witnessed the presence of this flying object.

They later recalled that the object was flickering with yellow light, unlike an airplane. It appeared as a series of connected lights, moving parallel to them over the sea.

As they were puzzled, the unidentified flying object suddenly descended into the water. Laurie and his friend initially thought it was a plane crash. After Laurie was dropped off at home, a police car rushed by, but no one knew whether it was heading to the scene or for another urgent matter.

After returning home, Laurie found his uncle and told him about the possible plane crash, discussing whether they should go and see if they could provide assistance. After hearing Laurie’s description, his uncle joined him in heading to the seaside. They found themselves among a growing crowd, including a police officer. Dozens of people witnessed the existence of this light. When Laurie and his uncle arrived at the shore, they saw that the light was not sinking into the sea as they initially thought but hovering a few meters above the water surface. Due to its strong brightness, people couldn’t discern its specific shape, only vaguely perceiving a disc-shaped object, 20 meters wide and 3 meters high, with a convex arch in the middle, resembling the descriptions of a typical UFO.

As they contemplated whether to get closer for a better look, the mysterious object suddenly flickered and plunged into the sea with a splash.

Seeing this, the onlookers were stunned. The police quickly notified the police station, calling for reinforcements. Laurie estimated the distance of the UFO, which submerged about 500 meters from the shore. He and his uncle decided to take a boat to get a closer look.

When they arrived at the site, the light had disappeared, but they found themselves navigating through a thick foam. In this foam, they saw no UFO, only an eerie foam emitting a greenish glow. According to fishermen, this foam was not naturally produced by the sea; they had never seen anything like it. The foam emitted a strange smell, and Laurie, recalling a familiar scent, bravely scooped some foam and observed it carefully. He even brought it close to his nose and discovered a pungent odor similar to sulfur.

Subsequently, they collected some foam, roamed the surroundings for a while, and at that moment, an inexplicable sense of disappointment arose in them for no apparent reason. The two then sailed away. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, after hours of fruitless search, halted their efforts around 3:00 AM. They also contacted the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax, Canada, but neither reported any missing military or civilian aircraft that night.

Later, the Canadian police conducted a detailed investigation and found that different people had witnessed the flying object on that evening. Pierre, a pilot of Flight 305 from the local airport en route to Toronto, and his co-pilot, observed the unidentified flying object. In the left rear of the plane, they spotted a rectangular luminous object followed by a series of smaller luminous bodies. A silent explosion seemed to occur around the luminous object. The UFO disappeared in front of them. Another witness, Leo Howard, the captain of a deep-sea fishing boat, observed four moving light points on the radar while sailing. The positions shown on the radar were not far from the ship. He went outside and saw four moving light points in the sky. Over twenty crew members on the ship also witnessed these four moving light points.

Residents of the town also provided various testimonies. However, these accounts, being folklore, may have varying degrees of credibility. But a report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police made this incident particularly unusual.

Apart from regular police, Canada also has the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, responsible for maintaining order across the country. They have more authority than regular police and are sometimes dispatched for international missions. As mentioned earlier, when Laurie and his uncle arrived at the seaside, a police officer named Leo Howard Mersey was present. Mersey, being a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, witnessed the incident along with others.

UFO File Report

Three days after the incident, Mersey made a report on the matter. This report is preserved in the Canadian National Archives, with the reference number 67-400-23-X, dated October 7, three days after the UFO sighting. The title of this file includes the term: Unidentified Flying Object, which is the full name of UFO. This marked the first time in the world that the term UFO was officially used in a report. Before this, in most similar incidents, authorities would typically attribute them to balloons, weather phenomena, etc., and rarely used the straightforward term “unidentified flying object.” The report states:

“At 9:00 PM on October 4, 1967, he observed three objects emitting red lights, and military radar located 16 miles away confirmed the presence of these objects. The light emitted was extremely bright, clearly visible in the pitch-black night sky. That night, radar detected not only one but three other similarly mysterious unidentified flying objects. These peculiar UFOs appeared around 11:00 PM. Radar data showed that they started ascending around 11:00 PM and flew away. Additionally, a witness named Ryan can testify to Mersey’s account. In the authenticity investigation at the end of this report, it is mentioned that Mersey is a very reliable officer with an excellent reputation and prestige in the local community. This indirectly reflects that Mersey is not the type of person to fabricate stories for attention.”

The appearance of this report once again elevated the credibility of this incident. The occurrence of this event drew the attention of high-ranking officials in Canada. The person in charge of the air service desk submitted a recommendation to naval headquarters, hoping that the naval headquarters would conduct a more thorough investigation and initiate underwater search operations.

Subsequently, the Canadian Navy did dispatch warships and divers for a search operation, but the ultimate result was silence, with no trace found.

Is the Shag Harbour UFO Incident a Hoax?

In the following years, the Shag Harbour incident would often appear in newspapers worldwide, accompanied by some “interesting” rumors. It wasn’t until 1993 that the Shag Harbour incident was once again brought into the public eye by a witness named Chris Stiles. He suspected that the Navy’s search in Shag Harbour was merely a cover-up hoax.

Stiles examined numerous public records and interviewed many witnesses and rescue personnel involved in the Shag Harbour incident. Through extensive investigative efforts, they connected some dots and subtle clues, presenting a new truth to the public.

By leveraging connections, Stiles obtained a file about an underwater search near Shag Harbour, 50 kilometers northeast, in Shelburne. An anonymous diver revealed the so-called underwater “truth.” The Navy tracked the object that submerged into Shag Harbour, traveling approximately 40 kilometers underwater to a location called Gabarus Point.

In the 1960s, the United States had a small but technologically advanced military base at Gabarus Point. Their mission was to use an anomalous magnetic field monitoring system to detect and track submarine activities in the North Atlantic. The U.S. military naturally detected the object using their monitoring system.

Naval vessels were stationed above the location where the unidentified object stayed, waiting for a full three days. The U.S. military observed no movement from the object and had no idea what it was. They planned to launch a salvage operation for investigative purposes.

While the Navy was waiting and planning, monitoring equipment detected another object approaching. Strangely, it rendezvoused with the object mentioned earlier on the Atlantic seabed. At the time, people speculated that the second unidentified flying object, more accurately termed an underwater flying object (USO), was providing assistance to the first object. Unable to fully comprehend what they were facing, the Navy believed the best course of action was to wait in place and continue observing. The Navy fleet remained above the UFO (USO) for approximately a week.

Later, the monitoring base discovered that a Russian submarine had entered Canadian waters and was traveling north. Several Navy ships left their original positions to conduct an investigation, and with the new surface ship activities masking their movements, the two underwater unidentified flying objects also began to move. They accelerated underwater towards the Gulf of Maine, with the naval fleet in pursuit as they headed towards the United States. However, the two objects always maintained a distance from their pursuers. The surprising final result left everyone astonished: the two objects shot out of the water, soared into the sky, and disappeared without a trace within seconds.

Whether the testimony of this diver is true or false, we cannot know. But at least, even many descendants who did not experience this event firmly believe that the UFO from Shag Harbour will one day return to the public’s view.

END:

In the mysterious chapter of the Shag Harbour UFO incident, we find ourselves pondering its authenticity. Despite Stairs’ investigation raising some questionable points, the Shag Harbour incident still holds a prominent place in people’s memories. Whether it’s Lauren Smith’s initial sighting or subsequent investigative findings, doubts about the authenticity of the event have lingered. However, this hasn’t hindered the incident from shining as a brilliant star in the field of UFO research.

The Shag Harbour incident leaves a profound impact on future UFO studies. It shatters the simplistic explanations of unidentified flying objects, prompting a deeper focus on and investigation into similar events. The use of the term “UFO” in the official report for the first time signifies a formal acknowledgment of such mysterious phenomena, rather than dismissing them as mere balloons or weather phenomena.

Future UFO researchers must approach the Shag Harbour incident with caution, considering potential political and military factors. This event may be just the tip of the iceberg, with more similar incidents potentially hidden in the fog of international disputes. The Shag Harbour incident teaches us that UFO research is not only a puzzle in astronomy but also a complex enigma involving international politics, technology, and military affairs.

Regardless of the truth, the Shag Harbour UFO incident leaves a vivid mark in humanity’s exploration of the unknown. This story becomes a significant milestone in UFO research, guiding us to contemplate the mysteries of the universe more deeply. It also reminds us that when delving into the unknown, the truth may be more elusive than we can imagine.