Over the years, how many time have you heard about the Colfax, WI UFO? The incident and the photos have been fairly obscure within ufology. But were there multiple witnesses? Who did Wendelle Stevens get the photographs from?
On April 19, 1978, police officer Mark Coltrane was on patrol in the vicinity of Colfax. He then noticed a metalic looking disc raising towards the the sky at a short distance from the parking space. While the object seemed to move towards him, Coltrane picked up his Polaroid camera, came out of the car and snapped some photographs. The object was so close in one of the images that it is possible to notice some details of its lower surface.
Colfax, a small town with a thousands of inhabitants in Wisconsin. At midday, Officer Coltrane decided to stop the car to eat something, in a small isolated area. He noted that his radio was emitting crackles.
He then noticed a metallic looking disc raising towards the the sky at a short distance from the parking space.
While the object seemed to move towards him, Coltrane picked up his Polaroid camera, came out of the car and snapped some photographs. The object was so close in one of the images that it is possible to notice some details of its lower surface.
In the second photograph the object is starting to move away.
The total observation lasted a few minutes, the object being being lost from his sight when it accelerated and fled in the distance.
Coltrane, shocked by the sighting, remained in amazement for two hours without saying anything, by fear of being ridiculed when he would have to submit his report to his chiefs. - Wendelle Stevens - UFOs at Close Sight (Ufologie.net)
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Other Witnesses?
On Wednesday 19 April 1978, Mr. S. (name witheld (sic) by specific request) and his girlfriend were driving in the vicinity of Tainter Lake, when they decided to stop and attempt some fishing since most of the ice was already thawed.
They found a spot along the shore where they could do some casting. Mr. S. had also brought along an FM portable radio. They had been at this spot for about a half an hour when the radio began picking up interference. It was then that Mr. S. looked up into the sky, thinking an airplane must be going over-head.
At that point the object “appeared” out of the southwest, moving northeast. He and his girlfriend became very excited and frightened. Remembering that they had a camera with them, (an Instamatic) Mr. S. went and got it to take some pictures. He almost dropped it several times trying to get it out of the case. He finally got it out and started to point it at the object when the object suddenly veered off course in their direction and came towards them. They became even more frightened but Mr. S. was determined to get a photograph of the thing!
At that point, the object began to circle them at a high altitude as Mr. S. began taking pictures. The object flew around the area only once and then disappeared into the sunlight. The whole incident lasted about 3 or 4 minutes.
Mr. S. was hesitant about showing anyone the photos because he was afraid of people thinking the wrong thing. He finally sent a UFO lecturer a copy after attending one of his slide lectures on the UFO subject.
Mr. S. was unable to determine the size of the object for lack of reference, or how fast it was moving. He did say, however, that it gave off a “crackling sound” as it passed around them. - Open Minds TV
UFO Pictures From Wisconsin 1978
Sources:
ufoevidence.org
openmindstv.com
UFOs Caught on Film: Amazing Evidence of Alien Visitors to Earth
ufologie.net
Heaven is Space . . . UP!
policeufo.com
archives-lepost.huffingtonpost.fr
NICAP
ufologie.patrickgross.org