Sept. 22, 1997, Frazee, MN Report
Date of Sighting: 22 Sep, 1997
Place of Sighting: Rural Frazee, MN
Local Evaluation: CE1 – Unexplained.
Significance: Moderate to High
Type of Report: CE1, Nocturnal Lights at close to intermediate range
Date of Report: 16 Dec, 1997
Investigators: Craig R. Lang – Field Investigator, MN MUFON
Dr. Steven T. Hero – FIT (Field Investigator in Training)and Consultant, MN MUFON
Sighting Background:
I was informed of the sighting by Dr. Steven T. Hero, a consultant to MUFON,
who is also a MUFON FIT (Field Investigator in Training). He called me to indicate that the witnesses, who are relatives of his, had observed an object on 22 Sep, 1997. I contacted the witnesses and interviewed them on 30 Sep, 1997. Steve Hero visited the sighting location to investigate the sighting circumstances. The subsequent follow-up investigation has resulted in this report.
Witness Description:
The witnesses to this sighting are a couple, who reside in White Bear Lake, MN. They also maintain a trailer home on her family’s property near Frazee, MN, where the sighting occurred. The primary witness is a 67 year old female. She is a retired property manager. Her education level is one year of college, plus special training in property management. The secondary witness is an 82 year old male. He is a retired police/criminal investigator. His education level is a college degree, plus two years of law school, with special training in police investigation. Both witnesses are in good health, which was not affected by the sighting. Both indicate that their hearing is good, and their vision is correctable to 20/20. He indicates that he has a slight degree of color blindness.
Sighting Account:
The two witnesses to this sighting maintain a trailer on land near Frazee, MN, as a summer home. At approximately 11:30 PM on the night of 22 Sep, 1997, the primary witness was awakened by a loud noise. Thinking that it was due to raccoons disturbing a roll of sheet aluminum which she had in the front yard, she looked out the kitchen window, to see if she could see them. She saw no animals, but instead observed a brilliant light about two to three blocks away. The light appeared to be over a field to the north of the farmhouse across the road from their trailer (see map below).
She initially felt that she might have been seeing some new lights, perhaps installed by the farmer across the road. However, she could see the source of the light through a clearing in the trees, and realized that this was not it. She subsequently thought that it might be an airplane, perhaps about to crash. She then realized that it was not this either.
[Annotation by CL.]
The object appeared to her to be a collection of five brilliant white lights, nearly painful in intensity, largely diffused into one lenticular-shaped object. They were extremely bright, and appeared to be radiating bluish colored beams in all directions. She could not discern any other structure associated with the lights. She felt that the size of the object was about that of a house. It hovered motionless and appeared to illuminate the entire field.
About 20 minutes after seeing the initial object, she noticed that to its right three smaller lights had appeared, arranged in a triangle, with one light above the other two. These lights were bright, and were round in shape. The lights appeared to her to be hovering motionless above the farm house. She watched the objects through the kitchen window (see sketch of trailer below). After about 10 minutes, the highest light moved rapidly to the left, merging into the main object. The other two lights remained in place. She opened the kitchen window to determine if there was any sound, but could hear none.
[Annotation by CL.]
She indicated that she was both fascinated by the object, and very frightened by it. She awakened her companion, periodically urging him to look at the object. [Note: During the time she was attempting to do this, the three additional lights appeared]. When he awakened, he looked at them and first indicated that he felt the object was a helicopter. He then felt that it was probably due to the lights from the Perham airport, about 8 miles to the southeast.
The following sketch shows his impression of the object.
He also saw smaller lights [CL Note: not sure if these were the same three lights which she described] and felt that these were perhaps associated with the nearby railroad tracks. He then went to bed, while she continued to watch the object. She indicates that she then went from window to window, watching it from several different locations within the trailer, but was too frightened to go outside for a clearer view.
At about 1:00 AM, still frightened, she went to bed. She lay there trying to compose herself for 20 minutes, then got up again to watch the objects. When she looked again, at about 1:30 AM, the two remaining lights were now at about ground level, either on the road, or in the surrounding field. Also, at that time, the large object moved slowly to the right, toward the farm house, until it was directly above the location of the lights. She again went from window to window attempting to get a better view.
At about 2:45 AM, she felt that the lights on the ground were now approaching the trailer. They seemed to be bouncing as if they were mounted on as vehicle. She hoped that they were a vehicle, perhaps belonging to a neighbor. However, the lights seemed too bright and too far apart to be his truck. She again became extremely frightened, and again went to bed to try and compose herself. She also noted that she slept extremely soundly until 8:00AM that morning [CL Note: Her change from a state of extreme fear to a sound sleep is very notable].
Aftermath:
Dr. Hero visited the site approximately two weeks after the sighting. He checked for possible ground traces and found none. He also talked to the neighbors who live just to the north of the apparent position of the object. The house has a view of the field where the object apparently hovered. The residents indicated that they did not observe any unusual lights or object(s). However, the witness indicated that they usually have their drapes drawn, thus the object would most likely not have been visible to them.
Additional Witnesses:
None are known beyond the two witnesses indicated in this report. It is possible that either the residents of the farm house across the road from the witness, or the witness’ neighbors to the north could have seen the object. Neither were home at the time of Dr. Hero’s field visit, and thus were unable to be interviewed. A future visit to the area may establish this. In addition, the object might well have been visible to motorists on Highway 10, about a mile away.
Weather Conditions: (WX Info from state climatologist’s office for Detroit
Lakes, 11:15 PM – 22 Sep, 1997)
Temperature: 11 degrees C. Dew Point: 8 degrees C.
Cloud Ceiling: Clear below 12,000 ft. (Cloud type unknown, if any clouds present)
Wind: 6 Knots from 30 degrees (approx NE) Visibility: 10 Mi+ (Unlimited)
Note: I also asked about weather information at 1:00 AM on 23 Sep, 1997 It was indicated that 11:15 PM was the last reading, after which the weather station was not functioning until 9:00 AM CDT.
Natural and Manmade Phenomena Check:
No phenomena, either natural or manmade, would appear to explain this event. However, the following are a number of hypotheses which the investigators have considered:
Hypothesis 1) Distant lights (or moon) on clouds: The duration of the phenomenon argues against this. Over the two-plus hours of the sighting, the Moon and/or clouds would have moved in sky. In addition, the main object the witness described seems too bright to be explained by this theory.
Hypothesis 2) Some form of plasma or corona. This area is extremely swampy, and the night was relatively humid. Thus, the object could conceivably have been some form of power line corona, etc. However, again, the duration of the sighting and the behavior of the object as it moved over the farm house in the latter part of the sighting, and of the accompanying three lights, would argue against this hypothesis.
Hypothesis 3) Lights from trains or from railroad work: This was suggested by the neighbors living immediately to her north, and by the second witness as a source of the smaller lights. While it is conceivable, the primary witness indicated that there was not a clear view to the railroad tracks from the trailer. Also, train lights would not remain in place for such an extended duration and would not appear so high in the sky. The described behavior would also argue against this explanation as well.
Hypothesis 4) Helicopter or other hovering craft: The second witness had considered that the main object might have been this, although his description did not correspond to any known configuration. However, the primary witness indicated that she heard no sound from the object, which she felt was only a few blocks away from her. She indicated that it lit up the field, suggesting a close proximity. A helicopter that close would have very loud.
Hypothesis 5) Reflection or Refraction on Window: After his visit to the site, Dr. Hero suggested the possibility of a reflection or refraction of some other light on double pane windows. However, the primary witness indicated that she observed object through screens and through an open window at least once during the sighting.
Hypothesis 6) Distant City or Airport Lights: There is an airport, about eight miles away in Perham, MN. However, this is not in the correct direction to account for the lights seen. In addition, the town of Frazee is to the north of the sighting area, and also would not have been in the correct direction to account for the lights.
Hypothesis 7) Misidentified Astronomical Bodies: A half-moon was rising in the approximate direction in which she first saw the object. Further, the witness indicates that she did not notice the Moon at the time she saw the object. Thus, this might be considered as a possible explanation. However, the witness indicates that she has seen the moon from this location before, and this looked nothing like it. (Dr. Hero did not think it likely that either of the witnesses would misidentify an object such as the moon in such a way). Also, the primary witness observed the object as being stationary for about three hours, during which time the moon would have risen from the horizon to approximately 35 degrees elevation. In addition, the Moon would not account for the observed behavior of the object during the latter stages of the sighting.
It was also suggested that the lights approaching the trailer might have been misidentification of the stars Sirius (Magnitude -2, exactly on the horizon in the east-southeast), and Procyon (Magnitude 0.5, 6 degrees elevation, due East). These would be in about the right direction at about that time (3:00 AM). However, at about midnight, when the witness initially saw the three lights, only the star Aldebaran (magnitude 1.1) was present at the indicated azimuth and elevation. Thus, this explanation can not fully account for all of the anomalous lights observed.
Sighting Evaluation:
Local Evaluation: CE1 – Unexplained
Significance: Intermediate to High
In my view, this event appears to be unexplained. Based upon the clear description of the object(s) and the duration of the sighting, I would classify this event as a close encounter of the first kind. It should be noted that there is a degree of ambiguity regarding the events at the latter parts of the sighting. This could possibly indicate that missing time occurred during the latter stages of the event. Should the witness(es) be so inclined, this could be pursued as a follow-up investigation.
Since no additional neighbors have yet been located who might have observed the object, I suggest that an intermediate significance be assigned to the sighting. If additional neighbors (principally those in the farm house across the road) also observed the object, or if follow-up investigation were to determine that a CE4 took place, the significance would then be considered high.
