The Shag Harbour UFO Incident

On the night of October 4, 1967, residents of a small fishing village in Nova Scotia witnessed something crash into the waters of the harbour. They assumed it was an aircraft. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian Coast Guard, and military divers responded. They found no wreckage, no bodies, and no explanation - only strange yellow foam on the water. The Shag Harbour incident remains one of the most well-documented and officially recognized UFO cases in history.

The Night of October 4, 1967

The First Sightings

At approximately 11:20 PM:

• Multiple people in different locations saw lights in the sky
• The object had four orange-yellow lights
• It was traveling in a line
• Estimated at 60 feet long
• It appeared to be descending

The Witnesses

Initial observers included:

• Laurie Wickens and friends (five teenagers in a car)
• Local residents looking out their windows
• Fishing boat crews on the water
• At least 11 people witnessed the descent

The Descent

Witnesses described:

• The object tilting at a 45-degree angle
• Moving toward the water
• A bright flash as it hit the surface
• A loud “whoosh” or explosion sound
• The lights continuing to glow on the water

The Impact

After hitting the water:

• Orange lights were visible on the surface
• The object appeared to be floating
• A strange yellow foam surrounded it
• Witnesses initially thought an aircraft had crashed

The Response

The First Call

Laurie Wickens:

• Drove to the nearest phone
• Called the RCMP to report a plane crash
• Corporal Victor Werbiski responded
• He drove to the shore and saw the lights himself

RCMP Response

Multiple officers:

• Arrived at the scene
• Observed the lights on the water
• Contacted the Rescue Coordination Centre
• Confirmed no aircraft were missing

Coast Guard

HMCS Granby:

• Was dispatched to the area
• Searched the waters
• Found strange yellow foam
• No wreckage located
• No bodies found

Military Divers

Over the next few days:

• Navy divers from Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic
• Conducted extensive underwater searches
• Found no aircraft, no debris
• The object had vanished

Official Documentation

The Incident Report

Unique aspects of this case:

• Officially classified as a UFO by the Canadian government
• Documents released through Access to Information
• Labeled as “UNKNOWN” rather than “Unidentified Flying Object”
• No conventional explanation offered

Search Records

Official records show:

• Extensive naval resources deployed
• Divers searched for days
• Aircraft checked - none missing
• Object never identified

The RCMP File

Police documentation includes:

• Multiple witness statements
• Officer observations
• Coordination with military
• No resolution

Extended Investigation

Government Secrecy?

Later research suggested:

• The search may have continued secretly
• Additional naval vessels may have been involved
• Something may have been tracked underwater
• The military knew more than released

The Second Object

Some accounts claim:

• A second object entered the water
• The two objects may have connected underwater
• They moved north along the ocean floor
• Eventually surfacing days later

Government Island

Researchers allege:

• The objects were tracked to Government Island
• A naval base monitored the situation
• Soviet submarines were also present
• A complex underwater encounter occurred

Classification

If true:

• The full story remains classified
• Released documents are incomplete
• The Canadian military knows more
• The truth may never emerge

The Witnesses

Credible Observers

The case has strong witness testimony:

• Multiple police officers
• Coast Guard personnel
• Fishing boat captains
• Local residents
• Consistent accounts

Their Stories

Witness descriptions matched:

• Size of the object (60 feet)
• Number and color of lights
• Trajectory and descent
• Sound on impact
• Behavior on water

Long-term Consistency

Decades later:

• Witnesses maintained their accounts
• No retractions or major changes
• Many participated in documentaries
• Their credibility remained solid

What Was Found

The Yellow Foam

Searchers discovered:

• Thick yellow foam on the water
• Approximately 80 feet wide
• Unlike any known substance
• No sample was preserved (officially)
• Never explained

What Wasn’t Found

Despite extensive searches:

• No aircraft wreckage
• No bodies
• No identifiable debris
• No satisfactory explanation
• No closure

Theories

Crashed Aircraft

The Theory

• A plane went down
• Wreckage sank or drifted away
• Missing aircraft unreported

Problems

• All aircraft accounted for
• Extensive search found nothing
• Multiple experienced observers
• Doesn’t explain the foam

Soviet Submarine or Missile

The Theory

• Cold War era equipment
• Soviet activity in North Atlantic
• Covered up for security reasons

Problems

• Doesn’t match descriptions
• No Soviet acknowledgment
• The object had lights and hovered
• Submarines don’t fly

Experimental Aircraft

The Theory

• Secret military project
• American or Canadian
• Testing advanced technology

Problems

• No subsequent disclosure
• Unusual behavior for known craft
• Multiple governments investigated
• Never claimed

Extraterrestrial Craft

The Theory

• A genuine UFO
• Crashed or landed in the water
• Recovered or escaped
• Explains the lack of conventional explanation

Support

• Object behavior matches no known craft
• Official classification as “unknown”
• Extensive search yielded nothing
• Multiple credible witnesses

Legacy

Official Recognition

The Shag Harbour incident:

• Is officially acknowledged by the Canadian government
• Remains unexplained in official files
• Is taught to Canadian military as a genuine case
• Has never been debunked

Cultural Impact

The case led to:

• A UFO museum in Shag Harbour
• Annual UFO festival
• Tourism to the area
• Continued research and investigation

Continued Research

Investigators continue to:

• Interview witnesses
• Request classified documents
• Piece together the full story
• Search for answers

The Town Today

Shag Harbour

The small fishing village:

• Embraces its UFO history
• Hosts researchers and tourists
• Maintains the incident’s memory
• Remains the site of one of the best-documented cases

The Memorial

A sign marks the location:

• Acknowledging the 1967 incident
• Part of local heritage
• A reminder of that October night

Analysis

What We Know

• Something crashed into Shag Harbour on October 4, 1967
• Multiple credible witnesses observed it
• Official response included RCMP, Coast Guard, and military
• No wreckage was ever found
• The case remains officially unexplained

What We Don’t Know

• What the object was
• Where it went
• What the yellow foam was
• Whether additional information remains classified
• Whether we’ll ever have answers

The Question

Eleven people watched something fall from the sky and crash into the cold waters of Nova Scotia.

They called the police. The police came and watched too. Then the Coast Guard. Then the Navy.

They searched for days. They found yellow foam and nothing else.

No plane had gone missing. No boat. Nothing could explain what they saw.

The Canadian government filed it as “Unknown.” Not “unidentified flying object” - just unknown. Something they couldn’t explain.

Fifty years later, the fishermen and police officers who were there that night still tell the same story. Something came down from the sky, hit the water, and disappeared.

The waters of Shag Harbour keep their secret.

And somewhere in those cold depths, or somewhere far from here, there may be an answer.

But we don’t have it yet.

We only have the witnesses, the foam, and the questions.

The Shag Harbour UFO incident. Officially unexplained. Officially unknown.

And officially still waiting for an answer that may never come.