Val Johnson incident
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 4
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| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Val Johnson |
The Val Johnson incident was a reported encounter on 27 August 1979 in which Marshall County, Minnesota, sheriff's deputy Val Johnson said his patrol car was struck by a ball of light on a rural highway. The damaged car is now displayed in the county museum.[1][2]
The incident
Johnson was on night patrol in the early hours on State Highway 220 near Warren and Stephen, Minnesota. He said in a taped police interview that he saw a very bright light, 8 to 12 inches across and 3 to 4 feet above the ground, with sharply defined edges. He drove towards it, and his car was engulfed in light. He woke up some time later; the time he was unconscious is given as about half an hour, or 39 minutes.[1][2]
His 1977 Ford LTD had a shattered windshield and a broken headlight, and its radio aerials were bent sharply back. His wristwatch and the car's clock were both 14 minutes slow. Johnson had burns around his eyes, which a doctor compared to welder's burns. Deputies who answered his call found the car sideways on the road.[1][2]
Publicity
The story drew national attention, and Johnson appeared on ABC's Good Morning America on 11 September 1979. He later said the constant phone calls had put great strain on him and his family.[1][2] The police investigation never reached a conclusion.[2]
Assessment
UFO researchers including Allan Hendry and Jerome Clark have treated the case as significant; Clark included it among the most influential UFO encounters in his UFO Encyclopedia. Skeptic Philip Klass argued that it was a hoax and that Johnson had damaged his own car.[1][2] According to Clark, Johnson declined a polygraph test, saying it would only satisfy morbid curiosity.[1]
Interviewed in 2015, Johnson, then 71 and living in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, said the event was unexplainable and would remain so. He said he did not think the light was extraterrestrial but would not rule it out.[2]
References
- Val Johnson incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- John Enger, "Whatever happened to the Marshall County cop who hit a UFO?", MPR News (27 Aug 2015) · mprnews.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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