Today in UFO History

July 31, 2023 – Presque Isle State Park, Pennsylvania, USA:

The Presque Isle State Park UFO Incident

On the evening of July 31, 1966, one of Pennsylvania's most intriguing UFO incidents unfolded at Presque Isle State Park near Erie. Over the course of several hours, numerous independent witnesses reported seeing a strange metallic object hovering over the peninsula, with one group claiming it actually descended into the woods near Beach 6. The incident attracted widespread media attention, prompted a police investigation, and even led to an official U.S. Air Force inquiry.

The most dramatic encounter occurred around 9:30 p.m. when 16-year-old Betty Jean Klem of Jamestown, New York, and three companions were sitting in a car that had become stuck in the sand near Beach 6. According to their testimony, they watched a metallic, silvery object descend straight down from the sky and settle between two trees roughly 300 yards away.

Klem described the craft as mushroom-shaped, with a narrow lower section supporting a larger oval upper structure. She said lights were visible on the rear of the object, and as it approached, the occupants felt their car begin to vibrate. One of the object's most unusual features was a beam of light projecting from it. Unlike a conventional spotlight, Klem said the beam illuminated the entire length of the ground beneath it rather than producing a single circular patch of light.

As reported in the Erie Daily-Times on August 1, 1966, Klem recalled:

"It lit up the whole woods in its path. It wasn't like a search light. There was light along the ground, along the whole path."

The encounter became even stranger when Klem and another female passenger reported seeing what they described as an upright, gorilla-shaped creature, approximately six feet tall, near the stranded vehicle. After the incident, they discovered scratches on the car that they insisted had not been present beforehand.

When peninsula police investigated the following morning, they found a series of unusual impressions in the sand approximately 300 to 400 yards from where the car had been parked. The depressions measured roughly 18 inches wide and 6 to 8 inches deep. Investigators noted that the marks did not resemble footprints but instead appeared to have been made by one or more very heavy objects pressing into the sand.

The Beach 6 encounter was far from the only report that evening. Between 8:00 p.m. and midnight, numerous other visitors independently reported seeing a similar object over Presque Isle.

At approximately 8:30 p.m., Stephanie Lupo, age 12, observed a hovering object while at Beach 2 with friends. Two French exchange students, Helene Roche, 19, and Alain Orceal, 19, also reported seeing a brightly illuminated silvery object, although they initially wondered whether it might have been a low-flying aircraft. Additional witnesses included Charoly Mango, 17, Sue Karle, 13, and their companions Linda Henderson, Janice Dickey, and Jane Moran, all of whom stated they had seen an unusual object in the sky that night.

The growing number of reports prompted official attention. The Erie Morning News headline on August 2, 1966, announced: "Air Force Launches Probe of Erie UFO." While officials confirmed an investigation was underway, they declined to discuss details, stating that any findings could only be released by the Secretary of the Air Force.

As part of the investigation, Erie County Civil Defense personnel conducted radiation tests at the alleged landing site near Beach 6. The survey detected no abnormal levels of radiation, despite the claims that a craft had landed there.

Although no definitive explanation was ever established, the Presque Isle incident remains one of Pennsylvania's best-documented UFO cases. The combination of multiple independent witnesses, physical impressions found in the sand, police involvement, newspaper coverage, and an official Air Force investigation has kept the event a subject of interest for UFO researchers for decades. The reported sighting of a tall, gorilla-like creature alongside the unusual aerial object also makes the case notable as one of the relatively rare UFO reports that included an alleged humanoid encounter.