Val Johnson Incident, 1979
Deputy Sheriff Val Johnson at the scene of his collision with an unidentified force or object on County Road 5 in Marshall County on August 27, 1979. Photograph by Stormi Greener. Originally published with “Deputy’s UFO Story Evokes Other Tales,” Minneapolis Star, September 11, 1979, 1. Used with the permission of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Bibliography
Bailey, Ann. “Dark Road, Bright Light Remembered 40 Years After Marshall County UFO Incident.” Grand Forks Herald, August 28, 2019.
https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4635200-Dark-road-bright-light-remembered-40-years-after-Marshall-County-UFO-incident
Bakken, Ryan. “Thousands Seek Out Artifact From Warren’s 1979 UFO Encounter.” Grand Forks Herald, July 24, 2013.
https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/thousands-seek-out-artifact-warrens-1979-ufo-encounter-0
Byrne, Carol, and Debra Stone. “Smashed Car, ‘Diving Thing,’...UFO?” Minneapolis Star, August 30, 1979.
Enger, John. “Whatever Happened to the Marshall County Cop Who Hit a UFO?” MPR News, August 27, 2015.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/08/26/minnesota-deputy-squad-car-ufo-mystery
Hrapsky, Chris. “Minnesota’s Most Notorious UFO Sighting Remains a Mystery Four Decades Later.” KARE 11, August 4, 2021.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/kare11-extras/minnesota-ufo-sighting-remains-a-mystery-four-decades-later
“It Was Just a Brush With the Law, Or Perhaps A ‘Close’ Encounter.” Minneapolis Tribune, August 31, 1979.
“Lab Says Deputy Met An Electrical ‘Force’ or Thing.” Minneapolis Star, November 7, 1979.
Paton, Callum. “The Most Credible UFO Sightings and Encounters in Modern History, According to Research.” Newsweek, April 17, 2019.
https://www.newsweek.com/ufo-sightings-encounters-credibility-video-1371313
Reinan, John. “UFO or No? Forty Years Later, a Minnesota Town Still Wonders." Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 23, 2019.
“Sheriff Blinded by Light from UFO; Minnesota–1979.”
https://www.ufocasebook.com/minnesotasheriff1979.html
Shirley, Hannah. "'Something Hit Me’: Some Believe Deputy’s 1979 Experience Is One of the Most Significant UFO Sightings Ever.” Grand Forks Herald, May 5, 2021.
https://www.grandforksherald.com/the-vault/7008536-Deputy-never-claimed-to-know-what-he-saw-outside-of-Stephen-Minn.-%E2%80%93-but-ufologists-have-called-it-one-of-the-most-significant-UFO-sightings-ever
Stone, Debra. “Deputy’s UFO Story Evokes Other Tales.” Minneapolis Star, September 11, 1979.
Chronology
August 27, 1979
August 30
September 4
September 11
November 6
December 6
1992
2015
2019
2019
Bibliography
Bailey, Ann. “Dark Road, Bright Light Remembered 40 Years After Marshall County UFO Incident.” Grand Forks Herald, August 28, 2019.
https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4635200-Dark-road-bright-light-remembered-40-years-after-Marshall-County-UFO-incident
Bakken, Ryan. “Thousands Seek Out Artifact From Warren’s 1979 UFO Encounter.” Grand Forks Herald, July 24, 2013.
https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/thousands-seek-out-artifact-warrens-1979-ufo-encounter-0
Byrne, Carol, and Debra Stone. “Smashed Car, ‘Diving Thing,’...UFO?” Minneapolis Star, August 30, 1979.
Enger, John. “Whatever Happened to the Marshall County Cop Who Hit a UFO?” MPR News, August 27, 2015.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/08/26/minnesota-deputy-squad-car-ufo-mystery
Hrapsky, Chris. “Minnesota’s Most Notorious UFO Sighting Remains a Mystery Four Decades Later.” KARE 11, August 4, 2021.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/kare11-extras/minnesota-ufo-sighting-remains-a-mystery-four-decades-later
“It Was Just a Brush With the Law, Or Perhaps A ‘Close’ Encounter.” Minneapolis Tribune, August 31, 1979.
“Lab Says Deputy Met An Electrical ‘Force’ or Thing.” Minneapolis Star, November 7, 1979.
Paton, Callum. “The Most Credible UFO Sightings and Encounters in Modern History, According to Research.” Newsweek, April 17, 2019.
https://www.newsweek.com/ufo-sightings-encounters-credibility-video-1371313
Reinan, John. “UFO or No? Forty Years Later, a Minnesota Town Still Wonders." Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 23, 2019.
“Sheriff Blinded by Light from UFO; Minnesota–1979.”
https://www.ufocasebook.com/minnesotasheriff1979.html
Shirley, Hannah. "'Something Hit Me’: Some Believe Deputy’s 1979 Experience Is One of the Most Significant UFO Sightings Ever.” Grand Forks Herald, May 5, 2021.
https://www.grandforksherald.com/the-vault/7008536-Deputy-never-claimed-to-know-what-he-saw-outside-of-Stephen-Minn.-%E2%80%93-but-ufologists-have-called-it-one-of-the-most-significant-UFO-sightings-ever
Stone, Debra. “Deputy’s UFO Story Evokes Other Tales.” Minneapolis Star, September 11, 1979.