by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
In our last blog, about a boy who claimed he’d been hit in the chest by a paralyzing beam of light from a UFO, we wrote, “Reports of people suffering physical effects after being zapped by UFOs appears often enough in UFO literature that an author could devote an entire book to them.” Proving our point, we stumbled upon a similar case involving a policeman as we were looking for material for this week’s blog. Whereas the former case only had a single witness, the case we’re looking at this week has multiple witnesses.
In the April 8, 1975, Stillwater Gazette, there is an article (page 5 of the pdf) by Jim McLaughlin headlined, “UFOs Spotted Near Ellsworth.” According to McLaughlin, Pierce County, Wisconsin, Sheriff Christianson “reported a rash of UFO’s [sic] near the Ellsworth area Monday night and early Tuesday.” At 11:25 p.m., there was a report from Ellsworth farm resident James Koehler who said that he and his wife had seen three UFOs hovering over their trailer home. The responding officer “reported only a badly frightened German Shepherd dog at the site.”
Then, at 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Elmwood Police Officer George Wheeler reported seeing a UFO he estimated was 1000 feet above his squad car. He said it was orange, cigar-shaped, and about as big as a 747. Thinking it was going to crash, he got out of his car and then watched as it moved off quickly to the east.
Christianson said another call came in at 12:55 a.m. from Nancy Theis who said there was a UFO over her house two miles to the south of Ellsworth. She called back at 1:02 a.m. saying she was then seeing three UFOs, and called again three minutes later saying she was seeing four objects with orange and blue lights moving quickly towards the east.
Finally, an Ellsworth police officer reported seeing the same object as Wheeler, also with orange and blue lights.
The article ends with a quote from Wheeler: “I used to be a non-believer about UFOs until last night.”
Just over a year later, Wheeler ended up in the news again with another reported UFO encounter. His story appeared in the local press (pages 5-6 of the pdf), but it also made it into the National Enquirer. Bob Pratt, head of the tabloid’s UFO desk and a respected UFO investigator with journalistic integrity uncharacteristic of the Enquirer, wrote the article (page 59 of the pdf) headlined “Terrifying UFO Attack” published in the June 29, 1976, issue.
Pratt describes Wheeler as a 71-year-old police veteran with 30 years of experience and a former World War 2 combat fighter. He says he was the former chief of the Elmwood Police and that he was, at the time, serving as a relief officer for the department. He quotes Wheeler describing his encounter:
“On the night of April 22, I noticed an orange glow at the top of Tuttle Hill. I thought it was a fire, reported it on the radio and drove there. When I arrived, I saw this huge object, as high as a two-story house and about 250 feet across. It was silver-colored and had an extremely bright orange light at the top, so bright I couldn’t look straight at it. As I was on the police radio describing the UFO, it rose up at very high speed and a bluish flash of light, like lightning, shot out from it. At this time, the car’s lights and radio went dead. I don’t remember any more until somebody was asking me if I needed help.”
According to Pratt, four minutes later, 36-year-old dairy farmer David Moots, who was taking his babysitter home, “saw the squad car stopped partially on the highway with its lights out.” Moots is quoted describing the scene:
“He was trying to get out of the car and was kind of dazed. I asked him what was wrong and he said he’d been hit. I asked, ‘Hit by a car?’ and he answered, ‘No, by one of those UFOs.’”
The police dispatcher, Gail Miley, received Wheeler’s radio call and she telephoned Paul Fredrickson, who lived near Tuttle Hill, and asked him to look out his window and tell her what he could see. He told the Enquirer, “It resembled a bright orange half-moon. I went to the phone and by the time I returned to the window, the object was gone.”
According to Pratt, Mrs. Miles Wergland, who lived south of the hill, also saw a bright orange object.
In addition to the sightings, three others living near the hill reported that their television sets went dead around 11:00 p.m. and came back on again ten minutes later.
Wheeler was taken to his doctor of 25 years, Frank Springer. Springer said, “He was deeply disturbed and highly nervous. I gave him a shot, but it didn’t relieve his anxiety, so I sent him to the hospital.”
Wheeler stayed there for three days and then went home. He went back after complaining of nightmares and headaches and stayed for eleven more days. He said, “I’ve been through all sorts of tests, but I seem to be OK now.”
It seems as though Wheeler’s squad car also suffered some ill effects. Police Chief Gene Helmer is quoted describing the damages: “Its spark plugs and points were burned right out. It had been tuned up and checked out only about two months before. The plugs and points should have been good for five of six months.”
Wheeler’s sighting and others in the area are commemorated with a sign, and the Elmwood Community Club has hosted a UFO festival since 1978.