Lake Michigan: Four Coast Guard Stations Track Cigar-Shaped UFO at 4,000 MPH
On July 23, 1978, between 3:53 and 7:30 a.m., personnel from four U.S. Coast Guard stations (Two Rivers WI, Ludington MI, Sturgeon Bay WI, St. Joseph MI) as well as civilians track a cigar-shaped object with colored lights traveling at astonishing speeds over Lake Michigan. At 3:53 a.m., CGS Two Rivers receives a call from Ludington requesting they search for a UFO heading their direction. The object is tracked from station to station as it moves west, changes direction, and returns. At 4:25 a.m., Green Bay lighthouse reports the same object. At 4:55, a civilian reports it hovering over U.S. Route 31. Personnel at CGS St. Joseph photograph it. According to the NORAD Command Directors Log for July 1978, the object at one point travels 200 miles in three minutes — 4,000 mph — at a low altitude of 6,000 feet, which should have produced an ear-splitting sonic boom but did not. Researcher Robert Todd requests the photographs through FOIA in 1980; the Coast Guard claims the negatives were 'lost in the mail,' then says they were sold to the National Enquirer by coast guard personnel, then attributes the loss to 'an unrelated incident.'
Background
1. On July 23, 1978, multiple U.S. Coast Guard stations and civilians observed a cigar-shaped object with colored lights moving at high speeds over Lake Michigan. The sightings occurred between 3:53 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and involved personnel from four Coast Guard stations.
The Incident
At 3:53 a.m., Coast Guard Station (CGS) Ludington in Michigan contacted CGS Two Rivers in Wisconsin, requesting they search for a UFO traveling in their direction. Ludington observers described the object as having red, white, orange, and green flashing lights and moving very fast. Within minutes, personnel at Two Rivers also observed the object, matching the description.
The object headed west toward Two Rivers until it disappeared. At 4:00 a.m., CGS Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin sighted a UFO to the south at an undetermined distance. One minute later, they saw a UFO rapidly heading west, described as having red lights and an erratically flashing strobe-type light. At 4:04 a.m., CGS Two Rivers saw an object matching that description approaching and passing by.
At 4:25 a.m., a lighthouse in Green Bay reported the same object. At 4:45 a.m., CGS Two Rivers reported a white light in the southern sky moving toward the station and blinking irregularly, which then changed direction toward the northeast and vanished going straight up. At 4:55 a.m., a civilian reported to CGS Ludington that a UFO had been hovering over U.S. Route 31 and then moved rapidly to the west, exhibiting flashing white lights and an occasional red flash. Ludington personnel observed the object over the lake, and personnel at CGS St. Joseph in Michigan took photographs of it.
Investigation
The source text mentions NORAD Com, but does not provide any details about an investigation.
Significance
The Lake Michigan incident is considered an extraordinary military case. The event involved multiple credible witnesses from U.S. Coast Guard stations and civilians, all observing the same object over a period of several hours. The object's described characteristics, including its shape, colored lights, and rapid movements, contribute to its significance within the broader context of reported UFO phenomena.