Caribou Lake Alien Encounter: The 1979 Minnesota UFO Incident That Terrified Two Women
In the quiet town of Caribou Lake, Minnesota, an extraordinary encounter took place on August 7, 1979, that would forever change the lives of two women. Liz, a 50-year-old Sears Roebuck employee, and her co-worker Ruth were driving home from a bridal shower when they witnessed something inexplicable on Monger Shaw Road. What began as a pleasant summer evening quickly transformed into one of the most frightening experiences of their lives.
The women initially spotted three unusual figures in the road ahead, zigzagging across the center line. As they approached, they realized these were no ordinary pedestrians or cyclists. The beings had enormous heads measuring approximately 18-20 inches across, with large black eyes, minimal facial features, and grayish, cement-colored skin. When Liz stopped the car, one creature remained directly in their headlights, seemingly observing them for several minutes while the women sat frozen in fear. This close encounter, reported to Minnesota MUFON more than two decades later, stands as a compelling case of possible extraterrestrial contact that left both witnesses profoundly affected.
Key Takeaways
Two women encountered three unusual beings with large heads and eyes while driving home from a bridal shower in rural Minnesota in 1979.
The witnesses experienced vehicle electrical interference and extreme emotional distress during their close proximity to the entities.
Despite initially keeping their experience private due to fear of ridicule, the main witness eventually reported the incident to MUFON investigators over twenty years later.
Initial Contact with MUFON
In late 2000, MUFON Minnesota received a phone call from a 75-year-old woman eager to share details about an unusual encounter from her past. The Minnesota MUFON Journal published a transcript of this call in their January-February 2001 issue (No. 87).
William L. McNeff, Minnesota's MUFON State Director, found her account particularly compelling. He and fellow investigator Steve Hero conducted an extensive interview with the woman, with findings published in the September-October 2003 issue (No. 103) of the Minnesota MUFON Journal.
The witness, identified only as Liz (then 50, employed at Sears Roebuck), had experienced something extraordinary on August 7, 1979. McNeff confirmed that Liz maintained a personal journal of daily activities, which provided contemporaneous documentation of the events.
Liz had been reluctant to report her experience for over twenty years. She and her co-worker Ruth feared ridicule or being labeled mentally unstable if they came forward. This hesitation persisted despite coworkers suggesting they notify authorities immediately after the incident.
When finally sharing her story with MUFON investigators, Liz described it as "the most terrifying experience" of her life. The encounter had left her with an ongoing fear of darkness and discomfort with images of extraterrestrials in media.
Ruth, the second witness, declined McNeff's interview request. While she occasionally acknowledged the incident when meeting with Liz, she refused to discuss details, finding the memory deeply disturbing. She left open the possibility of speaking with investigators at some future point, though McNeff considered this unlikely given her continued reluctance decades after the event.
Through this initial contact, MUFON gained access to an encounter report that had remained private for over twenty years, preserved only in a witness's journal and memory until she felt ready to share it with researchers.
Minnesota MUFON's Investigation
In late 2000, a 75-year-old woman contacted Minnesota MUFON by telephone to report a strange encounter from 1979. Her call was documented in the Minnesota MUFON Journal (Issue 87, January-February 2001). State Director William L. McNeff, intrigued by her account, conducted an in-depth investigation with fellow investigator Steve Hero.
McNeff's findings appeared in Issue 103 (September-October 2003) of the journal. The witness, identified only as 50-year-old Liz, had been employed at Sears Roebuck at the time of the incident. She maintained a personal journal of daily activities, which provided a written record of the events on August 7, 1979.
That evening, Liz had finished painting at home before picking up her coworker Ruth in her Buick Regal. They drove to a bridal shower at their manager's home near Caribou Lake. Between 9:00-9:10 PM, they departed the gathering and drove along Monger Shaw Road in darkness.
At a crossroad by Caribou Lake School, both women noticed three figures zigzagging across the center line of the road ahead. Liz initially thought they might be children on bicycles and switched to high beams to alert them. When the figures didn't move, she switched back to low beams as they approached.
The beings had these distinctive features:
Huge heads (18-20 inches across)
No visible hair or ears
Large, deep-set eyes (2.5-3 inches)
Wrinkled skin but no protruding nose
Small slit-like mouths with peaked chins
Gray, almost luminous appearance
Cement or clay-like coloration
When Liz stopped the car, her interior dashboard lights went out. Two figures floated into the ditch while the third remained directly in front of the headlights. Both women were terrified, with Ruth frantically trying to find the door lock in the darkness.
After approximately 8-10 minutes, Liz attempted to maneuver around the being. As they passed, with the entity visible through the right corner of the windshield, Ruth became hysterical—laughing and crying simultaneously. She climbed across the seat and onto Liz, forcing them to stop again.
Once they finally cleared the area, Liz sped away in panic, accidentally turning down a dark country road that ended in a dead end. After reversing course, they observed another car coming from the same direction they had fled. McNeff's investigation revealed no other incident reports from that area that night.
During their drive home, the women discussed the encounter intensely. They concluded the entity was not human, not an animal, not a light trick, and not someone in a mask. Both independently sensed they had encountered "an outer space being," despite neither having previous interest in UFO phenomena.
Upon arriving at Ruth's home, she told her husband Bill about the incident, but he ridiculed her and asked if she had been drinking. Liz, feeling apprehensive, rushed into her own home and locked the door. Her husband was already in bed, but her niece Gene was awake. After driving Gene home, Liz returned and broke down emotionally, begging her husband to listen to her account.
The next day, Liz and Ruth told coworkers about their experience. Though colleagues suggested reporting it to authorities, both women feared ridicule and accusations of mental illness. When interviewed by McNeff years later, Liz described it as the most terrifying experience of her life, leaving her fearful of the dark and disturbed by images of entities with large heads and black eyes.
Ruth was deeply traumatized by the incident and declined McNeff's request for an interview, though she left open the possibility of speaking with him later. Given her reluctance after so many years, McNeff considered it unlikely she would ever share her account.
Liz's Personal Account
In late August 1979, 50-year-old Liz experienced an encounter that would forever change her perception of reality. After attending a co-worker's bridal shower at Caribou Lake on a pleasant summer evening, Liz and her colleague Ruth departed around 9:00 PM. Driving her Buick Regal with headlights illuminating the dark country road, Liz stopped at a crossroad near Caribou Lake School.
Both women noticed three unusual figures zigzagging across the center line ahead. "It looks like three little ones on bikes," Liz initially thought, switching to high beams as she approached. The figures remained stationary, forcing Liz to switch back to low beams as they drew closer.
What they witnessed defied explanation. The beings had enormous heads—approximately 18-20 inches across—with no hair, no ears, and unusually large, deep-set eyes measuring 2.5-3 inches. Their skin appeared luminous gray, "the color of cement," with wrinkled folds but no protruding nose. Each had a small slit for a mouth that came to a peak, as did their chins.
As Liz stopped the car, her dashboard lights inexplicably went out. Two of the entities floated into the ditch while the third remained directly in her headlights. For nearly ten minutes, both women sat paralyzed with fear, unable to move forward without hitting the being.
Eventually, Liz attempted to maneuver around the creature. As it aligned with the corner of their windshield, Ruth broke into hysteria—simultaneously laughing and crying—and scrambled across the seat. Once they finally passed the entity, Liz accelerated rapidly, so disoriented she took a wrong turn down a dark country road.
After returning to the main highway, the women discussed their encounter intensely. They concluded the being was:
Not human
Not an animal
Not a trick of light
Not someone in a mask
Both women sensed they had encountered "an outer space being"—something neither had believed possible before that night.
When Liz dropped Ruth home, her friend rushed inside to tell her husband Bill, who dismissed her story and asked if she'd been drinking. Liz similarly found little comfort when sharing the experience with her husband, who merely suggested she should have captured the entity for analysis.
The encounter left lasting psychological effects. Liz reported becoming afraid of the dark and disturbed by extraterrestrial depictions in media. Though she and Ruth occasionally acknowledged the incident when together, Ruth became so troubled by the memory that she refused to discuss it in detail, even declining an interview about the experience years later.
The Lake Shore Sighting
The Evening Journey to the Party
On August 7, 1979, Liz, a 50-year-old Sears Roebuck employee, was finishing a week of vacation spent painting her home. That evening, she prepared to attend a bridal shower for her co-worker Sue at their manager's lake house. Liz noted in her personal journal that the weather was perfect that day. After cleaning up from her painting project, she picked up her colleague Ruth in her Buick Regal, and they drove together to the gathering at Caribou Lake.
The shower was enjoyable, with the excited bride-to-be being the center of attention. Though Liz typically preferred coffee, the warm summer evening had most guests opting for lemonade instead. Between 9:00 and 9:10 PM, Liz and Ruth said their goodbyes and left the party.
The Roadway Figures
As darkness had fallen, Liz drove with her headlights illuminating the road from the lake to Monger Shaw Road. When they stopped at a crossroad near Caribou Lake School, both women noticed something unusual ahead. Three figures were moving strangely, zigzagging across the center line approximately half a mile down the road.
"What in the world is going on down there?" Ruth asked.
"It looks like three little ones on bikes, but they better move because here I come," Liz replied as she accelerated.
She switched from low beams to high beams to make the car more visible, but oddly, the figures didn't react or move aside. As they approached, Liz switched back to low beams. One figure remained directly in front of the right headlight. Both women began questioning what they were seeing.
Appearance of the Entities
The beings they encountered had several distinctive features:
Physical characteristics:
Gray, almost luminous coloration (described as "cement" or "clay-like")
Extremely large heads (18-20 inches across)
No visible hair or ears
Deep-set, enormous black eyes (2.5-3 inches, "larger than chicken eggs")
No protruding nose, just wrinkles or folds
Small slit for a mouth that came to a peak
Pointed chin
Proportional arms with no noted finger details
No clearly visible clothing
When Liz stopped the car to avoid hitting them, the interior dashboard lights unexpectedly went out. Two of the figures moved into the roadside ditch, but the third remained directly in the headlights' beam.
The Women's Response
Both women were immediately frightened. Ruth frantically searched for the door lock in the darkened car while they both expressed their fear. They remained stopped for 8-10 minutes, unwilling to hit the being but also not thinking to back up.
"We knew we could not hit the being," Liz later explained, "and the thought of backing up never occurred to us."
Eventually, Liz tried turning her wheels, hoping the movement would prompt the entity to move. When this failed, she decided they needed to carefully maneuver around it. As they slowly passed the figure, when it was visible at the corner of the windshield, Ruth became hysterical—laughing and crying simultaneously—and climbed across the seat onto Liz, forcing her to stop again.
After the entity stared at them for an indeterminate time, Liz finally managed to drive past it and accelerated rapidly. In their panic, they took a wrong turn down a dark country road, ended up at a dead end, and had to turn around. They noticed another car passing on the main highway but didn't recognize the occupants. Driving away, both women discussed the encounter intensely, concluding what they had seen was neither human nor animal, but rather "an outer space being."
Aftermath of the Sighting
After their encounter with the strange beings, Liz and Ruth discussed the incident "furiously" during their drive home. They could not identify what they had seen but firmly concluded it was not human, not an animal, not a light trick, and definitely not someone in a mask. Both women independently described identical features, ruling out hallucinations. Despite having little prior interest in UFOs—in fact, both had doubted such phenomena existed—they became convinced they had encountered "an outer space being."
Upon arriving at Ruth's home, she quickly told her husband Bill about the experience. Unfortunately, he ridiculed her and questioned whether she had been drinking. When Liz reached her own home, she felt deeply apprehensive and immediately locked the door behind her.
Liz found her husband already in bed, but her niece Gene was still awake and asked for a ride home. Despite her distress, Liz drove Gene home, recounting the entire experience during the trip. This frightened Gene so much she was reluctant to leave the car for her apartment. After returning home, Liz broke down emotionally.
"I cried and begged my husband to wake up and listen to me," she later recalled. Though he did listen, he offered no comforting explanation, merely suggesting she should have hit the being and put it in the trunk for analysis.
The following day, Liz shared the story with her children, and once back at work, she and Ruth told their coworkers about the encounter. Their colleagues suggested reporting the incident to authorities, but the women declined, fearing ridicule or being labeled mentally unstable.
The experience deeply affected both women psychologically. Liz later described it as "the most terrifying experience" either of them had ever endured. She became fearful of the dark and found herself disturbed by depictions of extraterrestrials in media that resembled what they had seen.
Though the women occasionally acknowledged the event when together, Ruth found it too disturbing to discuss in detail. When Minnesota MUFON investigators attempted to interview Ruth years later, she was reluctant to speak about the incident, indicating the lasting psychological impact of their encounter.
Public Reaction and Media Coverage
The sighting of three strange entities on August 7, 1979, remained unreported to authorities at the time due to the witnesses' concerns about potential ridicule. Liz and Ruth chose to share their experience only with close family members and coworkers initially. When Liz told her husband about the encounter that same night, he listened but offered little comfort, merely suggesting they should have captured one of the beings for analysis.
Ruth's husband Bill was even less supportive, immediately questioning whether his wife had been drinking. This dismissive reaction reinforced the women's reluctance to report the incident more widely. Despite suggestions from their colleagues to contact authorities, both women avoided official reporting channels.
The encounter remained essentially private for over two decades until late 2000, when Liz, then 75 years old, contacted Minnesota MUFON via telephone. Her account was subsequently published in the Minnesota MUFON Journal (Issue 87, January-February 2001). This initial report caught the attention of William L. McNeff, Minnesota MUFON's state director, who along with investigator Steve Hero conducted a detailed interview with Liz.
McNeff's follow-up investigation appeared in the Minnesota MUFON Journal (Issue 103, September-October 2003). During the investigation, McNeff attempted to contact Ruth for her perspective, but she declined an interview, still deeply disturbed by the memory of the event. She did leave open the possibility of discussing it at a later date, though McNeff considered this unlikely given her continued reluctance decades after the incident.
Liz's journal entries from the period provided investigators with contemporaneous documentation of the events. No other witnesses filed reports about unusual sightings in the area that night, though Liz and Ruth did observe another car passing through the same location shortly after their encounter.
The psychological impact on both women was significant and long-lasting. According to Liz, whenever the two met in later years, they would acknowledge the incident but avoid discussing it in detail due to Ruth's continued distress about the experience.
Media coverage remained minimal until the MUFON publication, keeping this remarkable encounter largely unknown to the wider public for over twenty years.
Long-Term Psychological Effects on Those Who Encountered the Beings
The 1979 encounter with strange entities on a dark Minnesota road left profound and lasting impressions on both witnesses. Even decades later, the emotional impact remained significant. The primary witness, a 50-year-old Sears employee, continued to experience fear of darkness following the incident. She would become noticeably uncomfortable when seeing images of extraterrestrial beings portrayed in media—particularly those depicting hairless entities with enlarged heads and prominent black eyes.
For her co-worker, the psychological toll appeared even more severe. She demonstrated extreme reluctance to revisit the experience in any meaningful way. When approached by investigators some 24 years after the incident, she initially refused to discuss the matter entirely. Though she left open the possibility of a future conversation, her unwillingness to engage suggested the encounter remained a source of significant distress.
The immediate aftermath revealed telling behaviors from both women:
Rushing into their homes and locking doors
Emotional breakdowns when attempting to process what they'd seen
Difficulty convincing family members of their experience
Reluctance to report to authorities despite coworker suggestions
Limited discussion of the event even between themselves
Their fear of ridicule and potential mental health stigma prevented them from making official reports. "It was the most terrifying experience either one of us had gone through," the primary witness explained to investigators. This statement, made more than two decades after the event, demonstrates how deeply embedded the encounter remained in her consciousness.
Family reactions complicated their ability to process the experience. When the co-worker told her husband about the incident, he responded with skepticism and mockery, asking if she had been drinking. Similarly, the primary witness's husband, though willing to listen, offered no emotional support or validation—instead suggesting she should have captured one of the beings for analysis.
The persistent psychological impact on both women highlights how unexplained encounters can create lasting trauma, especially when witnesses lack appropriate support systems for processing such extraordinary events.
