1977-08-12 - Michigan City, IN - Sphere

Three colorful spheres passed close to me and my dog at night on the Lake Michigan shore.

I will NEVER forget this night sighting.

I lived on the corner by the dunes of Lake Michigan on Georgia Ave., in Michigan City. I took our black Labrador, Kahlua, out for her nightly beach walk. We started up the sand dune trail toward the beach, when suddenly(and for the first time ever) my seven year old dog pointed toward the beach end of the path and her backhair was standing up.

I looked and saw a glimmer of shimmering light and figured she had sensed some neighbors sitting around a bon fire on the beach. I took a brisk walk with her to the end of the path, and upon reaching the beach overlook, I stood dumbfounded. There were NO people on the beach but off to our left(West) and approaching us at a slow speed were three glowing spheres of strange light.

I looked down at Kahlua and she was following these objects and didn't move. (She was not leashed) They were about 5 feet above the shore where the small waves were meeting the sand.I could see the foam of the small wavelets illuminated by the spheres ,directly below them. They were in an echelon formation (like jets fly off each others wing tips). One sphere was ahead of the other two and they were each off to one side and behind the lead sphere. Their surfaces were of a yellow/pink static light that ran around the globes like little lightning bolts but thin and many. It was very quiet ,except for the breeze rushing past our ears off the lake.

I remember seeing lightning way across the lake near Chicago (which you can see the taller buildings on a clear day).It was miles away and barely saw the lightning. These globes were about 3- 4 feet in diameter and a few feet apart and moved Eastward directly in front of us. That's when I got a good look.The static surface gave me a good view of their outlines and they were perfect globes. I got goosebumps and hair must've stood on my arms. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

Kahlua never moved except for her head while staring at these spheres with me.The globes kept moving and seemed to speed up and we watched until they became a single light (due to distance) and they disappeared downshore as they moved out of sight toward New Buffalo,Michigan.

I often wonder why I and/or Kahlua never walked or ran closer to see these at close range? It seemed I didn't want to move. I was afraid.I had lived and walked this beach for at least 1 year and never saw anything as puzzling as this. The globes were controlled and never wavered once in their flight.

I reported the sighting to the Michigan City Police the next day but they just laughed and said it was probably "airplane lights". No way...not 80 -100 feet in front of me along the breaking waves and illuminating the foam only. I sent this report at the time, to Dr. J. Allen Hynek at Northwestern Univ. but never heard anything more.

I'm a blue collar worker with some collage and was sober and wide awake at the time. I also knew the beach area at night since I lived just a few minutes walk from the water's edge and spent much of my my free time there.

Question: Has anyone else reported close encounters with lights,spheres, or otherwise along the beaches of Lake Michigan ?? Thank you for letting me report this unknown.

((NUFORC Note: Witness indicates that date is approximate. We have heard many such reports of luminous spheres. PD))